Pedro Calderón de la Barca (Spanish: Pedro Calderón de la Barca) was born on January 17, 1600 in Madrid, Spain. His father, Don Diego Calderon, held a major government position: he worked as secretary of the treasury. His mother Anna Maria de Henao came from Flanders, was the daughter of a simple gunsmith. Calderon, striving to build a spiritual career under the guidance of his father, graduated from the Madrid Jesuit college, and also studied at the universities of Alcala de Henares and Salamanca. However, in 1620 the future playwright left the university and entered the military service. There is evidence that Pedro Calderon served in the Spanish troops in Flanders and Italy from 1625 to 1635. According to other information, during these years he was in Madrid.
The famous Spanish playwright, poet and prose writer Lope de Vega was considered Calderon's mentor and predecessor. By the time of his teacher's death, Calderón becomes a well-known playwright in Spain, who received recognition at the royal court. The poet makes his debut in drama with his play Love, Honor and Power in 1623. Soon, King Philip IV expresses his recognition to the playwright and orders plays from him for productions in the court theater. The king fell in love with the work of Calderon so much that he even awarded him the Order of St. James.
In the period from 1640-1642. the playwright continues his military service, suppresses the Rebellion of the Reapers in Catalonia. After the famous poet leaves military service for health reasons, tragic events take place in his life: he becomes the father of an illegitimate son, and the playwright's brother dies. In this regard, in 1651, Calderon takes the priesthood. In 1663, Calderon became the personal spiritual mentor of Philip IV, and then his successor, Charles II. Nevertheless, the great Spanish playwright lived last years in poverty. He died on May 25, 1681.
Plays by Pedro Calderon
Among the works of Calderon are plays of various genre themes. These are the earlier religious dramas Adoration of the Cross (1625), The Steadfast Prince (1629), The Magician (1637); and comedies of intrigue "Astrologer-pretender" (1632), "Ribbon and flower" (1632), "Sam in his custody" (1637); and dramas of honor "Doctor of his honor" (1635), "Painter of his dishonor" (1650). In addition, mythological, folk-heroic dramas "Statue of Prometheus" (1668), "Alcalde of Salamey" (1644-1649) and a play with a historical plot "Daughter of the Air" (1650) are presented in his work.
In 1629, Calderon wrote two of the most famous comedies of intrigue, The Invisible Lady and A House with Two Exits Difficult to Guard. Both plays are characterized by the use of a similar stage technique: a lady enters the room through a secret passage in order to win the love of the man she likes. The main idea of both comedies of intrigue is that the human will cannot be locked up. Calderon also develops in them the idea that only a person himself can become a defender of his honor.
One of the playwright's most famous plays is Life is a Dream, written around 1635. Various genres are intertwined here: the play contains elements of an honor drama, a religious drama, and even a comedy of intrigue. In the play, the playwright considers the destiny of a person and how ready he is to control his fate, as well as the question of what should be the ideal ruler who is able to maintain order and harmony in the world.
(Calderón de la Barca, Pedro)
(1600-1681) - Spanish playwright, author of over 200 works, of which the most famous are: "Steady Prince""Adoration of the Cross" ("La devotion de la cruz", 1630-1632), "Magician", "Alcalde of Salamey", "Life is a dream","Doctor of his honor" ("E1 medico de su horna", 1640-1645). In terms of genre, his heritage consists of auto (there are about 80 of them) and the so-called comedies - a term that meant any three-act drama in the 17th century, regardless of the seriousness or comicality of its content. In modern Spanish literary criticism, one of the most generally accepted is a very conditional classification based on the thematic principle. Based on it, with one or another option, they distinguish religious, philosophical, historical dramas, as well as dramas of honor and comedies of a cloak and a sword.
* Life is a dream * (“La vida es su-
(philosophical drama, 1632-1635?
Per. K. Balmont)
The plot of the play goes back to the legend of Barlaam and Jehoshaphat. There are other sources, among which are the events of Russian history at the beginning of the 17th century. The action takes place in Polonia (Poland), which in the Spanish theater of the 17th century. acts as a purely conditional, exotic geographical space.
