A Translation of Manuel Breton De Los Herreros' Muerete Y Veras! (1837) / Go Ahead and Die, You'll See!

Features a young soldier goes off to war leaving a fickle sweetheart who has a sister who truly loves him. The two girls have a greedy brother who is the solider's false friend, but who becomes a "true" friend when he thinks he is going to inherit his estate. It includes a moneylender who fails to get the soldier's signature on a note for a loan.

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This is the best translation of a highly spirited Spanish play originally written in rather complex verse and grammar transformed into a prose that communicates to the English speaking reader all of the exactness and the comedic spirit of the original words. The Hapsburg dynasty in Spain ended in 1700 and was followed by a French Bourbon prince as its king. Spanish dramatist followed the French neoclassic taste, a trend that continued into the first part of the nineteenth century. The death of Ferdinand VII in 1833 caused a sudden change in the political situation that brought with it a burst of the literary movement called Romanticism. This was particularly strong in the Spanish theatre from the mid-1930s to about 1850. Breton de los Herreros lived from 1796 to 1873. He was a very prolific dramatist, writing more than one hundred plays. When one places the years of his life on the historic record of Spain, we can see that it spans the periods of neoclassicism and romanticism. In fact his life and work extend into the later periods of costumbrismo and realism.
The play in this volume was written at the time when romanticism was at its peak, but, like many of Breton's comedies, it is touched by all the different movements. The author's works often show him as a writer in transition. In the comedy Go Ahmead And Die, You'll See, a young soldier goes off to war leaving a fickle sweetheart who has a sister who truly loves him. The two girls have a greedy brother who is the solider's false friend, but who becomes a "true" friend when he thinks he is going to inherit his estate. The plot includes a moneylender who fails to get the soldier's signature on a note for a loan. When the solider is mistakenly reported killed in battle, there are many opportunities for peculiar conflict. As most of Breton's plays, this one is a comedy with a happy ending. If there is a moral message, it is against fickle love and hypocritical friendship.