How did Filodemo develop the Portuguese morality play called an auto?

In his play Filodemo, the Portuguese poet Luís de Camões developed the auto—a type of morality play previously popularized by Gil Vicente—by applying several key artistic refinements.1

Rather than creating an entirely new genre, Camões sought to rejuvenate 16th-century Portuguese comedy by imposing classical restraint on the traditional Vicentian auto form. He achieved this through the following developments:1

• Increased Plot Importance: He shifted the focus toward a more structured and significant narrative.1
• Shifted Comic Elements: He moved the source of humor away from the characters themselves and instead embedded it within the action of the play.1
• Refined Farce: He elevated the quality of the farce, moving away from the rougher, more primitive styles of earlier religious plays.21

While Camões demonstrated how these techniques could modernize the auto, he ultimately regarded his dramatic works as mere curiosities or recreations, prioritizing his epic and lyric poetry instead.1