FROM 'LIFE IS A DREAM'

by: Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600-1681)

E live, while we see the sun,

Where life and dreams are as one;

And living has taught me this,

Man dreams the life that is his,

Until his living is done.

The king dreams he is king, and he lives

In the deceit of a king,

Commanding and governing;

And all the praise he receives

Is written in wind, and leaves

A little dust on the way

When death ends all with a breath.

Where then is the gain of the throne,

That shall perish and not be known

In the other dream that is death?

Dreams the rich man of riches and fears,

The fears that his riches breed;

The poor man dreams of his need,

And all his sorrows and tears;

Dreams he that prospers with years,

Dreams he that feigns and foregoes,

Dreams he that rails on his foes;

And in all the world, I see,

Man dreams whatever he be,

And his own dream no man knows.

And I too dream and behold,

I dream I am bound with chains,

And I dreamed that these present pains

Were fortunate ways of old.

What is life? a tale that is told;

What is life? a frenzy extreme,

A shadow of things that seem;

And the greatest good is but small,

That all life is a dream to all,

And that dreams themselves are a dream.

• Calderon - A biography of the Spanish dramatist.
• Calderón and Lope de Vega - A comparison of Spain's two greatest playwrights.
• Calderón Quotes - An index of quotations.
• Life is a Dream - A synopsis of the play by Calderón.
• National Drama: Spain to 1700 - An overview of Spanish drama, from its beginnings to the end of the seventeenth century.
• Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600-1681) - A biography.
• Purchase books by Calderón