Segismundo is a character in the play Life is a Dream. The events of the play are subject to the metaphor contained in its title and affirming the fragility and illusory nature of life, the absence of clear boundaries between sleep and reality, life and death. The Polish Prince S. was predicted at birth that he would overthrow his father from the throne and destroy the whole country with his rule. C's father, King Basilio, trying to avoid the prophecy, imprisoned his son in a tower in infancy, which he ordered to be built among the gloomy rocks. When S. reaches adulthood, Basilio decides to check the correctness of the prediction and, having previously put him to sleep, transfers the prince to the Palace in order to hand over the reins of government to him for a while. C's behavior in the palace is cruel and destructive, which in Basilio's eyes fully justifies the prediction, and the raging heir to the throne is returned to the tower, where he is told that everything that happened was just a dream. Believing this, C, through painful reflection, comes to the conclusion that if reality is so terrible and hopeless, and the dream was so beautiful (in the palace he met Rosaura, a woman who struck him with her beauty and whom he fell in love with at first sight), then it is better to sleep and never wake up. S. regards awakening as a punishment for his unreasonable behavior in a dream, therefore, being free for the second time, he pacifies his instincts and acts as a wise ruler and prudent politician (for the sake of public benefit, he refuses Rosaura and marries Infanta Estrella). The image of S. embodies the concept of the union of two principles in a person, human and bestial, characteristic of baroque culture as a whole. It is no coincidence that at the beginning of the play the hero appears before us in the form of a “man-beast” (“I am a man and a half-beast” - I, 2): he is chained and dressed in animal skins, his consciousness is vague, he is overcome by elemental, animal instincts. The bestial nature breaks out even when S. first enters the palace (he is ferocious, cruel, unable to control his actions and, in a fit of rage, cracks down on one of the servants). You can defeat the beast in yourself only by the effort of the mind, consciously joining civilization (accordingly, the hero is forced to choose between love-passion and legal marriage). The abrupt transition of C from unreasonableness to prudence and the rejection of a beloved woman in favor of an expedient marriage, which seem inexplicable from the point of view of psychologism, are quite natural in the conditional world of the Calderonian theater, where the actions of the characters are subject to a single theme-idea. A kind of "female" counterpart of S. is Rosaura, with which the second story line. She comes to Poland solely to take revenge on her lover who betrayed her. She is driven by jealousy and a thirst for revenge, that is, blind, animal passions (it is no coincidence that from the first monologue of Rosaura we learn that she cannot cope with a horse - Calderon's stable image of a man who has no power over himself, captured by the elements of passion). Rosaura follows the same path as C - from rage and recklessness to generosity and prudence. She forgives her unfaithful lover and enters into marriage with him, which, as in the case of S, embodies the triumph of moral law and social order. favor of free will. Man is born into the world imprisoned in his mortal body. S. is doubly a prisoner, he has been locked up since childhood in tower, which every now and then compares with a coffin (in the monologues of S. there are traditional baroque motifs of life - death, cradles - graves). The opposition freedom - lack of freedom correlates with the binomial dream - reality through the spatial and temporal oppositions palace - tower (where S. alternately appears) and day - night. dream, day, castle correlate with the idea of relative freedom, and reality, the tower and the night - unfreedom. As a result, C, a prisoner of life and death, of life, which is the path to death, reaches the maximum degree of freedom allowed to a person in general: he is free to captivate his own animal instincts. The theme of fate is related to the problem of free will. Calderon opposes Christian fate, providence (destino), as the will of the Most High, fundamentally unknown to us, to pagan fate (hado, derived from the Latin fatum), which manifests itself through signs, predictions, divination, etc. The first is not to deceive or outwit. (The doom of any attempts to deceive fate is shown by the example of Klarin, who sometimes acts as a laughable double of S. During the battle, trying to avoid death, he hides in the bushes, where he is killed by a stray bullet.) A person must boldly go towards fate, the only thing his salvation is a worthy way of life. On the contrary, fate can and should be resisted by knowing oneself and objective moral laws. (Basilio blindly follows the predictions, thereby making a mistake, for which he pays cruelly.) S, having passed the test of sleep and reality, understands that prudence, virtue and law help a person accept the inevitability of fate and resist the onslaught of fate. Subsequent literary versions of this plot (for example, F. Grillparzer's play "Dream-Life" and "The Tower" by G. von Hoffmannsthal) develop mainly the central metaphor of Calderon's play, embodying the idea of the illusiveness and illusiveness of being.
"Salameisky mayor"("El alcalde de Zalamea") (Drama, ca. 1645. Per. K. Balmont)
First published in collection "The best collection of new comedies ever published", Alcala, 1651, under the title "Never before has garrote found a better use" ("El garrote m as bien dado"). A similar su-equet was used by Masuccio in the 7th novel and Cope de Bega in the drama of the same name. It goes back to the actual event described by Antonio de Herrera in The History of Portugal and the Conquest of the Azores (1591), on the basis of which it is often classified as a historical drama.
