Pedro Calderón de la Barca, (1600-81) Playwright of Spain's Golden Age

With Lope De Vega, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, known simply asCalderón, would dominate Spain's Golden Age of theatre. Born in Madrid, Spain, on January 17, 1600, Calderón was educated as a Jesuit at Madrid's Colegio Imperial, and later studied law at the University of Alcalá (1614-15) and at Spain's oldest academy, the University of Salamanca (1615-21). For reasons that are still a mystery, Calderón never earned a degree. Instead, in 1621, he entered the household of the Constable of Castille, Don Bernardino Fernández de Velasco and within two years, he was writing plays for the court. Calderón became a priest in 1651, but continued to write plays as the court dramatist for Philip IV. He also wrote two autos sacramentales each year for the city of Madrid. (Autos sacramentales are morality plays celebrating the mystery of the eucharist on Corpus Christi day) In his later years, he developed a series of elaborate mythological themes that reflected the tastes and interests of the Spanish Court during the waning years of the Golden Age. He died in Madrid on May 25, 1681.He wrote over 120 plays, of which approximately 80 are autos sacramentales.

Calderón's most famous play, Life Is a Dream, explores the conflict between free will and predestination.

Aside from Life is a Dream, Calderón is perhaps best known for his plays of honor and revenge, some of which might puzzle our modern sensibilities. For example, Calderón wrote three plays in which a wife is murdered by her husband who suspects her of infidelity and wishes to restore his lost honor. We cannot tell whether Calderón approved of such measures (which still persist in some Moslem cultures today) or whether he simply used this common social code to create dramatic conflict. One of his revenge plays might suit Hollywood today: in The Mayor of Zalamea, the captain of a visiting troop of soldiers abducts the daughter of a wealthy farmer, rapes her, and ties her father to a tree. Bring back Charles Bronson to do the father and start selling tickets. Though these revenge plays comprise a very small portion of Calderón's canon, their marketability has made them particularly visible in our own day. These plays include The Physician of his Honour, Keep Your Own Secret, Three Judgements at a Blow, Secret Insult, Secret Vengeance, Beware of Smooth Water and The Painter of his Own Dishonour.