We know little about how the play was received. It was undoubtedly performed in 1616 by the company that originally purchased it from the poet. The translation on which this production is based was, from the beginning, aimed at performance before a contemporary English speaking audience rather than as a literary or archeological exercise. Every effort was made to bring the language of Renaissance Spain to the stage in modern English that would, at the same time, retain some flavor of the verse original and yet allow the language to flow as freely as the original. The expecta- tion was that, if done carefully enough, the result would be faithful to the intent and sense of the original.
Every performance is the result of a series of interpretations.
The view we get of any play is necessarily colored by the individual and collective readings of editor, director, actors, and many others concerned with its production. The addition of one more interpreter to the chain means little to the ultimate effect. Only then must we ask whether or not we have been enlightened about the cultural differences and similarities it demonstrates. And only the pedants among us will be interested in its faithfulness to an original that they can already read for themselves and interpret for oth- ers.