Abstract

This paper proposes an analysis of the semantic structure of the calderonian auto La serpiente de metal, combining the concepts of allegory and typology (taken from Biblical exegesis), those of symbol and sign (as defined by Niklas Luhmann), and those of meaning, fulfillment and evidence (according to Edmund Husserl’s Phenomenology). The structure of the auto is shown to be paradoxical, the reality of historical events being based on the evidence of things unseen, the spiritual meaning of salvation.