La educación del poder a través del teatro: El hijo del águila, de Luis Vélez de Guevara

Abstract

Theater and literature share aesthetic, educational and entertaining purposes. Sometimes
the balance is tilted towards one of them. Through Luis Vélez de Guevara’s El hijo del águila, we discuss
the pedagogical function of theater in the political education of the Spanish young King Philip IV. The
conclusion is that the favorite Count-Duke of Olivares wants John of Austria to become the model for
the two conflicts facing Philip IV at the beginning of his reign: the pacification of the Netherlands and
the hostility with England.
KEYWORDS: Luis Vélez de Guevara, El hijo del águila, publicity, theater pedagogy, monarchy.