to Descartes' dream argument. It has been explored by writers from Lope de Vega to Shakespeare. Key elements from the play may be derived from the Christian legend of Barlaam and Josaphat, which Lope de Vega had brought to the stage. This legend is, itself, a derivation of the story of the early years of Siddharta Gautama, which illustrates the Hindu-Buddhist concept of reality as illusion. Father vs. son conflict One of the major conflicts of the play is the opposition between king and prince, which parallels with the struggle of Uranus vs. Saturn or Saturn vs. Jupiter in classical mythology. This struggle is a typical representation of the opposition in baroque comedy between the values represented by a fatherly figure and those embodied by the son. An opposition which, in this case, may have biographical elements. Honor The theme of honor is significant to the character Rosaura. She feels she has been stripped of her honor, and her aim is to reclaim it. Rosaura feels that both she and her mother were subjected to the same fate. She pleads to Clotaldo about earning her honor back, which he denies and sends her to a nunnery. Other motifs and themes Motifs and themes derived from a number of traditions found in this drama include the labyrinth, the monster, free will vs. predestination, the four elements, original sin, pride and disillusionment. Analysis and interpretations Rosaura subplot The Rosaura subplot has been subjected to much criticism in the past as not belonging to the work. Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo saw it as a strange and exotic plot, like a parasitical vine. Rosaura has also been dismissed as the simple stock character of the jilted woman. With the British School of Calderonistas, this attitude changed. A. E. Sloman explained how the main and secondary actions are linked. Others like E. M. Wilson and William M. Whitby consider Rosaura to be central to the work since she parallels Segismundo's actions and also serves as Segismundo's guide, leading him to a final conversion. For some Rosaura must be studied as part of a Platonic ascent on the part of the Prince. Others compare her first appearance, falling from a horse/hippogriff to the plot of Ariosto's Orlando furioso where Astolfo (the name of the character who deceives Rosaura in our play), also rides the hippogriff and witnesses a prophecy of the return of the mythical Golden