Harvard Classics Volume 26: Continental Drama

by Pedro Calderón de la Barca

1. Life is a Dream, by Pedro Calderón de la Barca
2. Polyeucte, by Pierre Corneille
3. Phèdre, by Jean Racine
4. Tartuffe, by Molière
5. Minna von Barnhelm, by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
6. William Tell, by Friedrich von Schiller

Genres: Classics

504 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1909

About the author

Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Henao was a dramatist of the Spanish Golden Age.

Calderón initiated what has been called the second cycle of Spanish Golden Age theatre. Whereas his predecessor, Lope de Vega, pioneered the dramatic forms and genres of Spanish Golden Age theatre, Calderón polished and perfected them. Whereas Lope's strength lay in the sponteneity and naturalness of his work, Calderón's strength lay in his capacity for poetic beauty, dramatic structure and philosophical depth. Calderón was a perfectionist who often revisited and reworked his plays, even long after they debuted. This perfectionism was not just limited to his own work: many of his plays rework existing plays or scenes by other dramatists, improving their depth, complexity, and unity. (Many European playwrights of the time, such as Molière, Corneille and Shakespeare, reworked old plays in this way.) Calderón excelled above all others in the genre of the "auto sacramental", in which he showed a seemingly inexhaustible capacity to giving new dramatic forms to a given set of theological constructs. Calderón wrote 120 "comedias", 80 "autos sacramentales" and 20 short comedic works called "entremeses"

Reviews

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first couple of plays were difficult reads, but in retrospect there was some merit. "Life is a dream" had an unusual theme in differentiating reality from dream. "Polyeucts" was much too religious for me, although a tragedy for the believers. "Phaedra" was a reasonable facsimile of Classic Greek drama written two millennia beyond that age. "Tartuffe" introduced modern comedy and hypocrisy. "Minna ..." added sarcasm to the stage. And finally, "William Tell" described the fight of Swiss free men against a tyrant. The drama increased as the years intervened from the 16th to the end of the 18th centuries.

[Ixby Wuff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harvard Classics, Vol. 26 This volume aims to represent, as far as the limits of space allow, the chief dramatists of Spain, France, and Germany. To the plays included here should be added the "Faust" and "Egmont" of Goethe , included in Volume XIX of this series. These eight works, along with the specimens of the Elizabethan drama contained in Volumes XLVI and XLVII ( forthcoming )and Modern English drama given in Volume XVIII , indicate the high-water mark of dramatic production in modern times, and afford a basis for comparison with the masterpieces of the drama of antiquity as represented in Volume VIII "Nine Greek Dramas."
Included in this volume:
Life Is a Dream by Pedro Calderon de la Barca

Polyeucte by Pierre Corneille

Phèdra by Jean Racine

Tartuffe by Moliere

Minna von Barnhelm by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

Wilhelm Tell by Friedrich von Schiller