LA VIDA ES SUEÑO

I have seen some ads in the underground about a new performance of La vida es sueño by Don Pedro Calderón de la Barca, God, what a play!!! I love Segismundo's story since the first time I read the play. I've seen several performances and it's impossible to forget Pedro Mari Sánchez playing one of the most important roles in Literature. I have had a look at the text today and the story is never outdated. That's what makes it universal. We learn that we can change our destiny, that we mustn't judge anybody without knowing the reasons and we learn that education is essential for the development of human beings.

When Segismundo says that life is a dream there is a deep thought behind. Sometimes, when we don't believe what is going on, we  escape from that pain thinking for a short time that it is a dream, a bad dream, a nightmare. La vida es sueño is a perfect story to describe our present society. Now, let me quote those wonderful words:

"Sueña el rico en su riqueza,
que más cuidados le ofrece;
sueña el pobre que padece
su miseria y su pobreza;
sueña el que a medrar empieza,
sueña el que afana y pretende,
sueña el que agravia y ofende,
y en el mundo, en conclusión,
todos sueñan lo que son,
aunque ninguno lo entiende.
Yo sueño que estoy aquí
destas prisiones cargado,
y soñé que en otro estado
más lisonjero, me vi.
¿Qué es la vida?, un frenesí;
¿Qué es la vida?, una ilusión,
una sombra, una ficción.
y el mayor bien es pequeño;
que toda la vida es sueño,
y los sueños, sueños son."

I don't know why but when I think about the famous dialogue of poor Segismundo, I always think about Macbeth's honest definition of life:
"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his our upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing"

Perhaps Calderón and Shakespeare are not so far: Is life a dream? Is it fiction? Is it theatre? Is it a tale told by an idiot with no sense? I think that these quotations are very appropiate nowadays, unfortunately. And I think that Literature is a need in every culture. There is much to learn from Literature. Thanks, Don Pedro. Thanks Master Shakerpeare.