These eight interludes, which Cervantes published in 1615 but never saw performed, are short, comic plays that explore the underbelly of Renaissance Spanish society. Their characters include hillbillies and con artists, pimps and prostitutes, adulterous wives and jealous husbands, and an array of other humorous figures--all of whom Cervantes treats in a critical yet sympathetic way. Although interludes (meant to go between acts of a larger play) tend to be works of light comedy, Cervantes often inbues his with deeper themes.