Pedro Calderon de la Barca, Life is a Dream
Pedro Calderon de la Barca, Life is a Dream, transl. Stanley Appelbaum, Dover Publications, Mineola, 2002
The Golden Age (Siglo de oro) of Spanish literature includes much of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but in drama it is more or less coextensive with the lifetime of Pedro Calderon de la Barca (1600-1681), who with Lope de Vega (1562-1635) was one of the two greatest dramatists of the era. It was Lope de Vega who consolidated (though he did not invent) the features of the comedia neuva, or comedia dia Espanola, the chief dramatic form of the seventeenth century. / The subject matter of the comedia (“play,” not “comedy”) was quite varied. There were historical plays, plays based on Bible stories and saints’ lives, comedies of amorous intrigue abetted by scheming servants, family tragedies, and so on. There were relatively few outright tragedies; in general, even the most serious plays have comic moments, and the final outcome is usually fairly optimistic, with good conquering evil. All comedias are in verse. / Many roles were standard types. Particularly characteristic of Golden Age drama in the gracioso (“comic”), often shrewd and witty but greedy and cowardly. A lower-class spokesman for an earthy point of view, the gracioso could be crucial to the action. (Publisher’s Note, v)
[Life is a Dream] is believed to have been composed in 1634-35, and was first published in 1636. [v] … A light-dark contrast permeates the entire work, with references to lamps, the sun, the stars, and so on. But the most distinctive symbolic imagery is of hybrids and monsters, … Another important plot element is that of omens and prophecies,… (vi)
Pedro Calderon de la Barca was born in Madrid in 1600 into the lowest rank of the nobility. … In 1623 he served in the army in Flanders and Lombardy. In the same year he enjoyed his first success as a playwright, and made writing for the stage his career. … In 1650 Calderon entered the Third Order of Franciscans, and was ordained the following year. He then renounced the composition of secular plays, but continued to write autos sacramentales, religious plays performed on the feast of Corpus Christi. / Calderon wrote over 110 comedias and over 70 autos sacramentales. He also wrote texts for zarzuelas (two-act musical plays with spoken dialogue), at least two opera librettos, some entremeses (prose one-acters), and a fair amount of lyric poetry. (vi)
Rosaura [a noble lady from Muscovy] Impetuous hippogriff
that matched the wind in speed,
flash without flame,
bird without bright plumage, fish without scales,
and beast without natural
instincts: where, in the confused labyrinth
of these bare rocks,
are you bolting, hugging the ground, and hurtling down?
Remain on the mountain,
so that the beasts can have their Phaethon here;
for I, with no more distinct path
than the one which the laws of destiny afford me,
a woman blinded by despair,
shall descend the tangled head
of this lofty mountain,
which furrows its brow in a scowl at the sun. [1]
…
Clarin (servant). Say “two unhappy people,” and don’t leave me
“back at the inn” when you complain; (opening, 1.1-2)
Clarin. Let’s go closer to it,
my lady; we’ve been just looking at it too long, when
it would be better if the people
who live in it were to let us in
hospitably.
Rosaura. The door
(or should I say “the grim maw”?) is
open, and from its interior
emerges the night, which is engendered within it. (1.3)
Segismundo (crown prince of Poland)
The bird is born, and in the finery
that gives it supreme beauty,
no sooner does it become a feathered flower,
or a winged posy,
than it swiftly cuts its way
through the halls of the sky,
abandoning the family relations
of its nest, which it leaves in repose.
And I, who have more soul,
have less liberty? /
The beast is born, … [4]
And I, with finer instincts,
have less liberty? /
The fish is born, which doesn’t breathe,
an abortion of algae and slime,
and no sooner does it find itself on the waves,
like a boat of scales,
than it turns in every direction,
measuring the immensity
of all the space
that its cold element gives it.
And I, with more free will,
Have less liberty? /
The stream is born, …
And I, who have more life,
have less liberty? /
When I reach this pitch of emotion,
I become a volcano, an Etna,
and I’d like to pull pieces
of my heart out of my breast.
What law, justice, or philosophy
is able to deny men
so sweet a privilege,
so fundamental an exemption,
which God has granted to a limpid stream,
to a fish, a beast, and a bird? (1.4-5)
Segismundo. Oh heaven!
How right you are to deprive me
of freedom! Because I would be
a Titan attacking you [9]
and in order to smash those
crystals and glasses of the sun,
I would pile up mountains of jasper
atop foundations of stone. (1.9-10)
Astolfo. (Duke of Muscovy, nephew of Basilio, King of Poland.)
