Life is a Dream

Roles

• Segismundo - Teenager (13-19), Young Adult (20-35), Adult (36-50), Male

About this piece

Segismundo's speech as he becomes king

Summary

The central character of this play is Segismundo, the prince of Poland, son of King Basilio, who has been imprisoned all his life in a secluded tower as at the time of his birth it had been prophesised that he would have grown to become a tyrant and a violent ruler. Nobody actually knows that Segismundo is still alive as the king had told everybody that he had died in childbirth. Hence the apparent heirs to the king's throne were Astolfo and Estrella, the son and daughter of the king's sisters, who are supposed to marry. This king, however, reveals to his people that the prince is still alive and tells them the reason why he had him locked up in the first place. He decides to free him and to test him to find out if he is really turns out to be a tyrant. As he proves to be a tyrant, he is soon locked in the tower again until the people of Poland decide to free him by organizing a revolt. Segismundo becomes king at the end and this is the final speech to his people.

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