CALDERON DE LA BARCA, PEDRO

Additional reading Biblioteca de autores espaoles, vol. 7, 9, 12, 14 (194445); Obras completas, new ed., vol. 1, Dramas, vol. 2, Comedias, both ed. by A. Valbuena Briones; and vol. 3, Autos sacramentales, ed. by A. Valbuena Prat (196067). These editions are not scholarly. Annotated editions, of varying quality, are the 5 vol. (195156) of Selected Comedias and Autos in the Clsicos Castellanos, and 3 vol. of Tragedies, ed. by F. Ruiz Ramon (196769). Scholarly texts are to be found among editions of individual plays, for which see Caldern de la Barca Studies, 195169, ed. by J.H. Parker and A.M. Fox, pp. 2559 (1971).The only attempt at a full biography is E. Cotarelo y Mori, Ensayo sobre la vida y obras de D. Pedro Caldern de la Barca (1924). The best general studies are: of the Autos, A.A. Parker, The Allegorical Drama of Caldern (1943, reprinted 1968), and E. Frutos, La filosofa de Caldern en sus Autos Sacramentales (1952); of the Comedias, A.E. Sloman, The Dramatic Craftsmanship of Caldern (1958), and Critical Essays on the Theatre of Caldern, ed. by B.W. Wardropper (1965). Wardropper's study also includes British and American criticism of Caldern's works. The principles of an Anglo-American school of criticism are discussed by R.D.F. Pring-Mill in Litterae Hispanae et Lusitanae, ed. by H. Flasche (1968). James E. Maraniss, On Caldern (1978), argues that Caldern's themes of love, honour, and purity of descent reflect the circumstances of the dramatist's times. Major Works: Comedias. Of Caldern's more than 100 comedias the following are some of the best known. La devocin de la cruz (c. 1625; Devotion to the Cross in Four Plays, trans. by E. Honig, 1961); La cisma de Ingalaterra (c. 1627); El purgatorio de San Patricio (c. 1628; The Purgatory of St. Patrick in Caldern's Dramas, trans. by D.F. MacCarthy, 1873); El prncipe constante (1629; The Constant Prince in Six Plays, trans. by D.F. MacCarthy, rev. by H.W. Wells, 1960); Casa con dos puertas, mala es de guardar (1629); La dama duende (1629; The Phantom Lady in Four Plays); De una causa dos efectos (c. 163132); La banda y la flor (1632); Amar despus de la muerte (1633; Love After Death, trans. by Roy Campbell, 1960); La vida es sueo (1635; Life Is a Dream, trans. by Roy Campbell, 1959); A secreto agravio, secreta venganza (1635; Secret Vengeance for Secret Insult in Four Plays); El mdico de su honra (1635; The Surgeon of His Honour, trans. by Roy Campbell, 1960); Las tres justicias en una (c. 1637; Three Judgments at a Blow in Eight Dramas of Caldern, trans. by E.E. Fitzgerald, 1906); El mgico prodigioso (1637; The Wonder-Working Magician in Six Plays); La nia de Gmez Arias (c. 1638); No hay cosa como callar (1639); El alcalde de Zalamea (c. 1640; The Mayor of Zalamea, trans. by W.E. Colford, 1958); El Josf de las mujeres (c. 1640); No siempre lo peor es cierto (c. 1640); El pintor de su deshonra (c. 1645; The Painter of His Own Dishonor in Eight Dramas of Caldern); El jardn de Falerina (1648), the first of Caldern's zarzuelas, plays in two acts with alternating spoken and sung dialogue; La hija del aire, 2 parts (1653); La prpura de la rosa (1660), one-act opera; Celos, aun del aire matan (1660), three-act opera with music by Juan Hidalgo, some of which has not come to light; Eco y Narciso (1661); Fieras afemina amor (1669); La estatua de Prometeo (1669). For other English translations, see those by D.F. MacCarthy (10 plays and autos, 185373), rev. by H.W. Wells (1960); and Eight Dramas of Caldern, which is freely translated by E.E. Fitzgerald (1906). Autos sacramentales. Seventy-six of these allegorical plays, written for open-air performance on the Feast of Corpus Christi, are extant. The following are some of the best known: La cena de Baltasar (c. 1630; Belshazzar's Feast in Six Plays); El gran teatro del mundo (c. 1635; The Great Theatre of the World, trans. by R.C. Trench, 1856); No hay ms fortuna que Dios (c. 1652); Lo que va del hombre a Dios (165257); La via del Seor (1674); La nave del mercader (1674); El nuevo hospicio de pobres (1675); El pastor fido (1678); El da mayor de los das (1678).