It is fitting, as the sight of your outstanding
beams of light, which were once comets,
that various salvos are intermingled
by the drums and trumpets,
and the birds and fountains;/
since, with equal music
and supreme wondrousness,
upon viewing your heavenly presence,
the birds are feathered clarions
and the trumpets are metallic birds; (1.13)
Basilio. By Clorilene my wife
had an unlucky son,
…
Infinite times his mother,
amid the visions and delerium
of dreams, saw her entrails
being burst by a bold
monster in human shape;
dyed in her blood,
he was killing her, born
to be the human viper of the age.
…
he was born at such an astrological conjunction
…
The greatest, most terrifying
eclipse ever suffered by
…
Segismundo was born, giving
an indication of his nature,
because he killed his mother.
…
I, referring to my books,
found in them, and in all things,
that Segismundo would be
the most insolent man,
the most cruel prince,
and the most impious monarch,
through whom his kingdom would come
to be fragmented and divided,
a school for treason
and an academy of vice;
and that he, carried away by fury,
amid fearful crimes,
would one day set his foot
on me, and that I, surrendering
would find myself groveling before him (1.18-19)
Basilio. …it was a tremendous mistake
to lend easy credence
to the predictions of events;
because, even if his nature
is inclined toward outrages,
perhaps it won’t overcome him,
since even the most dire fate,
the most violent inclination,
the most evil planet,
merely dispose our free will in a certain direction,
but never compel it in that direction. (1.21)
Rosaura. …these external trappings of mine
are a riddle, because the one they clothe
isn’t what he seems. With this hint, judge—[25]
if I’m not what I seem,
and if Astolfo has come here to marry
Estrella—whether he is capable
of affronting me. I’ve told you enough. (1.26)
Clotaldo. With this soporific potion,
filled with various compounds,
that you ordered to be brewed, mingling into it
the power of certain herbs
whose tyrannical force
and secret strength
deprives, robs, and dispossesses
a man of his reasoning powers so drastically
that he remains a living corpse,
and whose violence
puts him to sleep and takes away
his senses and abilities… [27]
…
…with the potion
compounded of opium, poppy,
and henbane
I descended to Segismundo’s
Cramped dungeon; …
…
…At that moment there arrived
the people to whom you are entrusting
the value of this experiment,
and, placing him in a carriage,
they bore him to your apartment, (2.27-29)
Basilio. I wish to determine whether heaven
(which cannot lie,
especially after giving us
such great displays of its severity
with regard to his cruel nature)
can be assuaged, or at least
mollified, and whether, overcome
by merit and wisdom,
it can go back on its word; because man
has dominion over the stars.
This I wish to determine
by bringing him to a place where he will learn
that he is my son, and where I can
put his character to the test.
If, by his highmindedness, he conquers his nature,
he shall reign; but if he displays
a cruel and tyrannical nature,
I shall send him back to his chains.
…
If he learned today that he is
my son, and found himself tomorrow
once again confined
in his wretched prison,
his character ensures us
that he would be in despair there;
…
a way out of that damaging situation:
to say that all he saw
was in a dream. This way, two things
can be tested:
first of all, his character,
because, when awake, he will behave
in accordance with his imaginings and thoughts;
secondly, the matter of his consolation,
since, even though he now finds himself
obeyed, and later [30]
will return to captivity,
he will be able to surmise that it was a dream;
and it will be a good thing for him to realize,
because in this world, Clotaldo,
everyone who lives is a dreamer. (2.30-31)
Segismundo. I awakening from sleep
in such an excellent bed?
I in the midst of so many people
Helping me to dress? /
I in the midst of so many people
helping me to dress? /
To say I’m dreaming is mistaken,
I know very well I’m awake.
Am I not Segismundo? (2.33)
Clarion. Sire,
I am a great pleaser
of all Segismundos. [At least one commentator believes this may be an allusion to the three historical kings of Poland named Sigismund (they reigned between 1506 and 1632). Clarin would have pleased them because they were all warlike, and his a “clarion.”] (2.36)
Segismundo. As for me,
all of this is making me angry.
Nothing seems right to me
if it goes against my grain.
Servant 2. But I, Sire, have heard
you say that it’s proper to follow righteousness
when obeying and serving.
Segismundo. You’ve also heard me say
that I’m capable of hurling from a balcony
anyone who nags me.
Servant 2. That can’t be done
to men of my station.
Segismundo. Oh no?
By God, I’ve got to try it out! He seizes him in his arms and exits, with everyone following, then enters again.
Astolfo. What did I just see?
Estrella. Everyone, come help!
Segismundo. He fell from the balcony into the sea;
as God lives, it was possible! (2.38)
Basilio. I’m very sorry, Prince,
That, on my coming to see you,
thinking I’d find you forewarned
and triumphing over your fate and planets,
I should see you behaving so violently, (2.39)
Basilio. pay close heed to my admonition
to be humble and tractable,
because you may be just dreaming,
even though you think you’re awake!
