“La verdad que adoro es la que niego”: Symbolism and Sophistry in Calderón’s La cisma de Inglaterra

This essay provides an extensive analysis of the development of the dominant sets of poetic imagery in Calderón’s Henry VIII play, La cisma de Inglaterra. Enrique and Ana Bolena knowingly distort the standard symbolism of ascent and descent, and of the sun, with a view to manipulating their interlocutors (and sometimes deluding themselves), presenting a false impression of their characters and their motives. The distorted symbolism is deployed in sophistical arguments set out by individuals who, aware of the truth, nonetheless elect to deny it. The relativisation of the truth content of traditional symbolism is shown to be one of a range of elements in La cisma that justify the assertion that sophistry is an idea prevalent enough in the play to be acknowledged as a fundamental theme, underplayed by previous critics. The essay identifies these elements and provides evidence that recourse to sophistry and imposture was considered by Rivadeneira—Calderón’s source for the play—to be a prominent characteristic of the historical King Henry and to have provided the fragile ideological foundations for the English Schism. It is suggested that these findings, together, cast some doubt upon the accuracy of Alexander A. Parker’s description (in The Mind and Art of Calderón) of the dramatist’s portrayal of Henry VIII as “extraordinarily compassionate.” (RN)