Pedro Calderón de la Barca

Pedro Calderon de la Barca y Henao was a Spanish dramatist, poet and writer. He is known as one of the most distinguished poets and writers of the Spanish Golden Age, especially for the many verse dramas he wrote for the theatre. Born in 1600 and dying in 1681, he wrote the play Life Is a Dream. He has been termed the Spanish Shakespeare, the national poet of Spain, and one of the greatest poets and playwrights in the history of world literature. He was born into the minor Spanish nobility in Madrid, served as a soldier and a knight of the Order of Santiago, and later became a Roman Catholic priest.