real vs illusion
Tia Stratton
10/29/14
Period 6
Survey of Drama
Reality vs. Illusion
Generally speaking, plays normally incorporate a conflict that the characters struggle to conquer through the course of the play. Reality vs. illusion is a frequently used conflict that essentially broadens the mind of the characters and the audience. Reality is the awareness of something as a fact and illusion is misconception of an idea or belief. The central conflict of reality vs. illusion is respectively portrayed throughout an abundance of plays, especially in Life is a Dream by Pedro Calderón de la Barca and Man of La Mancha by Dale Wasserman. Both protagonists of each play, along with other characters, experience a realization of what is real and what is a dream. Although plenty of the characters display this realization, Miguel de Cervantes (Don Quixote) and Dr. Carrasco in Man of La Mancha and Segimundo in Life is a Dream are the more prime examples of this conflict. Pedro Calderón was an expertise of Cape and Sword plays (melodramas) and Life is a Dream is considered Calderón’s masterpiece. Life is a Dream, also known as La Vida Es Sueno, was a philosophical allegory about the mystery of human life. The protagonist, Segismundo, considerably struggled with realism and illusion. For example, in Act Two Scene Two while speaking with Clotaldo, Segismundo becomes aware of life itself. He essentially experienced an existential crisis and says in a speech so prominent,
“What is life? A madness. What is life? An illusion, a shadow, a story. And the greatest good is little enough: for all life is a dream, and dreams themselves are only dreams.” (Calderón, 808).
This is where Segismundo learned that even dreams are dreams and we poor people can’t find any refuge, even in our sleep. After this extraordinary soliloquy, the play’s next act displayed the prince becoming conscious with the idea that life is no more valuable than a dream. He mentioned that, “Knowing
10/29/14
Period 6
Survey of Drama
Reality vs. Illusion
Generally speaking, plays normally incorporate a conflict that the characters struggle to conquer through the course of the play. Reality vs. illusion is a frequently used conflict that essentially broadens the mind of the characters and the audience. Reality is the awareness of something as a fact and illusion is misconception of an idea or belief. The central conflict of reality vs. illusion is respectively portrayed throughout an abundance of plays, especially in Life is a Dream by Pedro Calderón de la Barca and Man of La Mancha by Dale Wasserman. Both protagonists of each play, along with other characters, experience a realization of what is real and what is a dream. Although plenty of the characters display this realization, Miguel de Cervantes (Don Quixote) and Dr. Carrasco in Man of La Mancha and Segimundo in Life is a Dream are the more prime examples of this conflict. Pedro Calderón was an expertise of Cape and Sword plays (melodramas) and Life is a Dream is considered Calderón’s masterpiece. Life is a Dream, also known as La Vida Es Sueno, was a philosophical allegory about the mystery of human life. The protagonist, Segismundo, considerably struggled with realism and illusion. For example, in Act Two Scene Two while speaking with Clotaldo, Segismundo becomes aware of life itself. He essentially experienced an existential crisis and says in a speech so prominent,
“What is life? A madness. What is life? An illusion, a shadow, a story. And the greatest good is little enough: for all life is a dream, and dreams themselves are only dreams.” (Calderón, 808).
This is where Segismundo learned that even dreams are dreams and we poor people can’t find any refuge, even in our sleep. After this extraordinary soliloquy, the play’s next act displayed the prince becoming conscious with the idea that life is no more valuable than a dream. He mentioned that, “Knowing