Pedro Crespo is the central character of the drama. Despite the existence of a real prototype, Calderon is not at all interested in either historical truth (which is confirmed by a number of anachronisms) or lifelikeness. The events of the drama, which unfold in Salamey, a small Extremadura village where a detachment of the Spanish army stops, are organized in a strict three-part structure. Events develop three times according to the same scheme (original harmony, violation of order, restoration of order), each time taking on an increasingly large-scale character and turning into more and more serious consequences. And from time to time the role and activity of P. K. increases. In the first case, the situation is determined more by the plans than by the actions of the characters. For the captain of the detachment, Don Alvaro de Ataide, the house of the most prosperous peasant - 1-K. was chosen to stay. The latter has a beautiful daughter, Isabel, who can be good entertainment during a fat rest on the march. An initially harmonious picture is outlined. P.K. has everything: prosperity, his own happiness, the respect of his fellow villagers. Anticipating the interest in the daughter of the 00th side of soldiers and officers, P.K. orders her to lock herself in her room and not show herself to anyone. However, wanting to avoid misfortune, P. K. only excites the captain, who at first did not even think of dropping himself with a connection with a simple peasant woman, interest in Isabel. Hidalgo by cunning penetrates to the recluse in order to see her. The first clash between P. K and the captain takes place, a shadow is thrown on the honor of Isabel, the order is violated. Order is restored by Don Lope de Figueroa, who arrived in the village, practically without the participation of P.K. Then the scheme is repeated, but on a new round. A peaceful conversation and a meal in the garden are interrupted by screams and songs (addressed to Isabel) - this is the captain and his assistants who decided to attract the attention of the girl. This time, P.K. takes up arms and, together with Don Lope, drives away the offenders. The actions of the captain are now more offensive, for to appear publicly under the girl's window meant to discredit her honor. The third time events reach their highest intensity. Actions prevail over intentions, and the figure of P.K. becomes the key. The detachment, it would seem, left Salameya. Peace and harmony have been restored (scenes of paternal instructions given by P. K. to his son, who is leaving with the detachment, and the evening rest of father and daughter). However, the captain secretly returns to the village and this time inflicts the most terrible insult on P.K.: having kidnapped Isabel and abused her, he commits a crime that he can atone for only at the cost of death. This time, P.K. is portrayed as an active hero. Almost simultaneously with the news of the shame of his daughter, P.K. learns that he has been elected alcalde of Salamei. Using his power, he sentences the captain to death. At the same time, he breaks the law, since the fate of the captain should be decided by the military council, and execution by strangulation with a garrote is not befitting a hidalgo. The contradiction that has arisen is resolved by the king appearing in the finale of the drama, like deus ex machina, who declares both the decision itself and its execution to be fair and appoints P. K. the permanent alcalde of Salamei. Thus, the final restoration of order occurs with the intervention of the supreme power, which should guarantee its strength and inviolability.
Connected with the image of P.K. the main problem drama is a problem of honor, which is complicated by the possibility of its dual interpretation. Honor, on the one hand, is a purely external, estate concept, that is, it correlates directly with the place in the social hierarchy, and on the other hand, with the internal property of a person (“property of the soul”) P.K. initially proclaims the primacy of internal honor, the one that does not subordinated to the social vertical. So, despite his income, he refuses to buy a title of nobility, arguing that money cannot buy noble blood, but the honor given by God is always with him. The honor of P. K. is based on the purity of blood (that is, although he is a peasant, he is an “old Christian”, there were no newly converted Jews or Moors in his family), on the righteous work of a tiller and observance of eternal moral commandments. From this point of view, P. 1C, in fact, proclaims the equality of estates, stating that he would kill "even a general" if he encroached on his honor. However, having received the mayor's baton, he is forced to become a guarantor not only of justice, but also of social order based on the inviolability of social subordination. P. K. can resolve the contradiction only by making a choice in favor of one of the possible interpretations of honor or by reconciling them. That is why at first he tries to negotiate with the captain as a private person and, putting aside the al-cald's rod, asks him to marry his daughter in order to hide the shame. When the officer rejects the proposal, P.K. acts as a representative of the authorities. To do this, he needs to make the shame of his daughter, and therefore his own dishonor, public. The abuse of power, which P.K. decides to try to defend justice and the inviolability of personal honor, is an attack on social foundations, based on a solid foundation of class honor. The denouement is purely external, artificial in nature (violation of social rules is eliminated from above - through a royal verdict that reconciles all contradictions). PK's idea of honor triumphs with outside support.
