A SUNNY MORNING Morning,” a one-act drama.
ning,” a one-act drama. This play is built on the
SERAFIN ALVAREZ QUINTERO AND JOAQUIN
ALVAREZ QUINTERO
• It is written on the theme of love affairs between
two ex-lovers who are now in their 70s. The story of
the play is like this. In a sunny autumn morning,
Dona Laura, a beautiful, white-haired old lady of
about seventy is sitting at the corner of a park in
Madrid and feeding the breadcrumbs to the birds •
A Sunny Morning' is a refreshingly new romantic
comedy. It tells the story of Don Gonzalo^and Dona
Laura who was ardent lovers in their youth but was
torn apart in life by fate. However, the two lovers
meet again when they are in their 70s, not as lovers
but as total strangers unexpectedly, in a park in
Madrid. • Spanish dramatists Serafin lvarez
Quintero (1871-1938) and Joaquin Alvarez Quintero
(1873-1944). They grew up in Utrera, a small town
near Seville in the Spanish region of Andalusia. They
started writing for the theatre at a very young age.
They were known as the “Golden Boys” of the
Madrid theater. They worked together on nearly
200 dramas depicting Andalusia’s life, manners, and
speech. • Gilito, their first stage piece, was written
in 1889. Among the brothers’ most well-known
works are the comedies The Flowers (1901), A
Sunny Morning (1905), and The Merry Heart (1906),
as well as the uncharacteristically serious Malvaloca
(1912). Helen and Harley Granville Barker (1927–32)
translated several of their plays into English. In the
early 1950s, their complete collection of plays was
published in seven volumes as Obras Completas. • A
Sunny Morning is a light comedy about the reunion
of two lovers in their 70s who met in a park and
were passionate lovers in their youth but were torn
apart by fate. This play takes place on a sunny
morning in Madrid, Spain, on a park bench • Short
Summary: • Serafin and Joaquin Alvarez Quintero,
two prominent Spanish authors, wrote “A Sunny
youth, they were estranged from each other due to
central theme of a love affair, with two ex-lovers in
their 70s reuniting in a park and reminiscing about
their romantic past. • Dona Laura is sitting in a park,
feeding breadcrumbs to the birds when the
performance begins. Don Gonzalo then appears
with Juanito and complains about the people taking
others’ seats. He keeps seeking a bench but can’t
seem to find one. He frightens the birds and irritates
Dona Laura. He takes a seat on Dona Laura’s bench.
• Dona Laura describes him as a bad-tempered
man. Don Gonzalo begins to read his book. They
continue to use pinching words against one other.
Don Gonzalo pulls out his snuffbox, and they each
snuff and sneeze three times. Following that, they
form a cordial relationship. • Don Gonzalo begins
reading aloud, followed by Dona Laura. They even
discuss their vision. They discuss different cities,
places, travel, individuals they’ve met, and activities
they’ve done. They realize they were once lovers.
Both of them conceal their identities and begin
telling their stories under aliases. • Don Gonzalo,
Don’s cousin, narrates Don’s story. Dona Laura, as
Dona Llorente’s friend, shares her story. They tell
their fabricated accounts about their deaths. They
fabricate lies about Don and Laura Llorente
concealing their identity. Finally, they agree to
reconvene the next day if it is a sunny morning.
They leave with their servants. • Main Summary: •
“A Sunny Morning” is a one-act love comedy written
by two prominent Spanish writers, Serafin and
Joaquin Alvarez Quintero. This romantic comedy has
been provided with the intention of entertaining
the audience. This play is built on the central theme
of a love affair, with two ex-lovers in their 70s
reuniting in a park and reminiscing about their
romantic past. This one-act play is about two former
lovers, Don Gonzalo and Dona Llorente, who adored
each other when they were younger. During their
ill luck and Dona Llorente’s parents’ unfavourable
roles. • Gonzalo and Dona are both pretty old now,
having outlived their youthful exuberance and
allure. When they first meet at the park, they are
unable to recognize each other. However, they
subsequently learn that they know each other but
do not divulge their true identities to each other. •
This play begins on one of autumn’s peaceful sunny
mornings in a peaceful corner of a park in Madrid,
Spain. At the start, we see a handsome, white-
haired lady in her seventies sitting on a park bench
and feeding bread crumbs to pigeons. Her
appearance is quite refined. She’s there, along with
her maid Petra. Petra later leaves the area to meet
with the park guard. The arrival of another main
character, Don Gonzalo, an elderly man, and his
servant Juanito follows. Don Gonzalo appears to be
irritated at first because he cannot find a vacant
bench in the park to sit on. • Three priests have
taken over the bench he usually sits on in the park.
He approaches Laura’s bench and shares it, despite
his reluctance. Laura is enraged by Don Gonzalo.