Segismundo. I may be just dreaming,
even though I think I’m awake?
I’m not dreaming, because I feel and believe
that which I was and that which I am./
And, even though you regret it now,
there’s not much you can do about it:
I know who I am, and even if you sigh
and grieve, you won’t be able/
to undo the fact that I was born
heir to this crown;
and if you saw me formerly
a prisoner of my shackles,
it was because I didn’t know who I was;
but now I have been informed
as to who I am, and I know that I’m
a hybrid of man and beast. (2.41)
Segismundo. Nothing dumbfounded me,
because I had foreseen it all;
but, if I were to wonder at
anything in the world, it would be the beauty
of woman… (2.41)
Segismundo. …seeing that among the stars,
stones, planets, and flowers the most beautiful
are preferred, how is it that you have come to serve
a woman of lesser beauty, while you,
as the more beautiful and lovely one, are the
sun, evening star, diamond star, and rose? (2.43)
Segismundo. Merely to see whether I can do it,
you’ll make me lose my fear for your beauty,
because I’m greatly inclined
to perform the impossible; today I threw
from that balcony a man who said
it couldn’t be done;
and so, to see whether I can, it’s a simple thing
for me to throw your honor out the window. (2.43)
Clotaldo. I was summoned by the sound of your voice,
to tell you to be
more even-tempered, if you wish to be king:
and not to be cruel just because you now find yourself
master of us all, because it may be a dream.
Segismundo. You drive me to frenzy
When you mention the light of disillusionment.
By killing you, I’ll see
whether it’s a dream or reality. (2.44)
Astolfo. Wherever Estrella enters, there is
no place for shadow, just as no star remains
after sunrise; … (2.47)
Rosaura. A philosopher once said
that misfortunes were cowards, because it seemed to him
that they never came singly; [Compare “When sorrows come, they come not single spies/But in battalions” (Hamlet, IV, v)] (2.49)
Rosaura. …But why do I ponder
on what to do, if it’s evident
that, no matter how I plan,
ponder, and plot,
when the moment comes [49]
I will have to act under the dictates
of my sorrows? Because no one
has power over his own grief.
And, since my soul
isn’t bold enough do decide
what I should do, let my sorrow reach
its limit today, let my pain
reach its extreme point, and let me emerge
from my doubts and imaginings
once and for all. But, until that moment,
help me, heaven, help me! (2.50)
Segismundo. nor have I awakened even now,
Clotaldo, because, as far as I can tell,
I’m still asleep.
And I’m not far wrong;
because if what I saw palpably and surely
was just a dream,
what I see now is probably doubtful; (2.56)
Segismundo. It’s true, then: let me restrain
my fierce nature,
my fury, my ambition,
in case I ever dream again.
And I will, since we exist
in such a peculiar world
that living is merely dreaming;
and the experience teaches me
that the man who lives dreams
his reality until he awakes. /
The king dreams that he’s king, and lives
in that deception, giving orders,
making decisions, and ruling;
and that acclaim, which he receives
as a loan, is written on the wind
and changed into ashes
by death (a great misfortune!):
to think that there are people who try to reign
knowing that they must awaken
in the sleep of death!/
The rich man dreams about his riches,
which cause him greater worries;
the poor man dreams that he is suffering
his misery and poverty;
the man beginning to thrive is just dreaming,
the man who toils and strives is just dreaming,
the man who affronts and injures is just dreaming;
and, to sum up, in this world
all men merely dream what they are,
though no one realizes it. /
I’m dreaming that I’m here,
laden with these shackles;
and I dreamt that I found myself
in another, more flattering condition.
What is life? A frenzy. [57]
What is life? An illusion,
a shadow, a fiction,
and our greatest good is but small;
for, all of life is a dream,
and even dreams are dreams. (2.57-58)
Soldier 1. Your father, great King Basilio, [61]
fearing that heaven
would fulfill a prophecy that said
he would find himself stretched at your feet,
…
…assembled his court, but the commoners,
now learning and knowing
that they have a natural successor,
refuse to let a foreigner
come and command them. …
…
Then, do come out; for, in this wilderness,
a numerous army
of outlaws and plebeians
[bandidos y plebeyos. It has been suggested that here bandidos refers merely to lower-class people.]
acclaims you: liberty
awaits you: listen to its voice! (3.61-62)
Segismundo. …since I know [62]
that all of this life is a dream,
away with you, you shadows that today
pretend to my numbed senses
that you have a body and a voice, though the truth is
you have neither voice nor body;
for I don’t want majesty
that is feigned, I don’t want pomp
that is imaginary, illusions
that at the slightest puff
of the breeze will disintegrate, (3.62-63)
Soldier 2. Great lord,
great events have always induced
presentiments; and that must now be the case,
if you dreamed it earlier.
