Though there doesn't seem to be evidence of direct influence on English drama by Spanish drama, and specifically by Lope de Vega, before or during Shakespeare's time, I have to think that Lope's structural innovations must have trickled over somehow. Maybe through the Netherlands....
Lope probably did actually
see England, but didn't set foot there. He was on one of the few ships of the Spanish Armada that made it home after the naval disaster.
A summary of Lope's most notable innovations (from Wikipedia), for the curious:
Quote:
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Lope encountered a poorly organized dramatic tradition; plays were sometimes composed in four acts, sometimes in three, and though they were written in verse, the structure of the versification was left to the individual writer. Because the Spanish public liked it, he adopted the style of drama which was then in vogue. He enlarged its narrow framework to a great degree, introducing a wide range of material for dramatic situations – the Bible, ancient mythology, the lives of the saints, ancient history, Spanish history, the legends of the Middle Ages, the writings of the Italian novelists, current events, and everyday Spanish life in the 17th century. Prior to Lope, playwrights sketched the conditions of persons and their characters superficially. With fuller observation and more careful description, Lope de Vega depicted real character types with language and accouterments appropriate to their position in society.
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Lope and his circle were also known for including two or more plot lines and multiple locations in a single play, which had been no-no's according to the previous rules of drama.
TL;DR: Lope's loosening of those limitations clearly benefitted drama far beyond Spain's borders.