Calderón de la Barca & Lope de Vega: Spanish Golden Age Drama

Life is a Dream

This is one of the fundamental works of Calderón de la Barca. It raises the conflict between free will and predestination of human beings.

Basilio, King of Poland, locks his son Sigismund in a tower to prevent an omen: Sigismund's rebellion against his father. But, troubled by this situation, he decides to test his son. He brings him to the palace and makes him believe, upon waking, that he is a king. Sigismund, who has not received the education befitting his status as prince and has never been free, behaves cruelly. This attitude confirms the King's predictions about his child, and therefore, he decides to lock him back in the tower. On waking, Sigismund cannot distinguish whether what he has experienced was a dream or reality. When the town learns of the existence of the prince, they rebel and free him. Sigismund defeats his father, but is cautious and forgives him.

Basilio, seeing the noble gesture of his son, names him crown prince: the triumph of the freedom of man versus predestination.

The Mayor of Zalamea

This play raises the issue of justice, which must be equal for all without distinction of social classes, and the issue of honor.

The troops of General Don Lope de Figueroa stay in Zalamea. A captain stays at the house of Pedro Crespo, a wealthy farmer, and tries to seduce his daughter Elizabeth, whom he kidnaps and leaves in a forest. Pedro Crespo, the newly appointed mayor, begs him to marry her to repair the dishonor, but faced with the captain's contempt and refusal, he has him hanged. The king comes to town and approves the actions of the mayor.

The National Comedy

The term 'comedy' is applied during the 17th century, in a generic way, to the entire dramatic production but lacks a comic character itself. In this period, a true renewal will occur thanks to the ideas of Lope de Vega.

Lope seeks favor with the public, moving away from the rigid rules that had dominated the previous stage and turning art into a spectacle for the people. His ideas about the new theater are reflected in his Art of Making Comedies at this Time.

Key Features of the New Theater:

Topics:

The comedy presents thematic diversity. It picks topics from contemporary literature, medieval or ancient history, or historical circumstances of his time. The sources are literary, everyday life, theology, history, folklore, etc.

A particularly important issue is that of honor. Honor can be lost by one's own actions or those of others, but in any case, its recovery requires bloodshed. When an unmarried woman has been wronged, the parent or sibling seeks revenge; if a married woman, it is the husband who must regain family honor.

In some works (as in Fuenteovejuna, by Lope de Vega) two conceptions of honor are shown:

• The aristocratic honor, which is considered an innate quality that is transmitted by inheritance.
• The honor of the commoners, which is acquired through the exercise of virtue.