In the system of characters, P.K. occupies a central place. All other heroes are connected with him (as well as among themselves) by relations of opposition and parallelism. In this way, Calderon manages to express several points of view on the problem of honor. The opposition and comparison of characters takes place in two dimensions: by social status and by moral position. As a representative of the lower class, P.K. is opposed to Captain Alvaro, Don Mendo (a kind of parodic double of the captain), Don Lope. However, if he is also opposed to the first two by the understanding of honor (which they, in fact, identify with the title of nobility, and their moral failure is revealed through their attitude towards women and the lower class), then he is also connected with the last character by relations of parallelism (which is emphasized through the symmetry of their remarks and actions, the role of the "second father", mentor and patron, which Don Lope plays in relation to P.K.'s son, Juan). Being a representative of the upper class and not neglecting noble honor, Don Lope also fills the concept of honor with moral content. On the other hand, according to his social position, P.K. is compared with Rebolledo, a rogue and a rogue, who nevertheless calls himself a “man of honor” (unscrupulousness and immorality bring him closer to the captain, it is no coincidence that from the very beginning Rebolledo becomes his assistant in all dirty deeds ). However, their moral opposition is obvious: it primarily affects the attitude to the purchase of fame and a good name.
Thus, the point of view of P. K turns out to be central and endowed with the highest value, which at the event level is expressed in his justification and appointment as a permanent judge, defender of justice and guarantor of the class contract. P. K is the only character in the drama written out more or less voluminously. Sphere expansion internal conflict and the softening of ideological schematism make it possible to speak of some semblance of character - an almost exceptional case in Calderon's dramatic heritage. "The Steadfast Prince" ("El principeconstante") (Philosophical drama, 1629)
The drama is based on real historical events, deployed during the African campaign of the Portuguese troops under the command of Infantes Fernando and En Rique. After futile attempts to capture Tangier and the defeat of the Portuguese army, Don Fernando remained as a hostage of the king of Fez and was supposed to receive freedom in exchange for the surrender of Ceuta, an important strategic point of the Portuguese. However, such an exchange was not ratified in Portugal, and the prince died in captivity in 1443. His remains were brought home only thirty years later in exchange for a noble Moorish captive. Caldera could get acquainted with this story from the chronicle compiled by the secretary of don Fernando Jo-an F. Alvares, the drama served as a direct source Lope de Vega"Hostile Fortune" ("La Fortuna adversa"). The feat of Infante Fernando is also sung in the epic poem "Lusiads" Portuguese poet Luis de Ca-moens(1524?-1580?). Aram's The Steadfast Prince is one of Calderon's most translated plays. Among her translators are A. V. Shlegel, K. Balmont, B. Pasternak.
Fernando(Fernado)- main character drama, the events of which, although based on true facts, largely deviate from the letter of history. In an effort to create the image of a Christian martyr, Calderon depicts the fate of the captive Portuguese prince as the result of a conscious refusal to save his life by handing over the Christian city of Ceuta to the hands of the Muslims. As a result, the spirit of the deceased prince, whose figure grows to the scale of a saint, leads the Portuguese troops to victory, and his corpse is exchanged for the daughter of the king of Fes. Initially, Don F. appears as an exemplary Christian knight, whose behavior is determined by two qualities - nobility and constancy in faith. However, gradually the first quality loses its significance. If in the first scenes the noble origin of the hero, his belonging to the royal family, is emphasized, then already at a meeting with Muley, the leader of the Moors, f. says about himself: "No more than a noble", as if equating himself with every nameless knight. Next, F. is captured, which socially means another step down, but the enemies still treat him like a noble prisoner, and only when he rejects the opportunity to surrender Ceuta to the Moors, he sinks to the position of a slave, that is, like a knight dies. At the same time, his physical degradation is being forced: he loses his beauty, the ability to move, and soon turns into a half-decomposed living corpse, in which it is difficult to recognize a person. The civil death of the hero is followed by physical death. However, as the social status decreases and the physical existence of F. fades away, his moral strength grows, his faith and spirit grow stronger. Constancy becomes the only quality of this character, which practically likens him to the allegorical figures of auto. At the end of the drama, the spirit of F., having triumphed over the body, acquires an independent existence (it is characteristic that, already as a ghost, Don F. again appears in the knightly clothes of his order). Thus, the mortal and spiritual principles are opposed to each other and are in a relationship of inverse dependence. As a character, Don F. certainly determines the ideology of the drama, but it is important to note the presence of a second organizing pole, with which the image of the protagonist is correlated from the beginning to the end of the action. This is the daughter of the Fessian king Phoenix. The connection between these two characters is a complex system of correlations and oppositions. They are a kind of mirror image of each other, that is, their similarity turns into