Overview
Lope's imagery and irony move from the lighthearted to the tragic - a quality which comes to life with great force and ultimate surprise as the 'Knight' is killed in darkness. The especial use of such an aura is rare in Lope's work, and hence, the play is one of his masterpieces, perhaps unsurpassed in all plays of the Golden Age for its tragic inevitability, which is an added piquancy to the sense of a romantic comedy in preceding scenes and acts. The play is expanded for purposes of greater, more elaborate irony, imagery, and effect, at the expense of theme.