Segismundo. You’re right, it was a presentiment,
and in case it was accurate,
seeing that life is so short,
let us dream, my soul, let us dream
once again; but now it must be
with the awareness and knowledge [63]
that we must awaken
from this pleasurable dream just when we’re happiest;
for, keeping that in mind,
our disappointment won’t be so great;
because to take counsel against harm
in advance is to laugh at it.
And with this foreknowledge
…
let us adventure everything!
…
Sound the alarm, for swiftly
you shall see my boundless valor! (3.63-64)
Segismundo. …I’m dreaming, and that I wish
to do good, because good deeds
aren’t wasted, even in dreams.
Clotaldo. Well, Sire, if doing good
is now your motto, I’m sure
you won’t be offended if I
have the same goal toady.
Should you make war on your father?
I cannot be your counselor,
Or help you, against my king.
I am prostrate at your feet,
kill me.
Segismundo. Base,
Disloyal traitor! But, heavens,
it behooves me to calm down,
because I don’t yet know whether I’m awake.
Clotaldo, I envy you
and thank you for your great worth.
Go and serve the king,
for we shall meet on the field of battle.— (3.65)
Segismundo. Fortune, let me go and reign!
Don’t awaken me if I’m asleep,
and, if this is reality, don’t put me to sleep.
But, whether it’s reality or a dream,
to do good is what matters;
if it should be reality, just because it is good;
if not, for the sake of winning friends
for the time when we awaken. (3.65)
Basilio. …there is great risk in what is foreknown:
if it must come about, defense is impossible,
because the man who tries hardest to avoid it,
prepares it more readily. (3.66)
Basilio. Give me a horse, because I in person
wish to overcome bravely a disloyal son;
and, now that I am defending my crown,
let me steel conquer where my astrology erred! (3.67)
Trumpets blow, and Soldiers march in with Clarin and with Segismundo, who is dressed in animal skins [as his condition when we first see him in a dungeon]
Segismundo. If Rome in the triumphs
of it golden age could see me today,
oh, how happy it would be
to gain such a rare opportunity:
to have a wild animal
leading its mighty armies; (3.71)
Rosaura. Now is the third time, when I am
a hybrid of the two sexes,
since alongside women’s finery
masculine weapons adorn me. (3.73)
Rosaura. As a woman, I have come to urge you
to restore my good name;
as a man, I have come to spur you on
to recover your crown.
As a woman, I have come to soften your heart
by throwing myself at your feet;
as a man, I have come to serve you
by abiding your army.
As a woman, I have come for you to help me
in my affront and sorrow;
as a man, I have come to stand by you
with my steel and my body.
And so, believe me: if today
you make love to me as to a woman,
as a man I shall
kill you in dignified defense
of my honor, because in this
love-war I shall be
a woman to lament to you,
and a man to win a reputation. (3.78)
Clarin. For I shall step off to the side of this day
of such great confusion,
to play the role of Nero,
who wasn’t concerned about anything. /
If there’s one thing I want to be
concerned about, it’s myself:
in hiding, from this vantage point
I’ll be able to see the whole show. /
The spot is concealed and protected,
between these rocks; and, since now
death won’t find me,
two figs for death! (3.81)
Clarin. I’m an unfortunate man,
Who, in trying to guard myself/
from death, sought it out,
Fleeing from it, I ran
…
Therefore, go back, go back
at once to the bloody conflict,
because amid the weapons and fire
there is greater safety (3.82)
Basilio. Ah! heavens! How eloquently our folly,
our ignorance, are taught
surer knowledge
by this corpse that speaks
through the lips of a wound,
the fluid that he emits being
a tongue of blood to teach us
that every effort man makes
against a greater force and cause
is in vain! (3.83)
Clotaldo. Sire, even though fate knows
every pathway and finds
the man it seeks amid the thickness
of rocks, it isn’t a Christian
belief to say
that there’s no protection against its fury.
There is, for the man with foresight
can gain victory over fate;
and, if you are not yet secure
against distress and misfortune,
create that security for yourself. (3.83)
Segismundo. …—Rise, Sire,
give me your hand; for, now
that heaven undeceives you,
showing you that you erred in your method
of overcoming it, my neck
humbly awaits your revenge:
I fall in submission at your feet. (3.86)
Rosaura. How clever and wise he is!