She accuses Don Gonzalo of frightening pigeons
who were feeding her breadcrumbs. She refers to
him as “an ill-natured man.” Don Gonzalo dislikes
sitting on the bench with the old lady. Laura
continues to use harsh language against Don
Gonzalo. Don Gonzalo, on the other hand, gives up
after using their pinching and rude words of
disagreement. He pulls out his snuffbox and hands it
to her. They both sneeze at the same time. Finally,
they reestablish a friendly relationship with one
another. • They begin their conversations in a very
friendly manner. Don Gonzalo reads aloud from a
collection of poems. During their conversation,
Gonzalo mentions that he is from Valencia. When
he learns about Laura’s home country, he is taken
aback. Laura tells him she is from Maricela, where
she grew up in a villa. Gonzalo is taken aback by
Laura’s revelation and says he knows a woman
named Laura Llorente who lived in a villa there and
was possibly the most beautiful woman he had ever
seen. After hearing each other, they realize they
were once lovers. However, they pretend to be
anonymous. • They both begin talking about Laura
Llorente and Gonzalo. Gonzalo and Laura Llorente
are referred to as cousins and friends by old Don
Gonzalo and Dona Laura. In their conversation, they
express their feelings about Gonzalo and Laura
Llorente’s tragic love affair. Laura Llorente lived at
Maricela in Valencia, according to their
conversation. In her youth, she was known as ‘The
Silver Maiden’ in her community. She was as lovely
as a lily, with jet black hair and black eyes. She was a
beautiful lady with a dreamy figure. • Gonzalo, the
gallant lover, had captured her heart. Every
morning, he would ride through the rose garden on
horseback and toss a bouquet to her balcony, which
she would catch. Laura used to spend the majority
of her time sitting on her balcony. She would toss
the flowers back to Gonzalo when he returned
riding on his horse in the afternoon. They were
madly in love. Laura’s parents, on the other hand,
desired that their daughter marry a wealthy local
merchant. • Gonzalo got into a fight with that
merchant one day. The merchant insulted Gonzalo
while he was waiting to hear Laura’s song beneath
her window. During the fight, Gonzalo injured the
merchant. Gonzalo fled from his hometown to
Seville, then to Madrid, fearful of the consequences
of a fight with a merchant. In fact, that merchant
was well-known in the area. Following that, he
made numerous attempts to contact Laura via
letters, but all of his efforts were futile. He was
unable to contact Laura after that. Laura’s parents
intercepted all of his letters. Laura did not receive a
letter because of her parents. • Dona Laura and Don
Gonzalo are now plotting their demise. They tell
their stories about their deaths. The old Don
Gonzalo claims to be the young man’s cousin.
According to him, the young Gonzalo had to leave
his post because he had seriously injured the
merchant. He enlisted in the army and traveled to
Africa. He was killed in the battle and died in glory.
The old Laura claims to know the woman known as
‘The Silver Maiden,’ and that she was her friend
when she was younger. • She also lies about
knowing the tragic story of her love affair with
Gonzalo, a brave young man. The elderly lady
reveals that her friend waited for Gonzalo for quite
some time. She didn’t get any information about
him. She was seen leaving her house on the beach
one afternoon. She scribbled Gonzalo’s name in the
sand and sat down on a rock, her gaze fixed on the
horizon. She drowned in the sea after being swept
out to sea by the waves. • Gonzalo had lost hope for
Laura after three months of separation. Gonzalo
absconded with a ballet dancer and married her in
Paris. He began to live his family life. Laura, on the
other hand, married after a two-year separation. •
They are both aware that they are lying, but they
pretend to be unaware. When they run into each
other in the park after nearly 50 years, they both
remember their passionate love affair. They conceal
the truth, however, because they have moved on
from their romantic past. At the end of the play,
they agree to meet again at the park the next day if
it is sunny.
• Understanding the text
• Answer the following questions. \
• a. What makes Dona Laura think that Don Gonzalo
is an ill-natured man? Why do neither Dona Laura
nor Don Gonzalo reveal their true identities? • ➜
Gonzalo’s rude behaviour, as well as his demeanour,
lead Laura to believe that he is a bad-tempered
man. Gonzalo frightens all the pigeons Laura is
feeding breadcrumbs to in a park. He even responds
to Laura’s question in an impolite manner. Dona
Laura and Don Gonzalo do not reveal their true
identities because they are aware that they were
lovers in the past. They are both quite old now and
have outlived their youth. They believe that it is
preferable to conceal their identities and to be
happy through admirable words from both sides. •
b. At what point of time, do you think, Laura and
Gonzalo begin to recognise each other? • ➜ When
Dona Laura takes the book from Don Gonzalo and
begins to read aloud, I believe Laura and Gonzalo
begin to recognize each other. When she reads the
line “Twenty Years Pass,” they both look at each
other with scepticism. • c. When does Dona Laura
realise that Don Gonzalo was her former lover? • ➜
When Dona Laura tells him about the villa in
Maricella and Gonzalo tells her about the Silver
Maiden named Laura Llorente, Dona Laura realizes
that Don Gonzalo was her former lover. To hear his
admirable description of her, she recognizes him as
her former lover. • • d. Why do Dona Laura and Don
Gonzalo spin fictitious stories about themselves? •
➜ Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo make up stories
about themselves because they don’t want to reveal
their true identities to one another. They are now
quite old and have moved on from their romantic
past. They are dissatisfied with their ageing
appearance. In this old age, they prefer to hear
admirable words from one another. They believe it
is better to interact with each other when they are
unfamiliar with each other. • e. How do Dona Laura
and Don Gonzalo feel about each other? • ➜ Dona
Laura and Don Gonzalo are irritated with each other
at the start of the play. They lash out at each other
with harsh and stinging words. However, when they
establish a friendly relationship, they discover that
they are former lovers. They begin telling their past
stories while concealing their true identities. They
don’t want to reveal their reality at the age of
seventy, preferring to reminisce about their happy
romantic past through their conversations. They like
each other and enjoy their admiration and past
stories through fictitious means. They’d rather meet
again in the park. • Reference to the context • a.
