Entre calvos anda el juego: la insistencia de un tema satírico en Rojas Zorrilla

Abstract

Satires against bald men intensified in early modern Spain as the genre developed. As a bald man himself, Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla used the motif with less seriousness than some other writers suffering from the same condition. He also used it more frequently, as he is the playwright of the time that has left us more examples, no less than 17 cases spread over 13 plays, all of them with a burlesque purpose. In all cases, his jokes on bald men say about his persona as much as about his relations with his peers, as well as with the audience in general. Ultimately, some of these satirical uses could be useful in tracing his name behind some texts of dubious authorship.