Segismundo. Why are you surprised? Why are you astonished,
When my teacher was a dream
and in my anxiety I’m afraid
I may wake up again and find myself
once more in my locked
cell? And even if that doesn’t happen,
merely dreaming it might is not enough:
for in that way I came to know
that all of human happiness
passes by in the end like a dream,
and I wish today to enjoy mine
for as long as it lasts,
asking pardon for
our faults, since it so befits
noble hearts to pardon them! (3.88. ending)
The Golden Age (Siglo de oro) of Spanish literature includes much of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but in drama it is more or less coextensive with the lifetime of Pedro Calderon de la Barca (1600-1681), who with Lope de Vega (1562-1635) was one of the two greatest dramatists of the era. It was Lope de Vega who consolidated (though he did not invent) the features of the comedia neuva, or comedia dia Espanola, the chief dramatic form of the seventeenth century. / The subject matter of the comedia (“play,” not “comedy”) was quite varied. There were historical plays, plays based on Bible stories and saints’ lives, comedies of amorous intrigue abetted by scheming servants, family tragedies, and so on. There were relatively few outright tragedies; in general, even the most serious plays have comic moments, and the final outcome is usually fairly optimistic, with good conquering evil. All comedias are in verse. / Many roles were standard types. Particularly characteristic of Golden Age drama in the gracioso (“comic”), often shrewd and witty but greedy and cowardly. A lower-class spokesman for an earthy point of view, the gracioso could be crucial to the action. (Publisher’s Note, v)
[Life is a Dream] is believed to have been composed in 1634-35, and was first published in 1636. [v] … A light-dark contrast permeates the entire work, with references to lamps, the sun, the stars, and so on. But the most distinctive symbolic imagery is of hybrids and monsters, … Another important plot element is that of omens and prophecies,… (vi)
Pedro Calderon de la Barca was born in Madrid in 1600 into the lowest rank of the nobility. … In 1623 he served in the army in Flanders and Lombardy. In the same year he enjoyed his first success as a playwright, and made writing for the stage his career. … In 1650 Calderon entered the Third Order of Franciscans, and was ordained the following year. He then renounced the composition of secular plays, but continued to write autos sacramentales, religious plays performed on the feast of Corpus Christi. / Calderon wrote over 110 comedias and over 70 autos sacramentales. He also wrote texts for zarzuelas (two-act musical plays with spoken dialogue), at least two opera librettos, some entremeses (prose one-acters), and a fair amount of lyric poetry. (vi)
Rosaura [a noble lady from Muscovy] Impetuous hippogriff
that matched the wind in speed,
flash without flame,
bird without bright plumage, fish without scales,
and beast without natural
instincts: where, in the confused labyrinth
of these bare rocks,
are you bolting, hugging the ground, and hurtling down?
Remain on the mountain,
so that the beasts can have their Phaethon here;
for I, with no more distinct path
than the one which the laws of destiny afford me,
a woman blinded by despair,
shall descend the tangled head
of this lofty mountain,
which furrows its brow in a scowl at the sun. [1]
…
Clarin (servant). Say “two unhappy people,” and don’t leave me
“back at the inn” when you complain; (opening, 1.1-2)
Clarin. Let’s go closer to it,
my lady; we’ve been just looking at it too long, when
it would be better if the people
who live in it were to let us in
hospitably.
Rosaura. The door
(or should I say “the grim maw”?) is
open, and from its interior
emerges the night, which is engendered within it. (1.3)
Segismundo (crown prince of Poland)
The bird is born, and in the finery
that gives it supreme beauty,
no sooner does it become a feathered flower,
or a winged posy,
than it swiftly cuts its way
through the halls of the sky,
abandoning the family relations
of its nest, which it leaves in repose.
And I, who have more soul,
have less liberty? /
The beast is born, … [4]
And I, with finer instincts,
have less liberty? /
The fish is born, which doesn’t breathe,
an abortion of algae and slime,
and no sooner does it find itself on the waves,
like a boat of scales,
than it turns in every direction,
measuring the immensity
of all the space
that its cold element gives it.
And I, with more free will,
Have less liberty? /
The stream is born, …
And I, who have more life,
have less liberty? /
When I reach this pitch of emotion,
I become a volcano, an Etna,
and I’d like to pull pieces
of my heart out of my breast.
What law, justice, or philosophy
is able to deny men
so sweet a privilege,
so fundamental an exemption,
which God has granted to a limpid stream,
to a fish, a beast, and a bird? (1.4-5)
Segismundo. Oh heaven!
How right you are to deprive me
of freedom! Because I would be
a Titan attacking you [9]
and in order to smash those
crystals and glasses of the sun,
I would pile up mountains of jasper
atop foundations of stone. (1.9-10)
Astolfo. (Duke of Muscovy, nephew of Basilio, King of Poland.)
It is fitting, as the sight of your outstanding
beams of light, which were once comets,
that various salvos are intermingled
by the drums and trumpets,
and the birds and fountains;/
since, with equal music
and supreme wondrousness,
upon viewing your heavenly presence,
the birds are feathered clarions
and the trumpets are metallic birds; (1.13)
Basilio. By Clorilene my wife
had an unlucky son,
…
Infinite times his mother,
amid the visions and delerium
of dreams, saw her entrails
being burst by a bold
monster in human shape;
dyed in her blood,
he was killing her, born
to be the human viper of the age.
