Histeresis creativa traces how courtly spectacles, short and full-length plays, and picaresque narratives arose under Philip III of Spain, and were then adopted by popular culture. The book focuses on some of the most prominent writers of the early, middle, and late Baroque (Miguel de Cervantes, Lope de Vega and Alonso de Castillo Solorzano) but considers their works through the optic of creative hysteresis, i.e., the artistic appropriation of the past to defend the present. The prestige system under Philip III was in need of justifying the imbalance between the increasing material and symbolic power of their patrons, their courtly prestige, and the consent of their subjects. These writers' commitment to the principles of distributive justice and their application to the acts of court oligarchs is reflected in the fundamentals of many of the spectacles and literary works produced during this period.