This volume is a sequel to Four Comedies of Calderón (1980), which was hailed by reviewers as superb, faithful, and actable. The three comedies in the present volume are generally counted among Calderón's masterpieces: Casa con dos puertas mala es de guardar (A House with Two Doors Is Difficult to Guard); No hay burlas con el amor (No Trifling with Love); Mañanas de abril y mayo (Mornings of April and May). For the first time theaters will have the opportunity of staging these three masterpieces of the Golden Age drama of Spain in accurate and charming English versions. The verse used is flexible and musical, preserving the atmosphere and much of the poetic quality of the originals. An introduction deals with the characteristics of the plays and with the problems they pose for the translator. Concise explanatory notes clarify Golden Age dramatic practices.

Calderón, the great dramatist of Spain's Golden Age, was a skilled writer of comedy. His serious dramas have long been highly regarded in the English-speaking world, but his many sparkling comedies are an untapped reservoir for the contemporary theater. The four plays in this volume, three of which appear in English for the first time, have been translated by Kenneth Muir, the noted British scholar and director. These are comedies of intrigue. They turn on mysterious, quarrels, and jealousies, and they abound in complication and misunderstandings, yet in the end all is explained, to the delight of the audience. Muir's long experience with acting and directing and his keen ear for the nuances of the English language, together with his perceptive critical scholarship, have enabled him to produce a text that actors can speak naturally, and that modern audiences can enjoy as did the audiences of seventeenth-century Spain. The graceful, poetical dialogue and the masterly stagecraft of Calderón are undiminished in these deft translations. The plays featured are From Bad to Worse, The Secret Spoken Aloud, The Worst is Not Always Certain, and The Advantages and Disadvantages of a Name. Ann L. Mackenzie has provided an introduction to each play and notes on the text that will be useful to the actors and directors who seek to present these comedies as they were intended—on the stage.

"This collection of essays invites the contemporary reader to consider the works of Pedro Calderon de la Barca (1600-81), who became the most important and influential dramatist of the second period of the Spanish Golden Age, just as Lope de Vega (1562-1635) was for the preceding generation. A follower of Lope in his youth, Calderon, as a mature playwright, developed a drama all of his own, a drama that was highly conceptual, tightly knit, symbolic, and, in many cases, spectacular. Calderon's artistry in verbal and visual symbolism made the performance of his works a feast for both the senses and the intellect." "Until now, many of Calderon's critics have focused their attention on how the poetic devices, particularly metaphors and symbols, appearing in his plays represent his philosophy or his ideas. But as some scholars of Spanish Golden Age drama have argued, the study of Calderon's theater must take into account not only the literary text, but also the physical conditions of the stage, the elements used in the representation - decor, costumes, lighting, music - and the house dynamics at each performance. In other words, each play must be considered as a composition of the soul and body, of poetry and spectacle, in which both elements support, complement, and explain one another in performance." "This is the task that has been undertaken by the contributors to this volume. By focusing on the relationship between text and performance, they have highlighted several areas that are often overlooked in traditional text-based approaches. From different perspectives, they show how Calderon gives concrete shape to the concepts and tales from the Bible, theology, mythology, the Corpus Hermeticum, emblematic literature, philosophy, and realities of civic and domestic origin."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

"Life is a Dream," a work by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, is centered on issues of freedom and predestination. The play unfolds around Segismundo, Prince of Poland, imprisoned since birth by his father, King Basilio, due to a prophecy predicting the ruin of the kingdom under his rule. When Basilio decides to test fate by releasing Segismundo, the plot explores the consequences of this decision. The narrative addresses Segismundo's internal struggle with his destiny and the nature of reality, questioning whether life is a dream from which one can awaken. Other characters, such as Rosaura and Astolfo, weave subplots that interconnect personal desires and social duties, reflecting on justice, honor, and love. Set in a context that blends elements of drama, philosophy, and politics, the play investigates the complexity of the human condition, the ethics of leadership, and the power of repentance and personal transformation. With a structure that includes intrigue, plot twists, and reflections on being and seeming, "Life is a Dream" invites the audience to ponder freedom and determinism.