The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries saw a monumental increase in the production of live theatre as well as the in importance of the arts within Spanish society.

    The volume and variety of Spanish plays during the Golden Age was unprecedented in the history of world theatre, surpassing even the dramatic production of the English Renaissance by a factor of at least four. 

    This volume has been as much a source of criticism as praise for Spanish Golden Age theatre, for emphasizing quantity before quality. A large number of the plays of this period are still considered masterpieces today.