James Baquet

    Whenever I think of the Spanish playwright and poet Pedro Calderon de la Barca (1600-1681), I always think of the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi (4th century B.C.). What’s the connection?

    One night, it is said, Zhuangzi dreamed he was a butterfly, with no awareness that he was actually a man. When he awoke, he wondered: “Am I a man who dreamed of being a butterfly? Or am I a butterfly dreaming he is a man?”

    Around two millennia later, Calderon explored the same idea in his most famous play, “Life Is a Dream.”

    Published around 1635, it tells of Prince Segismundo of Poland. Because of a prophecy, his father has had him locked in a tower all his life. Deciding that he should give the young prince a chance, the king has his men give the prince a sleeping drug. When the prince awakes, he is free — but he behaves very badly. Finally, the king can stand it no more. He has Segismundo drugged again, and when he wakes again in the tower, he is convinced that his “freedom” was all a dream.

    The play goes on, with many twists and turns. Segismundo is finally freed, and becomes king. But he has learned that, whether in dreams or when awake, all people have the obligation to behave as well as they possibly can.

    Perhaps this is the answer to Zhuangzi’s conundrum. Man or butterfly, be the best you can!

    Born in Madrid, Calderon lost his mother when he was 10, and his father at 15. He considered being a priest, but then studied law. As a young man he won several poetry contests, which turned him to writing. He wrote over 70 plays throughout his life, most of them for the popular theater. He became a knight and a soldier, then — in 1651 — a priest. After that, many of his plays were of a more religious nature.

    Though he remained a popular playwright, and became honorary chaplain to King Philip IV of Spain (and later his successor Charles II), Calderon was relatively poor in the years before he died.

    Vocabulary

    Which word above means:

    1. dramatist, person who writes for the stage

    2. periods of one thousand years

    3. foretelling of the future

    4. king’s son

    5. duty, something one must do

    6. puzzle, question with a difficult answer

    7. one who comes after another

    8. describes a position given out of respect, but the person who holds that position doesn’t really have to do the work

    9. personal priest or minister

    10. compared to others