an opposite, attraction turns into repulsion, which at the plot level is confirmed by the very pattern of Phoenix's relationship to F. : sympathy and sympathy are replaced first by anxiety and fear, and then by disgust for the dying. Also, as events unfold, the difference in their life principles and properties is more and more explicated. Stands out right from the start main characteristic Phoenix is her beauty (by the way, this is her only constant quality, which is specifically stipulated even at the end of the drama). The physical fading of F., his bodily degradation are clearly opposed to the freshness of the unfading Phoenix Fortitude and the prince’s immutability, the variability of the infanta is opposed (the change of her feelings towards F is characteristic, her transformation from a submissive daughter into an angry accuser of her father, etc.), his selfless love to God - her indifference and inability to love (she calmly accepts the love of Muley, dutifully agrees to marry Taroudante, quickly changes her attitude towards F.). F. and Phoenix also distinguishes their assessment of the relationship between fate and human will. For F. fate - a divine providence, which does not exclude free will, the right to choose, the need to resist the vicissitudes of life. Phoenix is the embodiment of Muslim fatalism, obedience to fate, interpreted as inevitable fate. She, in contrast to F., is completely devoid of the ability to make decisions (it is symbolic that in the end her marriage to Muley suits the dead F.: this is one of the conditions for her exchange for his body). Thus, in the person of F. and Phoenix, spiritual and physical beauty, will and humility, steadfastness and variability, that is, the human spirit and beautiful eternal, but indifferent nature, are opposed to each other (as evidenced by the very name of the heroine, denoting a dying, but always reborn bird). These characters do not fit into the traditional pattern of relationships between a man and a woman (expected love line absent), their other function comes to the fore - the personification of two principles: spiritual and natural. The priority value of the first beginning is affirmed through one of the central metaphors of the drama - the metaphor of price, redemption. Both characters are forced to act as a kind of exchange equivalent: F.'s freedom and life cost Ceuta, a Phoenix, according to a mysterious prediction, should become * The price of a corpse. Up to the third act, the theme of the price of each of the characters develops separately, and only in the scene last meeting Phoenix and the already dying F., the question is formulated about the ratio of the price of the prince and the infanta: what is worth more - the beauty of the Phoenix or the constancy of F.? A pitiful slave, a weak paraplegic, says to the beautiful infanta: “You are no longer worth me, / And maybe I am worth more.” This assumption is confirmed by the very denouement of the drama, when the meaning of the mysterious prophecy becomes clear: Phoenix, who was captured by the Portuguese, and not just one, but together with other captives, is exchanged for the lifeless body of F., her beauty is worth less than the mortal remains of a Christian martyr . Spirit triumphs over nature.
On January 17, 1600, in the family of Anna Maria de Henao, the daughter of a gunsmith, and Diego Calderon, a minor nobleman, a child was born, named Calderon de la Barca Henao de la Barreda y Riaño, (Calderón de la Barca Henao de la Barreda y Riaço) , or Pedro Calderon de la Barca. The father planned that his son would make a career in the bosom of the church, so Calderon first studied at the Jesuit college, and then studied canon law at the universities of Salamanca and Alcala de Henares. However, Calderon himself decided not to strictly follow his father's plan.
At the age of twenty, Calderón dropped out of school and enlisted in the Spanish army. According to some reports, from 1625 to 1635 Calderon served in Italy and Flanders, although there is evidence that at that time he was in Madrid. In the same period, Calderon made his debut as a playwright: Calderon began to write even before entering the military service, but the first play found an audience only in 1623. It was "Love, honor and power" (Amor, honor y poder), and less than ten years after the debut, Calderon was already considered the first playwright of Spain and, in addition, won the recognition of Philip IV, who made the playwright a knight of the Order of St. James and ordered him plays for the court theater.
The fact that for some time Calderon was a court playwright left a certain imprint on his work. The Royal Theater had incomparably greater opportunities compared to small theaters on city streets: funding allowed the use of complex staging equipment, lighting effects, musical accompaniment and, of course, lush scenery. For example, in the play “The Beast, Lightning and Stone” (La fiera, el rayo y la peidra), instead of a stage, they used an island in the middle of a lake in a palace park, and the audience was located in boats. Perhaps that is why many of Calderon's plays are more like an opera.
In 1642, Calderon left military service, although he had already managed to take part in hostilities, including the suppression of the Catalan "Rebellion of the Reapers". Three years later, Calderon received a pension, and later became a tertiary of the Order of St. Francis. Later, in 1651, Calderon took the priesthood and received the post of court chaplain at the royal court. The reasons for this change are not exactly known, perhaps this is due to the persecution of the theater that began, the death of a brother and the birth of an illegitimate son. In any case, albeit late, Calderon fulfilled his father's desire and made a spiritual career, however, Calderon did not leave dramaturgy at the same time.
