Calderoni De La Barca, Don Pedro

, a celebrated Spanish dramatic poet, was chevalier of the order of St. James, and at first distinguished himself as a soldier. This profession he quitted, and became an ecclesiastic, and was made priest and canon of Toledo. There are several dramatical pieces by him in 9 vols. 4 to, Madrid, 1689; not to mention several others that have not been printed. The imagination of Calderoni, however, was too fertile to allow him to be regular and correct. The rules of the drama are violated in almost all his works. We perceive in his tragedies the irregularity of Shakspeare, his elevation and his degradation, flashes of genius as strong, comic turns as much out of place, an inflation no less capricious, and the same bustle of action and incident. Some of his pieces are still performed on the Spanish stage, and some have been translated into French. This poet flourished about the year 1640. ¹