Life is A Dream analysis
Critical Reading Entry 1
Calderon de la Barca lived during a period of Spain where innovations in the fields of art and literature flourished — el Siglo de Oro — ushering in new ideas and thought processes that coincided with much of Western Europe in the 14th-17th centuries. His play Life is a Dream involves many complex themes (some of which were considered revolutionary at the time), but its most prominent one is the play’s function as an allegory to the concept of free will and predestination.
Clarin’s final dialogue after his sudden death from a gunshot wound in Act III reveals his attitude toward free will. He claims it is useless against “the force of destiny” and that one will die “if it’s God’s will that you die” before falling off stage (Barca 82). However, he dies before a critical point in the play; right before Segismundo ultimately fulfills the prophecy of having Basilio’s beard at his feet, and then invalidating it by falling to submission at his feet and showing a willingness to forgive him. The closeness of these events occurring is not merely just coincidence, especially when linked with character analysis. Clarin in the story is typified as the gracioso, or the foolish/clown character, the one that gets into trouble (such as when he fooled the soldiers into thinking he was Segismundo). Segismundo on the other hand is the protagonist, and as an audience we are inclined to sympathize with him through his struggle of ‘waking up’ in the play. It is quite tragic (and ironic) that Clarin dies with such fleeting words right before he can see Segismundo dismiss them. With this into light, it seems that Barca is undermining the concept of predestination by associating it with foolish characters (King Basilio, Clarin) and free will with strong characters that the audience can associate with (Segismundo).
This conclusion makes even more sense in the pretext of when and where Life is a Dream was published. Spain in 1636 was a nation still deeply
Calderon de la Barca lived during a period of Spain where innovations in the fields of art and literature flourished — el Siglo de Oro — ushering in new ideas and thought processes that coincided with much of Western Europe in the 14th-17th centuries. His play Life is a Dream involves many complex themes (some of which were considered revolutionary at the time), but its most prominent one is the play’s function as an allegory to the concept of free will and predestination.
Clarin’s final dialogue after his sudden death from a gunshot wound in Act III reveals his attitude toward free will. He claims it is useless against “the force of destiny” and that one will die “if it’s God’s will that you die” before falling off stage (Barca 82). However, he dies before a critical point in the play; right before Segismundo ultimately fulfills the prophecy of having Basilio’s beard at his feet, and then invalidating it by falling to submission at his feet and showing a willingness to forgive him. The closeness of these events occurring is not merely just coincidence, especially when linked with character analysis. Clarin in the story is typified as the gracioso, or the foolish/clown character, the one that gets into trouble (such as when he fooled the soldiers into thinking he was Segismundo). Segismundo on the other hand is the protagonist, and as an audience we are inclined to sympathize with him through his struggle of ‘waking up’ in the play. It is quite tragic (and ironic) that Clarin dies with such fleeting words right before he can see Segismundo dismiss them. With this into light, it seems that Barca is undermining the concept of predestination by associating it with foolish characters (King Basilio, Clarin) and free will with strong characters that the audience can associate with (Segismundo).
This conclusion makes even more sense in the pretext of when and where Life is a Dream was published. Spain in 1636 was a nation still deeply
Cited: McLaughlin, Ra. "Calivinism vs. Roman Catholicism." Third Millennium Ministries. Third Millennium Ministries, 2011. Web. 07 Sept. 2014.