Lope de Vega was born in Madrid, Spain on November 25, 1562. He was taught Latin and Castilian in 1572-1573 by the poet Vicente Espinel, and the following year he entered the Jesuit Imperial College, where he learned the rudiments of the humanities. He was the author of as many as 1,800 plays and several hundred shorter dramatic pieces. His plays include El Maestro de Danzar, Peribáñez y el Comendador de Ocaña, Fuente Ovejuna, El Caballero de Olmedo, and El Niño inocente de La Guardia. He died on August 27, 1635.