Antonio Coello was a Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 dramatist and poet. He entered the household of the duke de Albuquerque, and after some years of service in the army received the order of Santiago

Order of Santiago

The Order of Santiago was founded in the 12th century, and owes its name to the national patron of Galicia and Spain, Santiago , under whose banner the Christians of Galicia and Asturias began in the 9th century to combat and drive back the Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula.-History:Santiago de...

 in 1648. He was a favorite of Philip IV

Philip IV of Spain

Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...

, who is reported to have collaborated with him; this rumour is not confirmed, but there is ample proof of Coellos collaboration with Calderón

Calderón (disambiguation)

Calderón is a Spanish surname. It is derived from the Vulgar Latin "caldaria" . Its Italian equivalent is Calderone , its French equivalent is Cauderon, its Romanian equivalent is Căldăraru...

, Rojas Zorrilla

Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla

Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla was a Spanish dramatist. The main pieces of Rojas Zorrilla are Del rey abajo ninguno and No hay padre siendo rey .-Biography:...

, Solis

Antonio de Solís y Ribadeneyra

Antonio de Solís y Ribadeneyra was a Spanish dramatist and historian. His work includes drama, poetry, and prose, and he has been considered one of the last great writers of Spanish Baroque literature....

 and Velez de Guevara

Luís Vélez de Guevara

Luis Vélez de Guevara was a Spanish dramatist and novelist.Velez de Guevara was born at Écija and was of Jewish converso descent...

, the most distinguished dramatists of the age. The best of his original plays, Los Empenos de seis horas, has been wrongly ascribed to Calderón; it was adapted by Samuel Tuke

Samuel Tuke (playwright)

Sir Samuel Tuke , first baronet was an English officer in the Royalist army during the English Civil War and a notable playwright...

, under the title of The Adventures of five Hours, and was described by Pepys as superior to Othello

Othello

The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...

. - It is an excellent example of stagecraft and animated dialogue. Coello died on 20 October 1652, shortly after his nomination to a post in the household of Philip IV.

Works

• El conde de Sex, o Dar la vida por su dama 1638
• El celoso extremeno
• Los dos Fernandos de Austria 1646
• No Sooner Said than Done 1650
• La adúltera castigada
• Peor es hurgarlo
• Los empenos de seis horas