Basilios Astrology and Fate in Calderons La Vida Es Sueno - Research Paper Example

Basilio’s Astrology and Fate in Calderon’s La Vida Es Sueno Introduction Pedro Calderon de la Barca’s La Vida Es Sueno -- translated in English as Life Is a Dream -- is considered as one of the greatest plays ever written in the Spanish literature. A Renaissance playwright, Calderon wrote numerous plays that substantially tackle the philosophies and values of men. In Life Is a Dream, the 17th-century playwright explored the sublimity of men’s fate and destiny. Calderon’s portrayal of Basilio as an astrologer, if not a mystic, made the play quite fascinating. In general, fate and astrology are synonymous; it is said that the fates of men are already written in the stars. Calderon’s play seemed to center on the Basilio’s science and astrological prediction. This essay discusses Basilio’s vital role in the play, especially his astrological passion. It also examines the stage play of Life Is a Dream and how its visual objects or images essentially reflected Basilio’s predicament. Astrologer Basilio The character of Basilio in Calderon’s play is that of a royal king who rules the 16th- or 17th-century Poland. Besides ruling the kingdom, Basilio is also well-known as a rigorous astrologer. In fact, he constantly studies the movements of the stars and other heavenly bodies in the lofty sky. The sun’s rays, the moon cycle, the Zodiac signs, and all the astrological figures in the heavens are the king’s “major study of my years” (Calderon 202). It must be noted that in Basilio’s era, the astrology was the science of the day. Sixteenth- or Seventeenth-Century Poland and other parts of the Western Hemisphere systematically believed that the stars and the constellations greatly affected, influenced, and shaped the lives of the people on earth. In Basilio’s time, the praxis of astrology was highly considered as the most reliable and scientific discipline in the field of learning: “You know too that the science I most study and esteem is subtle mathematics” (Calderon 202). Basilio’s two fields of human knowledge -- i.e., the science and the mathematics -- were generally identical; unlike in the present-day learning, science and mathematics were two sides of the same coin. The art of astrology widely practiced by Basilio and other astrologers of his time significantly used the available methods or approaches characterized by the 16th- or 17-century mathematics. In the process, Basilio becomes famous both within and outside his kingdom as a learned scholar. In fact, Astolfo largely describes Basilio as a man who is “more inclined to studies than to women” (Calderon 201). Believing in the power of astrology, Basilio substantially considers fate or destiny as a reality or truth. When Basilio’s son was born, the earth became the battleground of the two struggling “divine lamps.” A solar eclipse occurred in which the color of the sun was bloody red; the moon and the star in the solar system fought ferociously; and as an observant astrologer, Basilio interpreted the phenomenon as an omen that would, one day, shatter his kingdom into pieces. Of Lamps and Props Stanley Appelbaum states that one of the most memorable stage play conducted for Calderon’s Life Is a Dream was its opening in which a “flickering lamp” was at the background or foreground of Segismundo’s prison-tower (xiv). This lamp substantially contained many and varied symbolism. The image of the lamp, for one thing, reflected the imagery of the sun, the moon, and other heavenly objects in Basilio’s geocentric universe. Similar to the heavenly bodies, the lamp gave off light to the world significantly engulfed by darkness. At certain extent, the brightness of the flickering lamp vitally imitates the brightness that the sun, the moon, and the stars release to the world of men. Moreover, Appelbaum depicts the theatricality of the playwright’s play as the “light-darkness contrast [which] permeates the entire work, with its innumerable references to lamps, the sun (which becomes eclipsed), the stars, and so on” (xiv). The light and the dark clearly apparent in the stage play remarkably created a sense of a metaphysical mystery concerning men’s lives and destinies. Similar to Basilio’s quarrel of the sun and the moon, this light-darkness contrast also extended to the king’s thoughts and fears of a coming and inevitable conflict between good and evil. What is interesting here is that the presence of darkness in the stage play was empirical for the lamp’s brightness to be seen in the midst of darkness. Strange as it may appear, the light-dark background or foreground considerably suggested the necessity of the existence of evil things in order for good things to thrive and succeed. Kingdoms and Plays Calderon’s Life Is a Dream has a great relevance to the world and time of the playwright. In his epoch, kingdoms and monarchies largely reigned and ruled the land of men. The kings, the queens, and other members of the royalty were the prominent figures in the era of the Spanish Renaissance playwright. And the characters of Calderon’s play are substantially royal blood, thus, reflecting the historical significance of the literary piece. The major theme of the playwright’s play is basically about men’s fate or destiny. Like the power of succession characterized by kingship and monarchy, fate or destiny is deeply and fundamentally inborn; kings are born, they are not made. Thus, upon hearing that the king has a living son in the person of Segismundo, the Polish people revolt against Basilio for his cruel treatment to the rightful heir of the Kingdom. People merely act in fulfilling to what they consider as fate or destiny. This particular theme has without no implication. Through his astrological knowledge, Basilio predicts that his biological son will be a wicked king of the Polish Kingdom. His choice of imprisoning Segismundo was only, at certain respect, an act of nationalism in the part of the king. Basilio wants his Polish subjects to be saved from the probable tyranny of a future king. However, as the play implies, the Polish people generally choose to have a rightful king no matter how evil he is; cruel or not, destiny is destiny. Furthermore, it is quite strange that the playwright allowed Basilio’s prophesy to happen in the unfolding of the drama. Again, it has numerous implications: (1) it vindicates the king’s vision; (2) it places astrology on the field of science; and (3) it proves the reality of fate. Evidently, Calderon’s Life Is a Dream was not intended to criticize the monarchy of his time. The playwright, on the other hand, supported the policy of rightful succession. Moreover, Calderon believed in the readings of the stars and constellation: astrology as science. Conclusion Basilio as a passionate astrologer is very fitting for the play’s general theme. His interest in the crystalline sphere, the constellation, and other heavenly bodies greatly contributes and refines the thesis of the play: fate. The king’s passion for astrological knowledge reflects, one way or the other, his greatest fear. In his vision, the King Basilio will stumble at the foot of Prince Segismundo. This is, of course, a humiliation for the king’s part. To kneel to other people, whoever they are, is not one of the duties of a king! In attempting to avoid on what he calls as omen, Basilio idly spends all his time in reading and studying the stars in the night sky; he is hoping that this so-called fate will be defeated by human will at certain extent. Unfortunately, Basilio fails to change the course of destiny. Works Cited Appelbaum, Stanley. Life Is a Dream/La Vida Es Sueno: A Dual-Language Book. New York: Dover, 2002. Print. Calderon de la Barca, Pedro. “Life Is a Dream.” Great Spanish Plays in English Translation. Trans. Angel Flores. New York: Dover, 1991. Print. Read More