Of these five plays, one, Fuenteovejuna, is an acknowledged world classic about a village's collective revenge on the evil knight who abuses its women; another, Peribanez, is an equally satisfying but more individual act of justice, another, the Knight from Olmedo
(portions of which are available on film) is a very funny romantic comedy transferred into tragedy by a sudden murder, and The Dog in the Manger is a comedy about a
lady sdecretly in love with (and madly jealous abot) her secretary; the ending is a brilliant parody of the much-overused "rexcognition of long-lost heir" scene which has been around since the Romans. Only Justice without Revenge, a very bitter tragedy, is unsatisfying; its title (to me) should be "revenge without justice." The translations are quite free but probably therefore more enjoyable for the average modern American reader. ( )