of violence and passion based on the legend of a warrior queen of Babylon. Mythological themes dominate this art form, as can be seen by some of the titles,Eco y Narciso (wr. 1661, pb. 1688; Echo and Narcissus) and La estatua de Prometeo (wr. 1669, pb. 1683; the statue of Prometheus).

Calderón’s bloody tragedies of honor were very popular with seventeenth century audiences, even if audiences today find the resolution of some of the honor conflicts shocking. For example, in El médico de su honra (pb. 1637; The Surgeon of His Honor, 1853), an innocent wife is murdered by her husband on the mere suspicion of dishonoring his name. The whole issue of honor and its defense must be seen in its seventeenth century context in order to be understood, but this play was intended to shock, showing perhaps Calderón’s rejection of the rigid assumptions of the honor code, which led to such excesses.

Although Calderón was known for many types of serious plays, he was also a master of the light, amusing comedia de capa y espada (cloak-and-sword play). The name derives from the cloak and sword that were the marks of a gentleman of the time. These plays were pure entertainment—the theme was usually love along with its obstacles, intrigues, and misunderstandings, all written in charming, natural dialogue. The characters are paired sets of two or three gentlemen with their respective ladies and servants (confidants to their masters). The humorous Casa con dos puertas, mala es de guardar (wr. 1629, pr., pb. 1636; A House with Two Doors Is Difficult to Guard, 1737) is a good example.

Through the various forms that his dramas took, Calderón used the structure and poetic devices popular in his time, and, under Lope de Vega’s influence, the development of characters was always subordinate to the action, producing a fast-moving, entertaining spectacle. In the case of the court play, especially, these elements often became quite elaborate. His plots are skillfully constructed, often with a struggle between opposing forces, and the themes are rarely simple; they are, rather, a group of related themes, all of which contribute to the plot.

Calderón’s writing is characterized by various types of verse or meter depending on the use: soliloquies, for example, were often written in sonnet form; one of two types (called the romance and redondilla) was employed for dialogue and narration. Each change of meter changed the mood. Within his poetic style, Baroque techniques appear, such as the use of visual images drawn from nature and mythology, the use of simile and metaphor, parodies and plays on words, the contrast of light and shadow (chiaroscuro), and self-contradictory images (oxymorons). In all of his works, Calderón’s skillful use of the themes, techniques, and style of his period mark him as a truly masterful dramatist.

Life Is a Dream

First produced: La vida es sueño, 1635 (first published, 1636; English translation, 1830)

Type of work: Play

A young prince, imprisoned from childhood, is tested by his father to see if his reason and prudence will triumph over base instincts.

Usually recognized as Calderón’s finest drama, Life Is a Dream premiered at the Royal Court of Spain. Its theme, revealed in the title, focuses on the instability of life and the illusory nature of the world. The story opens one night in the countryside between Poland and Russia, where Rosaura, a noblewoman disguised as a man, and her servant are journeying on foot after the loss of their horses. The opening lines give an example of Calderón’s imagery and language:

Are you the fabulous hippogriff running in harness with the wind?Flameless thunderbolt, featherless bird, fish without scales,Monster of the four elements without instinct to check your headlong flight?

Rosaura’s questions include mythological references and images of nature described out of character. The landscape itself reflects Rosaura’s emotional upheaval. Amid the turbulence, she finds Segismundo’s prison cave and hears his soliloquy of distress at the loss of his freedom. His guardian, Clotaldo, shown throughout the drama to be a man of integrity, sends the visitors away, but not before recognizing Rosaura as his daughter by the sword that she carries (which acts as a symbol of her family honor).

From the beginning, the first of several themes grouped together in this complex philosophical drama are introduced. Segismundo had been imprisoned by his father, King Basilio, who feared the predictions of the stars that his son would humiliate him and rule as a tyrant. Now, years later, he wonders if he has done right and decides to test the young man by drugging him and bringing him to the palace. In these luxurious surroundings, the inexperienced Segismundo shows his base nature by following his own pleasure and acting in a violent and insulting manner. When returned to his prison, he is told by Clotaldo that it was all a dream—a development that sets up a second theme complex in which dream and reality are confused, and in which deception and truth are indistinguishable to the protagonist. As Segismundo says in his famous lines:

What is life? a delirium!What is life? illusion,A shadow, a fictionWhose greatest good is nothing,Because life is a dream!Even dreams are only dreams.

When freed by soldiers later, Segismundo proves that he has learned from his experience to control his passions and to do good, as Clotaldo has counseled, even in his dreams. At the end of the play, the prophecy has been fulfilled, as his father kneels at his son’s feet—showing the strength of predestination. Yet a moment later, Segismundo wins his father’s forgiveness and demonstrates forbearance and prudence in his final actions—showing his ability to use his freedom and free will wisely to counterbalance the pull of his destiny.

A second theme throughout the play, introduced in the first act, is the question of honor. Rosaura has been deceived and abandoned by Astolfo, nephew of the king. The two main characters meet in their hour of need and help each other: Rosaura inspires love in Segismundo and shows him the way to appropriate princely conduct, while he, in turn, restores her honor by marrying her to Astolfo, thus sacrificing his own wishes to the demands of society by restoring each person to his or her rightful place.

The Mayor of Zalamea

First produced: El alcalde de Zalamea, 1643 (first published, 1651; English translation, 1853)

Type of work: Play

The mayor of Zalamea, a wealthy peasant, executes an aristocratic captain in the royal army for having dishonored his (the mayor’s) daughter.

The theme of honor is central to the action of Calderón’s much-admired play The Mayor of Zalamea. The plot is constructed around a conflict based on the contrast between the honorable and just peasant Pedro Crespo and the dishonorable deeds of the aristocratic Captain Alvaro. As the play opens, Crespo agrees to quarter Captain Alvaro in his home, but he takes the precaution of hiding his beautiful, unmarried daughter, Isabel, in the attic with a female companion. His curiosity aroused, Don Alvaro later manages to see Isabel and abduct her. She is rescued by her brother, but only after she has been raped and abandoned by the captain. In an effort to satisfy the requirements of the honor code, Crespo tries every means to get Don Alvaro to marry Isabel, even offering all of his wealth. The dramatic scene is particularly moving as Crespo acts sincerely and humanely to try to obtain justice. Yet even as he shows his nobility of character, the captain arrogantly refuses his offer and rejects his authority.

The question of legal jurisdiction now enters the play, as the aristocratic captain declares himself exempt from civilian authority. Coupled with this question is the theme of honor, which Crespo argues is a property of the soul, which belongs to God, even though Alvaro’s life and possessions are in the service of the king. The honor question crosses the lines of rank and jurisdiction in his argument. At the height of the action, the commander, Don Lope de Figueroa, confronts Crespo angrily on the question of legal authority over Don Alvaro. The verse form expresses the anger as threats are exchanged.

The development of Pedro Crespo’s character and demonstration of the qualities of prudence and a sense of justice are central to this play. The audience watches through the first two acts as his true character begins to emerge, until in act 3 he becomes an agent of social justice. In deciding to execute Don Alvaro, Crespo debates whether he should act as a father (in defense of family honor) or as the mayor of Zalamea (to obtain justice at a higher level). When he acts, he does so as mayor, and in his argument at the end he maintains that the two spheres of justice, military and civilian, are really all part of a higher law, the king’s justice (representative of God’s law).