Pedro Calderon de la Barca: Life and Works
Pedro Calderon de la Barca (1600-1681)
Early Life and Career
Pedro Calderon de la Barca, born in Madrid in 1600, was a renowned Spanish poet and playwright. Initially destined for the priesthood by his father, Calderon began his studies at the Imperial College of the Jesuits in Madrid. He continued his education at the universities of Alcala and Salamanca but abandoned religious studies in 1620 to pursue a military career, much to his father’s disapproval. This conflict would later influence his theatrical works, where Oedipal themes are often explored.
Calderon’s playwriting career began in 1623 with his first comedy, Love, Honor and Power. A well-educated young man of his time, he traveled through Italy and Flanders. From 1625, he provided the Court with an extensive dramatic repertoire, earning the esteem of King Philip IV. In 1635, he wrote The Greatest Charm, Love for the inauguration of the Buen Retiro Palace theater and was subsequently knighted by the King. Calderon also distinguished himself as a soldier, serving under the Duke of Infantado at the siege of Hondarribia (1638) and in the Catalan Revolt (1640). In 1651, he was ordained as a priest and shortly after became chaplain of the New Kings in Toledo. By 1663, he was the most celebrated dramatist of the court and was appointed chaplain of honor by the King, a position that required him to relocate to Madrid.
Dramatic Works
Calderon de la Barca’s plays represent the culmination of the Spanish Baroque theater model established by Lope de Vega in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.
According to his own account, Calderon wrote 110 comedies and 80 autos sacramentales (religious plays), as well as other minor works, including the poem Psallat et sile and occasional pieces. Though less prolific than Lope de Vega, Calderon is considered a more technically skilled playwright. He perfected the Lopean formula by reducing the number of scenes, refining lyrical elements, and creating a complete Baroque spectacle with a heightened emphasis on art and music.
Calderon’s earlier works often streamlined Lope’s style, eliminating unnecessary scenes, reducing the number of characters, and simplifying the complex metrical structure. He systematized Lope’s creative exuberance and focused his plays around a central character, creating a more theatrical experience.
First Register
In his early works, Calderon restructures, condenses, and refines Lope’s diffuse and chaotic style, adding a courtly polish to the realism. These plays feature a diverse cast of characters representing various social classes of the time. They explore the three central themes of Spanish Baroque theater: love, religion, and honor.
Calderon’s exploration of honor is particularly evident in plays like The Mayor of Zalamea. This play contrasts the individual honor (human dignity) of a wealthy farmer, Pedro Crespo, with the corporate honor of the military. Crespo’s daughter is raped by an aristocratic captain serving under the renowned General Don Lope de Figueroa. The play explores the conflict between personal honor and the social codes of the military.
Second Register
In his later works, Calderon moves beyond the chivalric code and develops a poetic-symbolic form that creates a lyrical drama with symbolic and spiritual characters. These plays primarily focus on philosophical or theological themes, including comedies, autos sacramentales, and mythological dramas.
Calderon excels in creating Baroque characters consumed by tragic passions, as seen in The Constant Prince, The Wonder-Working Magician, and The Devotion of the Cross. His most universally recognized character is Segismundo, the Prince of Poland, from Life is a Dream, considered the pinnacle of Calderon’s dramatic achievements. This philosophical comedy explores fundamental questions of the era: free will versus destiny, the illusion of appearances, the fragility of existence (life as a dream), and the importance of doing good even in dreams. Calderon created several versions of this play, which also touches upon the theme of education, a concept that would be further developed in the eighteenth century.
In this later period, Calderon also perfected the auto sacramental, a one-act allegorical play with a Eucharistic theme, typically performed on Corpus Christi. Notable examples include The Great Theater of the World and Belshazzar’s Feast.