“Deceiving with the Truth”, Arte Nuevo, L. 319

Abstract

The rhetorical device called “deceiving with the truth” (l. 319 et seq.) described by Lope de Vega in the Arte Nuevo de hacer comedias has been misinterpreted ever since Morel Fatio confused it with another device mentioned by Lope a little earlier in the text (vv. 300-301), i. e. that of the need for a surprise ending. Later commentators such as H. Rennert and A. Castro, J. de José Prades, J. M. Rozas, F. Pedraza and J. Roso Díaz failed to interpret Lope’s verses correctly, despite the fact that G. T. Northrup (1929-1930) had already offered the keys to an appropriate interpretation. In the meantime, the procedure of “deceiving with the truth” has been unconvincingly identified in works such as La Celestina and dramatic texts of the sixteenth century. In order to confirm its long tradition, the article documents the device’s origin in Terence’s comedies and its use in the Middle Ages and in works such as Don Quixote.