Biography
Pedro Calderón de la Barca, transformed theatre from simple popular entertainment into a more intellectual and symbolic art form. He was a Spanish playwright, poet, and dramatist of the Spanish Golden Age, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in world literature. Born in Madrid, on January 17,1600, he lost his mother at the age of ten. His father, a wealthy government official, intended him to become a clergyman and sent him to study theology at the University of Alcalá de Henares. After a year, however, Calderón moved to the University of Salamanca, where he studied law.In 1620 he won a poetry competition, and by 1623 he had begun writing plays for the royal court, quickly gaining fame. After the death of Lope de Vega in 1635, Calderón became the leading dramatist of Spain and one of the central figures of the second phase of Spanish Golden Age theatre.
In 1636 King Philip IV awarded him knighthood. A few years later, during the Catalan Revolt of 1640, Calderón served in the Spanish army. In 1651 he was ordained as a priest, and in 1653 he became a canon of the Cathedral of Toledo. Despite his religious duties, he continued to write tirelessly, producing more than 120 plays, along with autos sacramentales, poems, and philosophical dramas.
Although Calderón never married, he is believed to have had at least one child. He died in Madrid on May 25, 1681, at the age of 81.