Martínez de la Rosa, Francisco

Martínez de la Rosa, Francisco (fränthēs`kō märtē`nĕth dā lä rō`sä), 1787–1862, Spanish dramatic poet, statesman, and historian. He was an outspoken liberal professor of philosophy, a deputy, and an ambassador. His major plays include La conjuración de Venecia [the conspiracy of Venice] (1834), a landmark of the romantic theater in Spain; Abén Humeya (in French, 1830, Span. tr. 1836); and the neoclassic Edipo [Oedipus] (1829). Among his poems the best known are the elegy entitled Epístola al duque de Frias and El recuerdo de la patria [memory of our country]. Martínez de la Rosa also wrote historical novels and political histories.