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This paper analyses the theatrical genre of the loa as it evolved in Spain in the second half of the seventeenth century. After reviewing some of the main studies which discuss this genre and outlining the main stages in its development, this article considers the generic type of the loa entremesada from two perspectives: discussing, on the one hand, the growing professionalism that affected all theatrical manifestations, including the loa; and, on the other, considering the aspirations entertained by those who composed works of this kind to attract noble and royal patronage. For it is necessary to take account of such influential factors when evaluating the products of the Spanish stage in that period. The context within which the loa entremesada evolved is that in which the commercial and court theatre operated and interacted, and in which both benefited by sharing playwrights, companies and the repertory of plays, despite the different demands made by their different stage-facilities and -techniques. Whatever the type of theatre in which it is performed, whether palace-theatre or corral, the loa always functions on two levels: on the restricted level of its own content, and on the other level where it illuminates the more extensive dramatic work which it both precedes and serves to introduce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]