…
he was born at such an astrological conjunction
…
The greatest, most terrifying
eclipse ever suffered by
…
Segismundo was born, giving
an indication of his nature,
because he killed his mother.
…
I, referring to my books,
found in them, and in all things,
that Segismundo would be
the most insolent man,
the most cruel prince,
and the most impious monarch,
through whom his kingdom would come
to be fragmented and divided,
a school for treason
and an academy of vice;
and that he, carried away by fury,
amid fearful crimes,
would one day set his foot
on me, and that I, surrendering
would find myself groveling before him (1.18-19)
Basilio. …it was a tremendous mistake
to lend easy credence
to the predictions of events;
because, even if his nature
is inclined toward outrages,
perhaps it won’t overcome him,
since even the most dire fate,
the most violent inclination,
the most evil planet,
merely dispose our free will in a certain direction,
but never compel it in that direction. (1.21)
Rosaura. …these external trappings of mine
are a riddle, because the one they clothe
isn’t what he seems. With this hint, judge—[25]
if I’m not what I seem,
and if Astolfo has come here to marry
Estrella—whether he is capable
of affronting me. I’ve told you enough. (1.26)
Clotaldo. With this soporific potion,
filled with various compounds,
that you ordered to be brewed, mingling into it
the power of certain herbs
whose tyrannical force
and secret strength
deprives, robs, and dispossesses
a man of his reasoning powers so drastically
that he remains a living corpse,
and whose violence
puts him to sleep and takes away
his senses and abilities… [27]
…
…with the potion
compounded of opium, poppy,
and henbane
I descended to Segismundo’s
Cramped dungeon; …
…
…At that moment there arrived
the people to whom you are entrusting
the value of this experiment,
and, placing him in a carriage,
they bore him to your apartment, (2.27-29)
Basilio. I wish to determine whether heaven
(which cannot lie,
especially after giving us
such great displays of its severity
with regard to his cruel nature)
can be assuaged, or at least
mollified, and whether, overcome
by merit and wisdom,
it can go back on its word; because man
has dominion over the stars.
This I wish to determine
by bringing him to a place where he will learn
that he is my son, and where I can
put his character to the test.
If, by his highmindedness, he conquers his nature,
he shall reign; but if he displays
a cruel and tyrannical nature,
I shall send him back to his chains.
…
If he learned today that he is
my son, and found himself tomorrow
once again confined
in his wretched prison,
his character ensures us
that he would be in despair there;
…
a way out of that damaging situation:
to say that all he saw
was in a dream. This way, two things
can be tested:
first of all, his character,
because, when awake, he will behave
in accordance with his imaginings and thoughts;
secondly, the matter of his consolation,
since, even though he now finds himself
obeyed, and later [30]
will return to captivity,
he will be able to surmise that it was a dream;
and it will be a good thing for him to realize,
because in this world, Clotaldo,
everyone who lives is a dreamer. (2.30-31)
Segismundo. I awakening from sleep
in such an excellent bed?
I in the midst of so many people
Helping me to dress? /
I in the midst of so many people
helping me to dress? /
To say I’m dreaming is mistaken,
I know very well I’m awake.
Am I not Segismundo? (2.33)
Clarion. Sire,
I am a great pleaser
of all Segismundos. [At least one commentator believes this may be an allusion to the three historical kings of Poland named Sigismund (they reigned between 1506 and 1632). Clarin would have pleased them because they were all warlike, and his a “clarion.”] (2.36)
Segismundo. As for me,
all of this is making me angry.
Nothing seems right to me
if it goes against my grain.
Servant 2. But I, Sire, have heard
you say that it’s proper to follow righteousness
when obeying and serving.
Segismundo. You’ve also heard me say
that I’m capable of hurling from a balcony
anyone who nags me.
Servant 2. That can’t be done
to men of my station.
Segismundo. Oh no?
By God, I’ve got to try it out! He seizes him in his arms and exits, with everyone following, then enters again.
Astolfo. What did I just see?
Estrella. Everyone, come help!
Segismundo. He fell from the balcony into the sea;
as God lives, it was possible! (2.38)
Basilio. I’m very sorry, Prince,
That, on my coming to see you,
thinking I’d find you forewarned
and triumphing over your fate and planets,
I should see you behaving so violently, (2.39)
Basilio. pay close heed to my admonition
to be humble and tractable,
because you may be just dreaming,
even though you think you’re awake!
Segismundo. I may be just dreaming,
even though I think I’m awake?