Naturally, changes in life could not but affect the work of the playwright. After his ordination to the priesthood, Calderón left composing secular comedies for public performance and switched to autos (autos sacramentales), religious plays, and plays commissioned by the court. The most famous and at the same time the earliest religious drama of Calderon, written even before accepting the dignity, “Adoration of the Cross” (La Devocion de la Cruz) tells about the miraculous salvation of the soul, repentance and magical deliverance from death. Many of Calderón's subsequent plays of this genre include a variety of miracles, symbolic objects, names and locations such as caves, labyrinths and deserts, as well as prophecies and omens.
In total, during his life, Calderon created about two hundred plays, of which most of comedies and dramas, and the smaller auto, in which Calderón demonstrated amazing skill thanks to the abstract themes of his works.
In 1663, Calderon was appointed royal chaplain, confessor of Philip IV, a position he retained under Philip's successor, Charles II. But despite the favor of the court, the popularity of plays and a very honorable position, Calderon spent the last years of his life in poverty. Calderon died on May 25, 1681 in Madrid.
Namely, this is how his full name sounds, an aristocrat by birth, was born in Madrid on January 17, 1600. He received his early education at a Jesuit school. At the age of fifteen he entered the University of Salamanca, where he took a course in civil and canon law. In the first half of his life, Calderon is a man of the sword. He participated in military campaigns in Italy and Flanders, in 1637 he was knighted in the Order of Santiago. In 1640 he took part in the suppression of the rebellion in Catalonia. In his youth, he more than once drew his sword in duels, and even once, having laughed at the pompous eloquence of a preacher, he was sent to prison for insulting the clergy.
The second half of Calderon's life is devoted to the church. In 1651 he received the priesthood. Thirteen years later, he was already an important clergyman, an honorary chaplain to the king, and in 1666 he was rector of the brotherhood of St. Peter.
Calderon died a very old man on May 25, 1681. An unfinished spiritual drama (auto) was left on his desk.
Calderon earned his first poetic laurels in 1622, participating in a poetic competition at the feast of St. Isidore. Lope de Vega noticed him, encouraging the young talent with flattering praise. In 1635, Calderon received the title of court playwright. He wrote plays and musical comedies for the court, for spiritual festivities commissioned by the city authorities of Madrid - one-act spiritual performances (autos sacramentales).
The complete works of the poet, published after his death (1682-1699), included 120 plays, 80 autos sacramentals and 20 interludes.
Creative. Calderon's path can be divided into 4 periods. In the "student" (until about the mid-1620s), under the influence of Lope de Vega, he created "comedies of cloak and sword": "Love, honor and power" (1623), "Imaginary astrologer" (1624), "The game of love and chance” (1625), the national-patriotic drama “The Siege of Breda” (1625) and others. in one play: "The Steadfast Prince" (1628-1629), "Life is a Dream" (1631-1632), "In My Own Custody" (1636). In the third, “analytical” period (until the end of the 1640s), Calderon gravitated towards the concentrated development of individual themes, revealing one leading feature in the character of the hero: “Doctor of his honor” (1635), “Salamei alcalde” (1640-1645). The last period can be called the period of "melodramatic allegories", when Calderon composed plays for magnificent court festivities with music, singing, ballet numbers.
In parallel with secular plays throughout creative life Calderon also wrote autos, to which he gave a classical form, breathing into these symbolic-religious plays, which affirm a theological thesis, genuine poetry. Among his auto there are philosophical, on mythological plots with their theological interpretation, on the themes old testament, on legendary and historical subjects inspired by parables from the Gospel. Often Calderon's autos represent a detailed theological decoding of the philosophical formulas contained in secular plays. It is in auto that the writer most often acts as an exponent of the Spanish counter-reformation. The secular plays of Calderón, all but interludes, called by the author "comedies", do not lend themselves to strict genre differentiation. Among them, one can single out a large group of works that gravitate towards tragedy and are usually called "dramas". Over 50 such plays can be conditionally divided into historical, philosophical, religious, biblical, mythological and "dramas of honor" dramas. One of the most famous moral and philosophical dramas is “Life is a dream”. The drama Love After Death (1633) is imbued with compassion and lively sympathy for the oppressed. In religious dramas - Adoration of the Cross (1630-1632), Purgatory of St. Patrick (1634), etc. - theological problems are solved. The “dramas of honor” are widely known - “The Doctor of His Honor”, “The Steadfast Prince” and especially “The Alcalde of Salamey”, in which for the first time the sense of honor is taken beyond the limits of exclusively noble virtue, the author’s idea of “legality” is expressed and such a vivid image of the reigning in Spain of lawlessness, which was later perceived as a revolutionary call. Social motives are also strong in other plays, including even some autos, such as The Great Theater of the World (1645).
