In this excerpt, Skinner delineates much of the action in Carballido'splay, offering his interpretation of the major events and the play's themes and symbols.

Yo tambien hablo de la rosa (I Too Speak of the Rose) synthesizes earlier thematic concerns and technical achievements of Carballido. This one-act masterpiece further elaborates the concept of human existence as a complex web of interrelationships through a fusion of realistic and poetic techniques, as in La hebra de oro. Also, it delineates the repressive effects of ideologies and institutions through popular satire and alternating scenes of commentary and representation, as in Silencio, polios pelones, ya les van a echar su maiz- Finally, it succeeds in realizing both an explicit statement on the function of the theater and an exemplary model of total theater.

The action occurs in Mexico City during the present, and the central realistic event is the derailment of...