Pedro Calderón de la Barca was a dramatist of the Spanish Golden Age which occurred in the 1600's. Calderon was educated in a Jesuit college with plans to become a priest, but instead he studied law. Over two decades he wrote 70 secular plays for the commercial theatre. This 17th century Spanish dramatic allegory tells the story of a king who is suspicious of his son's possible involvement in an impending revolution. The concept of predestination versus free will is contemplated as well as the mysteries of human destiny. Calderon poses the question is the nature of existence illusory. The introduction contains a good bit of information