I’m not dreaming, because I feel and believe
that which I was and that which I am./
And, even though you regret it now,
there’s not much you can do about it:
I know who I am, and even if you sigh
and grieve, you won’t be able/
to undo the fact that I was born
heir to this crown;
and if you saw me formerly
a prisoner of my shackles,
it was because I didn’t know who I was;
but now I have been informed
as to who I am, and I know that I’m
a hybrid of man and beast. (2.41)
Segismundo. Nothing dumbfounded me,
because I had foreseen it all;
but, if I were to wonder at
anything in the world, it would be the beauty
of woman… (2.41)
Segismundo. …seeing that among the stars,
stones, planets, and flowers the most beautiful
are preferred, how is it that you have come to serve
a woman of lesser beauty, while you,
as the more beautiful and lovely one, are the
sun, evening star, diamond star, and rose? (2.43)
Segismundo. Merely to see whether I can do it,
you’ll make me lose my fear for your beauty,
because I’m greatly inclined
to perform the impossible; today I threw
from that balcony a man who said
it couldn’t be done;
and so, to see whether I can, it’s a simple thing
for me to throw your honor out the window. (2.43)
Clotaldo. I was summoned by the sound of your voice,
to tell you to be
more even-tempered, if you wish to be king:
and not to be cruel just because you now find yourself
master of us all, because it may be a dream.
Segismundo. You drive me to frenzy
When you mention the light of disillusionment.
By killing you, I’ll see
whether it’s a dream or reality. (2.44)
Astolfo. Wherever Estrella enters, there is
no place for shadow, just as no star remains
after sunrise; … (2.47)
Rosaura. A philosopher once said
that misfortunes were cowards, because it seemed to him
that they never came singly; [Compare “When sorrows come, they come not single spies/But in battalions” (Hamlet, IV, v)] (2.49)
Rosaura. …But why do I ponder
on what to do, if it’s evident
that, no matter how I plan,
ponder, and plot,
when the moment comes [49]
I will have to act under the dictates
of my sorrows? Because no one
has power over his own grief.
And, since my soul
isn’t bold enough do decide
what I should do, let my sorrow reach
its limit today, let my pain
reach its extreme point, and let me emerge
from my doubts and imaginings
once and for all. But, until that moment,
help me, heaven, help me! (2.50)
Segismundo. nor have I awakened even now,
Clotaldo, because, as far as I can tell,
I’m still asleep.
And I’m not far wrong;
because if what I saw palpably and surely
was just a dream,
what I see now is probably doubtful; (2.56)
Segismundo. It’s true, then: let me restrain
my fierce nature,
my fury, my ambition,
in case I ever dream again.
And I will, since we exist
in such a peculiar world
that living is merely dreaming;
and the experience teaches me
that the man who lives dreams
his reality until he awakes. /
The king dreams that he’s king, and lives
in that deception, giving orders,
making decisions, and ruling;
and that acclaim, which he receives
as a loan, is written on the wind
and changed into ashes
by death (a great misfortune!):
to think that there are people who try to reign
knowing that they must awaken
in the sleep of death!/
The rich man dreams about his riches,
which cause him greater worries;
the poor man dreams that he is suffering
his misery and poverty;
the man beginning to thrive is just dreaming,
the man who toils and strives is just dreaming,
the man who affronts and injures is just dreaming;
and, to sum up, in this world
all men merely dream what they are,
though no one realizes it. /
I’m dreaming that I’m here,
laden with these shackles;
and I dreamt that I found myself
in another, more flattering condition.
What is life? A frenzy. [57]
What is life? An illusion,
a shadow, a fiction,
and our greatest good is but small;
for, all of life is a dream,
and even dreams are dreams. (2.57-58)
Soldier 1. Your father, great King Basilio, [61]
fearing that heaven
would fulfill a prophecy that said
he would find himself stretched at your feet,
…
…assembled his court, but the commoners,
now learning and knowing
that they have a natural successor,
refuse to let a foreigner
come and command them. …
…
Then, do come out; for, in this wilderness,
a numerous army
of outlaws and plebeians
[bandidos y plebeyos. It has been suggested that here bandidos refers merely to lower-class people.]
acclaims you: liberty
awaits you: listen to its voice! (3.61-62)
Segismundo. …since I know [62]
that all of this life is a dream,
away with you, you shadows that today
pretend to my numbed senses
that you have a body and a voice, though the truth is
you have neither voice nor body;
for I don’t want majesty
that is feigned, I don’t want pomp
that is imaginary, illusions
that at the slightest puff
of the breeze will disintegrate, (3.62-63)
Soldier 2. Great lord,
great events have always induced
presentiments; and that must now be the case,
if you dreamed it earlier.