Look at the extract below and answer the questions
that follow: • “Yes, you are only twenty. (She sits
down on the bench.) Oh, I feel more tired today
than usual. (Noticing Petra, who seems impatient.)
Go, if you wish to chat with your guard.” • i. Who is
the speaker? • ➜ Dona Laura is the speaker. • ii.
Who does ‘you’ refer to? • ➜ ‘You’ refers to Dona
Laura’s maid Petra. • iii. Who is the ‘guard’ the
speaker is talking to? • ➜ The ‘guard’ is the ‘park’s
guard’ the speaker is talking to. • b. Read the
extract dialogue from the play and answer the
questions that follow: • DONA LAURA: (Indignantly.)
Look out! • DON GONZALO: Are you speaking to
me, senora? • DONA LAURA: Yes, to you. • DON
GONZALO: What do you wish? • DONA LAURA: You
have scared away the birds who were feeding on
my crumbs. • DON GONZALO: What do I care about
the birds? • DONA LAURA: But I do. • DON
GONZALO: This is a public park. • c. Who is Dona
addressing by saying “Look out”? • ➜ By saying
“Look out”, Dona is addressing Don Gonzalo. • d.
What was Dona doing? • ➜ Dona was in the park
feeding breadcrumbs to pigeons.
• e. Who scared the birds? Are they pet birds? • ➜
Don Gonzalo scared the birds. They are not pet
birds. • f. Where are the speakers at the time of the
conversation? • ➜ At the time of the conversation,
the speakers are in a park. • g. What is the effect of
flashback in the play when Dona Laura and Don
Gonzalo knew that they were the lovers in the past?
• ➜ A flashback is a dramatic device in which earlier
events are interjected into a narrative’s normal
chronological flow. Flashback has played an of two former lovers in their golden years. They
important role in making this romantic comedy very argue, know each other, conceal their identities,
interesting in this play. When Don Gonzalo and admire, tell fabricated stories about their deaths,
Dona Laura discovered that they had been lovers in prefer to meet again the next sunny morning, and
the past, their flashback stories began to tell us so on. From start to finish, the entire play continues
about various events from their romantic youth. to make us laugh hysterically while remaining in this
This play has been expanded with a variety of setting of a sunny morning. As a result, the title ‘A
hidden facts as a result of their flashback. Because Sunny Morning’ is quite appropriate, as it depicts a
of its use, the play has a variety of concealing and reconciliation of former lovers in a park with great
revealing twists, as well as a satisfying climax. Both humour. In this way, the title ‘A Sunny Morning’ is
characters continue to use flashback stories with justifiable. • Reference beyond the text • a. What
various information, which has made the entire do you predict will happen in the next meeting
audience pay attention and enjoy every single between Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo? Discuss. •
dialogue of the play. The foundation of this amusing ➜ I predict they will be much more enthusiastic at
play can be thought of as a flashback. • h. Discuss the next meeting. They will once again express their
how the play is built around humour and irony. • ➜ emotions through fictitious means. They will both
This play is built around irony and humour. The play try to make each other happy. Don Gonzalo will
is the ideal combination of humour and irony. This undoubtedly be more forthright this time. He will
romantic comedy was created with the goal of make an effort to show his appreciation for her.
entertaining all audiences through humour and Readers will be able to see their shyness. They will
irony. This play begins with old Dona Laura’s undoubtedly have a lot more fun with their
amusing dialogue. Following Don Gonzalo’s pretentious acts.
entrance into the park, the sarcastic arguments
between both old people created an extremely
humorous environment in the play. There’s a lot of
irony in both characters’ pinching words. When they
realize they know each other, they begin telling
their flashback stories, which piques the readers’
interest and makes them want to hear more from
the characters. Their way of interacting with ironic
remarks, their false stories about their deaths, their
methods of concealing their identities to fool each
other, their promise to meet the next sunny
morning, and so on have added to the humour and
irony of the play. • i. How is the title ‘A Sunny
Morning’ justifiable? Discuss. • ➜ This play is set in
a park in Madrid, Spain on a sunny morning. In this
setting, the entire play has been presented. A sunny
morning has provided an ideal setting for a reunion