"Life Is a Dream" by Pedro Calderón de la Barca is a Spanish-language play first published in 1636. Prince Segismundo has been imprisoned in a tower since infancy by his father, King Basilio, who fears a prophecy that his son will bring disaster to Poland and kill him. When the king briefly frees Segismundo to test the oracle's prediction, the prince's behavior forces a devastating choice. This philosophical allegory explores free will versus fate, dreams versus reality, and the mysterious nature of human existence. (This is an automatically generated summary.)