Inès de Castro (1723 play)

Inès de Castro: tragedie is a French Tragedy play written by French playwright Antoine Houdar de la Motte.

Inès de Castro: tragedie
Written by	Antoine Houdar de la Motte[1]
Date premiered	6 April 1723 (1723-04-06)
Place premiered	France
Original language	French
Subject	Inês de Castro
Genre	Tragedy

Background

Inès de Castro was written by Antoine Houdar de la Motte as a pseudo-classical adaptation of an old Portuguese play based on the subject of Inês de Castro.^[2][3][4] It was first presented in Paris on 6 April 1723 at the Comédie-Française and became a success on the French stage.^[5]

There are many other variations and adaptations of the Inès de Castro story with origins tracing back to António Ferreira's Castro.^[6] It is claimed that M. de la Motte wrote the tragedy by incorporating powerful emotions for theater. He then enlisted scholars to identify a historical event that aligned with the plot, settling on Inès de Castro's story, which led to the play's title.^[7]

De la Motte responded to parodies of his play by defending it in his Troisième discours à l'occasion de la tragédie Inés de Castro (1730).^[8]

De la Motte's adaptation was later translated into Spanish in 1826 by Manuel Bretón de los Herreros.^[9]