Meditation 10 - Life is tragic
Title/Subject: Life Is A Dream
I know that Kirk had mentioned comparing Life Is A Dream to The Tempest or something else we’ve read lately, but as I was reading it I saw a lot of similarities between it and the Greek tragedies we read at the beginning of the year.
At the beginning of the play we meet Segismund, who is in prison and seems to have been in prison for a very long time, if not for his entire life. This immediately made me think of Prometheus Bound, where Prometheus is sentenced to being chained to a rock for eternity. One huge difference beween the two is that Prometheus gave light to the humans and basically pissed the other gods off, but we are not sure of Segismund’s crime when we meet him, and neither is he.
The sword Rosaura has that Clotaldo eventually recognizes reminds me of the rocker that Oedipus Rex’s mother sees at the end of Odeipus Rex that causes her to realize the man she is married to and sleeping with is actually her son. There is all kinds of backstabbing and deception that ties the plot together, another staple of Greek tragedies. I also felt that there wasn’t going to be a happy ending to the play, just like I do whenever I start a Greek tragedy (That’s to be expected for a tragedy, though). There is also similarity between Life Is A Dream and Amphitryon – trying to convince characters that they are simply in a dream, not living what is going on around them.
While I am sure there are more than one ways to look at Life Is A Dream in comparison to The Tempest or any of Shakespeare’s other plays, I think it is more obviously comparable to a Greek tragedy.
posted by Anonymous @ 7:39 PM
4 Comments:
I think you make some interesting comparisons between Life is a Dream and Shakespearian plays. Never before had I realized how Calderon's play can parallel with Prometheus Bound. I suppose the two are very similar in the fact that they both contain characters that are unjustly inprisoned. Also, I like your comments about the rocking chair comparing to the sword.
I agree that the comparison that can most noticeably be made is with a greek tragedy. Not only did you compare Life is a Dream to Oedipus, but Layne did as well. I think it’s very interesting the parts that stuck out for you that reminded you of Oedipus. Comparing the sword to the rocking chair was a very unique way to tie the two together, but it makes a lot of sense now that I think about it. In both situations, they are noticing something that sparks a realization that changes their entire lives. I think its also a great point about Amphitryon. You could also compare it to Shakespeare, however, if you look at A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which the lovers, who have just been awakened after their lives have been messed up and confused, believe that everything that has happened between them has been a dream. Helena and Hermia do not believe that they could have loved any other men than the ones they loved in the beginning. All of these plays are great examples of the reality of life versus dreaming.
I really like how you compared Life As A Dream to Prometheus Bound. I can see the similarities that you described and I really like the way you laid out your meditation. It was so easy to see each point you were making which is nice.
I think you're absolutely right about the Prometheus Bound comparison. This play does have the elements of a Greek Tragedy.
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