Moderation and the Mean in the Literature of Spain's Golden Age

Richard Rabone is Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies at the University of Warwick. He holds a degree in Classics and Modern Languages and a doctorate in Spanish literature from the University of Oxford. His research focuses on the literature and culture of early modern Spain, with particular emphasis on the reception of classical authorities.

• 1: Aristotelian Wisdom? The Doctrine of the Mean à la mode2: A Protean Moral? Aristotelian Metamorphoses in the Figures of Icarus, Daedalus, and Phaethon3: Remedia amoris? Love and the Problem of Excess in the Poetry of Garcilaso de la Vega4: Speculum prudentiae? Means of Kingship and the Functioning of Tragedy in Calderón's El médico de su honra5: Trivial Pursuit? Extremes, Resolution, and the Search for Happiness in Gracián's El Criticón6: A modo de conclusión: Imitation and the Future of the modus

Rabone has provided a very rich and interesting overview that does not exhaust the subject, but clearly establishes the interpretive meanings that coexisted in parallel during the period. It should be added that the book is a goldmine for anyone studying Hispanic literature and the classical tradition in these centuries. Therefore, it is a research that will undoubtedly be required reference for specialists and for those who wish to delve into a rich and enjoyable read.