Comedies in the proper sense of the word can be divided into edifying comedies (for example, “To get rid of love, you must desire it” (1633), short stories and “cloak and sword comedies” that make up the majority, among which domestic and “palace” are distinguished. Most comedies Calderon tends to the so-called "high comedy" and is characterized by the choice of heroes only from the nobility, the strict observance of the heroes of the code of noble honor, the elation and pathos of poetic speech. Calderon's comedies, which are closest to the traditions of Lope de Vega, are distinguished by a more naked moral basis, more edification , sophisticated poetic technique and refined language.
Having inherited the great national traditions of Spanish literature, Calderon at the same time expressed his characteristic disappointment in the humanism of the Renaissance. The crisis of this humanism, the impracticability of the ideals of which was already reflected by M. Cervantes, gives Calderon a basis for a pessimistic reassessment of the very nature of man, supposedly an eternal source of evil and cruelty. The only means of reconciliation with life is the Christian faith with its demand to curb pride. The motives of the Renaissance and Baroque are contradictory combined in the writer's work.
Calderon's work gained wide popularity in Europe from the beginning of the 19th century, when the German romantics created an enthusiastic cult of the writer. Our acquaintance with him dates back to the time of Peter I; romantic fascination with the plays of Calderon was expressed in translations and productions of the 1st half of the 19th century.
Calderon de la Barca Henao de la Barreda y Riaño (Calderon de la Barca Henao de la Barreda y Riaňo) Pedro (17.1.1600, Madrid - 25.5.1681, ibid.), Spanish playwright. He belonged to an old noble family. Studied civil and canon law at the Universities of Alcalá de Henares and Salamanca. The first literary experiments of C. de la B. date back to 1619-23; from 1625 he devoted himself entirely to literature. In 1651 he took the priesthood, was closely associated with the court of Philip IV. AT early period creativity (until about the mid-20s) K. dela B. under the influence of Lope de Vega Carpio wrote “comedies of the cloak and sword”: “Love, honor and power” (1623, ed. 1637), “The game of love and chance "(1625, ed. 1636) and others, the national-patriotic drama "The Siege of Breda" (1625, ed. 1636). The work of C. de la B. until about the mid-30s. characteristic is the desire for broad generalizations, the formulation of philosophical and ethical problems, the simultaneous development of several themes in one play: The Steadfast Prince (1628-29, ed. 1636), the moral-philosophical drama Life is a Dream (1631-32, ed. 1636), “Himself in custody” (1636, ed. 1650), etc. In “dramas of honor” (“Doctor of his honor”, 1635, ed. in-depth analysis, revealing any leading trait in the character of the hero. In the drama The Alcalde of Salamey (1640-45, published in 1651), the sense of honor is taken beyond the limits of exclusively noble virtue, a vivid image of the lawlessness that reigned in Spain is given. Social motives are also characteristic of his other plays. In the last period of creativity, K. de la B. composed plays with music, singing, ballet numbers for court holidays. Wrote religious dramas - "Adoration of the Cross" (1639-32, ed. 1636), "The Purgatory of St. Patrick" (1634, ed. 1636), as well as Auto; philosophical, on mythological subjects with their theological interpretation, on the themes of the Old Testament, on legendary and historical subjects inspired by parables from the Gospel.
Most of the plays by K. de la B. gravitate towards the so-called high comedy; they are characterized by the following features: the choice of heroes only from the nobility, strict observance by the heroes of the code of noble honor, naked moral basis, sophisticated poetic technique and refined language. Having inherited the traditions of Spanish Renaissance literature, C. de la B. at the same time expressed disappointment in the humanism of the Renaissance. K. de la B. sees in the very nature of man the source of evil and cruelty, and the only means of reconciliation with life is the Christian faith with its demand to curb pride. The motives of the Renaissance and Baroque are contradictory combined in the writer's work.
In Russia, acquaintance with the dramaturgy of C. de la B. dates back to the beginning of the 18th century. His plays in Russian stage went from the 2nd half of the 19th century. Of interest were the productions: "Adoration of the Cross" (1910) and "The Steadfast Prince" (1915) Vs. Meyerhold, as well as "Life is a dream" (1914) A. Ya. Tairov. The comedies of K. de la B. are staged by many owls. theaters.
Cit.: Obras completas, v. 1-3, Madrid, 1959; in Russian per. - Works, trans. and intro. Art. K. D. Balmont, v. 1-3, M., 1900-12; Plays, foreword N. B. Tomashevsky,. vol. 1-2, M., 1961.
