La educación del poder a través del teatro: El hijo del águila, de Luis Vélez de Guevara

Theater and literature share aesthetic, educational and entertaining purposes. Sometimesthe balance is tilted towards one of them. Through Luis Vélez de Guevara’s El hijo del águila, we discussthe pedagogical function of theater in the political education of the Spanish young King Philip IV. Theconclusion is that the favorite Count-Duke of Olivares wants John of Austria to become the model forthe two conflicts facing Philip IV at the beginning of his reign: the pacification of the Netherlands andthe hostility with England.