In Life Is a Dream by Pedro Calderon de la Barca, the use of both rhyme and meter seem to me to put the audience in an almost trance-like state. I normally read and process words in large chunks, but with this reading, that did not happen. Instead, every word was effectively sounded out in my mind, complete with the rhythm inherent in the meter, and compounded by the rhyme. While this seems like it would force me to pay more attention to the words as I am reading them, the opposite is actually true. Instead of quickly obtaining the meaning from what I read, the rhythm obscures it. The flow of words simply drifts in, then out, of my mind, unless I make a concentrated effort to retain the words as I read them. To me, this is similar to the feeling present in a dream. In dreams, or in waking recollections of them, you only remember broad ideas unless you pay close attention. You are also carried along by the dream, even if you do not know exactly what is happening. I am not familiar with the literary conventions of the time period enough to say whether this is intentional or not, but it is certainly effective.