Lit.: Mehring F., Judge of Zalamea, in his book; Literary and critical works, vol. 1, M. - L., 1934; History of the Western European Theatre, vol. 1, M., 1956; Balashov. N. I., Calderon's Slavic Themes and the Problem of the Renaissance-Baroque in Spanish literature, "Izv. Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Literature and Language Series, 1967, v. 26, c. 3; his own, Religious and philosophical drama of Calderon and the ideological foundations of the Baroque in Spain, in the collection: XVII century in the world literary development, M., 1969; Frutos Cortes E., Calderon and Barcelona, 1949; Shergold N. D., Varey J. E., Los autos sacramentales en Madrid en la época de Calderón, 1637-1681, Estudio y documentos, Madrid, ; Valbuena Briones A. Perspectiva critica de los dramas de Calderon, Madrid, ; Karczewska-Markiewicz Z., Calderón de la Barca, Warsz., 1970. See portrait on page 232.
N. B. Tomashevsky.
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Consolidated encyclopedia of aphorisms
"Calderón de la Barca" in books
Calderon de la Barca
From the book Laws of Success authorCalderon de la Barca Pedro Calderon de la Barca Henao de la Barreda y Rianho (1600–1681) was a Spanish playwright and poet. The greatest victory is the victory over yourself. The best person to keep a secret is the one who does not know it. Never give advice to someone who only asks you
CALDERON DE LA BARCA
From the book The book of the leader in aphorisms author Kondrashov Anatoly PavlovichCALDERON DE LA BARCA Pedro Calderon de la Barca Henao de la Barreda y Rianho (1600–1681) was a Spanish playwright and poet. The greatest victory is the victory over yourself. The best person to keep a secret is the one who does not know it. Never give advice to someone who only asks you for money. Who
HANNIBAL BARK
From the book 100 great heroes author Shishov Alexey VasilievichHANNIBAL BARK (247/246 - 183 BC) Carthaginian commander. Hero of the wars against Ancient Rome. The son of the Carthaginian military and statesman Hamilcar Barca received a well-rounded education for that time. From a young age, Hannibal participated in the military
Hamilcar Barca
From the book Carthage must be destroyed by Miles RichardHamilcar Barca
From the book Hannibal. Military biography greatest enemy Rome author Gabriel Richard A.Hamilcar Barca Hamilcar took a big risk returning from Sicily, as his political opponents tried in every possible way to hold him responsible for the defeat in Sicily. Appian reveals that he was accused of misappropriating money during the war.
Pedro Calderon de la Barca
From the book of 10,000 aphorisms of the great sages author author unknownPedro Calderón de la Barca 1600–1681 One of the greatest playwrights in Spain. The greatest victory is victory over oneself. Or rather, the one who wins without bloodshed wins. There are people who feel such pleasure constantly complaining and whining that in order to
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From the book Encyclopedic Dictionary (K) author Brockhaus F. A.Caballero Calderon Eduarde
TSBCalderon de la Barca Henao de la Barreda y Rianho
From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (KA) of the author TSBCALDERON
From the book Big Dictionary of Quotes and Popular Expressions author Dushenko Konstantin VasilievichCalderon (Calderon de la Barca), Pedro (Calderon de la Barca, Pedro, 1600–1681), Spanish playwright 20 After all, the greatest sin For a person is to be born. “Life is a dream”, drama (1635), d. I, yavl. 2; per. D. K. Petrova? Calderon P. Dramas. - M., 1989, book. 1, p. 534 In Seneca: "Happiness is not given to anyone -
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From the book The Formula for Success. The Leader's Handbook for Reaching the Top author Kondrashov Anatoly PavlovichCALDERON DE LA BARCA Pedro Calderon de la Barca Henao de la Barreda y Rianho (1600–1681) was a Spanish playwright and poet.* * * The greatest victory is victory over oneself. The best person to keep a secret is the one who does not know it. Never give advice to someone who only asks you
Chapter 4. Pedro Calderon and the drama of his time
From the book History foreign literature 17th century author Stupnikov Igor VasilievichChapter 4. Pedro Calderon and the drama of his time Towards the end of the 16th century, the Spanish national drama took shape. In the work of its brilliant founder and the largest representative Lope de Vega clearly revealed both the range of problems developed in the drama and its main
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From the book Eternal Companions author Merezhkovsky Dmitry SergeevichCalderon I On May 25, 1681, on Trinity Day, on the stages of all the main cities of old Spain - Madrid, Toledo, Seville, Grenada, in commemoration of the solemn holiday, as usual, allegorical dramas based on scenes from the Holy Scriptures were given. These mysteries
"Vicente Calderon"
From the book Just wasy and Spartacus author Merkin AndreyVicente Calderon October '72, it's pouring rain at the Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid. Spartak plays against Atlético Madrid for the Cup Winners' Cup. Nikolai Nikolaevich screams heart-rendingly into the microphone - our commentator's booth is flooded with water - as if he himself
