The purpose of this investigation is to determine the extent and nature of criticism in the plays of Jacinto Benavente. Source material included the writings of such prominent critics of Spanish literature as Walter Starkie, Federico de Onis, Richard Chandler, Kessel Schwartz, Emiliano Diez-Echarri, Jose Franquesa, Federico Sainz de Robles, and Valbuena Prat. Twenty plays which best exemplify Benavente's criticism of society were selected from the dramatist's 172.

This study presents a biographical sketch of the author, a historical background of his period, an overview of his known works, an investigation of the definition and literary criticism of the "pasos," and summaries of and critical commentaries on the twenty-four known "pasos" of the Spanish dramatist whose work is considered to have significantly influenced the evolution of the Spanish theatre. The "pasos," brief comical dramatizations of realistic situations, involving diverse types of common people, reflecting witty and charming humor, are written in a prose style considered by critics to be equal to that of Cervantes and Rojas. The sources of investigation have been two volumes of his known works by the Real Academia Espanola, an edition of Pasos completos, literary histories, and several articles.