Segismundo. You’re right, it was a presentiment,
and in case it was accurate,
seeing that life is so short,
let us dream, my soul, let us dream
once again; but now it must be
with the awareness and knowledge [63]
that we must awaken
from this pleasurable dream just when we’re happiest;
for, keeping that in mind,
our disappointment won’t be so great;
because to take counsel against harm
in advance is to laugh at it.
And with this foreknowledge
…
let us adventure everything!
…
Sound the alarm, for swiftly
you shall see my boundless valor! (3.63-64)
Segismundo. …I’m dreaming, and that I wish
to do good, because good deeds
aren’t wasted, even in dreams.
Clotaldo. Well, Sire, if doing good
is now your motto, I’m sure
you won’t be offended if I
have the same goal toady.
Should you make war on your father?
I cannot be your counselor,
Or help you, against my king.
I am prostrate at your feet,
kill me.
Segismundo. Base,
Disloyal traitor! But, heavens,
it behooves me to calm down,
because I don’t yet know whether I’m awake.
Clotaldo, I envy you
and thank you for your great worth.
Go and serve the king,
for we shall meet on the field of battle.— (3.65)
Segismundo. Fortune, let me go and reign!
Don’t awaken me if I’m asleep,
and, if this is reality, don’t put me to sleep.
But, whether it’s reality or a dream,
to do good is what matters;
if it should be reality, just because it is good;
if not, for the sake of winning friends
for the time when we awaken. (3.65)
Basilio. …there is great risk in what is foreknown:
if it must come about, defense is impossible,
because the man who tries hardest to avoid it,
prepares it more readily. (3.66)
Basilio. Give me a horse, because I in person
wish to overcome bravely a disloyal son;
and, now that I am defending my crown,
let me steel conquer where my astrology erred! (3.67)
Trumpets blow, and Soldiers march in with Clarin and with Segismundo, who is dressed in animal skins [as his condition when we first see him in a dungeon]
Segismundo. If Rome in the triumphs
of it golden age could see me today,
oh, how happy it would be
to gain such a rare opportunity:
to have a wild animal
leading its mighty armies; (3.71)
Rosaura. Now is the third time, when I am
a hybrid of the two sexes,
since alongside women’s finery
masculine weapons adorn me. (3.73)
Rosaura. As a woman, I have come to urge you
to restore my good name;
as a man, I have come to spur you on
to recover your crown.
As a woman, I have come to soften your heart
by throwing myself at your feet;
as a man, I have come to serve you
by abiding your army.
As a woman, I have come for you to help me
in my affront and sorrow;
as a man, I have come to stand by you
with my steel and my body.
And so, believe me: if today
you make love to me as to a woman,
as a man I shall
kill you in dignified defense
of my honor, because in this
love-war I shall be
a woman to lament to you,
and a man to win a reputation. (3.78)
Clarin. For I shall step off to the side of this day
of such great confusion,
to play the role of Nero,
who wasn’t concerned about anything. /
If there’s one thing I want to be
concerned about, it’s myself:
in hiding, from this vantage point
I’ll be able to see the whole show. /
The spot is concealed and protected,
between these rocks; and, since now
death won’t find me,
two figs for death! (3.81)
Clarin. I’m an unfortunate man,
Who, in trying to guard myself/
from death, sought it out,
Fleeing from it, I ran
…
Therefore, go back, go back
at once to the bloody conflict,
because amid the weapons and fire
there is greater safety (3.82)
Basilio. Ah! heavens! How eloquently our folly,
our ignorance, are taught
surer knowledge
by this corpse that speaks
through the lips of a wound,
the fluid that he emits being
a tongue of blood to teach us
that every effort man makes
against a greater force and cause
is in vain! (3.83)
Clotaldo. Sire, even though fate knows
every pathway and finds
the man it seeks amid the thickness
of rocks, it isn’t a Christian
belief to say
that there’s no protection against its fury.
There is, for the man with foresight
can gain victory over fate;
and, if you are not yet secure
against distress and misfortune,
create that security for yourself. (3.83)
Segismundo. …—Rise, Sire,
give me your hand; for, now
that heaven undeceives you,
showing you that you erred in your method
of overcoming it, my neck
humbly awaits your revenge:
I fall in submission at your feet. (3.86)
Rosaura. How clever and wise he is!
Segismundo. Why are you surprised? Why are you astonished,
When my teacher was a dream
and in my anxiety I’m afraid
I may wake up again and find myself
once more in my locked
cell? And even if that doesn’t happen,
merely dreaming it might is not enough:
for in that way I came to know
that all of human happiness
passes by in the end like a dream,
and I wish today to enjoy mine
for as long as it lasts,
asking pardon for
our faults, since it so befits
noble hearts to pardon them! (3.88. ending)
posted by Raul de Saldanha at
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