2 h 2 minAudiobook5 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
If your father chains you to prevent a prophecy, what happens when he finally gives you power?
In a remote tower in Poland, Prince Segismundo lives in chains without knowing why. His father, King Basilio, fears a prophecy that his son will become a tyrant. When the king decides to test him, Segismundo receives power without preparation—and his anger erupts into violence.
Meanwhile, Rosaura arrives from Muscovy dressed as a man, seeking redress for injured honor. Her search draws her into royal marriage plans and competing loyalties. In Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s play, Life Is a Dream, family conflict becomes a struggle over fate, freedom, and whether uncertain people can still choose to act justly.
What you’ll discover
- A prisoner given power Follow Segismundo from confinement into a test that exposes the force of his resentment.
- A father fearing fate Watch Basilio try to protect his kingdom by controlling the future he fears.
- Honor amid royal intrigue Enter Rosaura’s search for redress, where personal injury meets marriage plans and political advantage.
- Loyalties pulled apart Meet Clotaldo, whose duties to his king, his prisoner, and Rosaura press against one another.
- Reality under question Explore the doubt surrounding palace and prison, and the challenge of choosing justice without certainty.
Who will love it
For readers who love stories of secret princes and disguises, and for anyone who has wondered whether life is real. It suits lovers of theatre, Spanish literature, and plays that mix adventure, comedy and big ideas.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A storm brings strangers to a prison
- A king confesses his terrible secret
- A prisoner wakes in a palace
- Anger fills the court, then the tower returns
- Dream, fate and the weight of choice
- Stars, chains and masks on the stage
Who’s who
- SegismundThe prince shut in a mountain tower since birth, wild and bitter, who longs to know why he was made to suffer.
- BasilioThe aged King of Poland, a student of the stars, who locked his son away and now tries to test the prophecy.
- RosauraA lady of Muscovy dressed as a man, who comes to Poland to win back her honor from the man who left her.
- ClotaldoA general and the prince's guard, who keeps loyal to his king and weighs it against an old debt to Rosaura's family.
- AstolfoDuke of Muscovy and the king's nephew, who wants the Polish crown and the hand of his cousin Estrella.
- EstrellaThe king's niece, a princess with her own claim to the throne, who is promised to Astolfo.
- FifeRosaura's witty servant, who talks in rhyme, fears for his skin, and wants only to go home to Muscovy.
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- Paperback
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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La vie est un songe
by Pedro Calderón de la Barca · 1636
A prince raised in chains wakes in a palace, and cannot tell whether it is real.
Medium level2–5 hours to read25 languages
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In short
What if you woke in a palace after a lifetime in chains, and no one could prove it was real? Life Is a Dream, a verse play by Pedro Calderón de la Barca from Spain's Golden Age, is set in Poland.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A storm brings strangers to a prison
A storm moves away from a rocky pass on the Polish frontier. Rosaura, a lady from Muscovy dressed as a man, has been thrown from her horse. Her attendant Fife has been thrown by his mule. She has come to Poland to set right a wrong, and she would rather die than live unavenged.
Among the rocks they find a dark opening and a huge man in animal skins, dragging a chain. This is Segismund. Alone, he asks the sky what crime he committed in his infancy to deserve a life shut away. Birds and beasts roam free, yet he does not.
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What is Life Is a Dream about?
It follows Segismund, a prince locked in a tower since birth because the stars foretold he would be a tyrant. His father, King Basilio, tests him by placing him in a palace, and he must learn what is real.
What does Life Is a Dream mean?
The title says that waking life may be as unreal as a dream. The play asks how we can know what is real and suggests we should act well and keep control of ourselves either way.
Who is Rosaura in Life Is a Dream?
Rosaura is a lady from Muscovy who dresses as a man and travels to Poland, with her servant Fife. She seeks justice from Duke Astolfo, who made vows to her and then left her.
The author
Pedro Calderón de la Barca
1600–1681 · Spanish Golden Age playwright
Pedro Calderón de la Barca was a Spanish dramatist born in Madrid in 1600. He wrote plays during the seventeenth century, including Life Is a Dream, and religious dramas for performance at Corpus Christi celebrations. He became a Catholic priest in 1651. He died in Madrid in 1681.
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