COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY STUDIES IN ENGLISH
AND COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
THE COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE
COLUMBIA
UNIVERSITY PRESS
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NEW YORK:
LEMCKE & BUECHNER
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SCAPPINO.
THE COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE
A STUDY IN ITALIAN
POPULAR COMEDY
BY
WINIFRED SMITH, PH.D.
got*
THE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS
1912
All rights reserved
Copyright, 1912
By COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS
Printed from type, August, 1912
PRESS OF
THE NEW ERA PRINTING COMPANY
LANCASTER. PA.
This Monograph has been approved by the Department of Eng-
lish and Comparative Literature in Columbia University as a con-
tribution to knowledge worthy of publication.
A. H. THORNDIKE,
Secretary.
PEEFACE.
A small Pennsylvania town turned itself out one
breathless summer day not long ago to watch an
entertainment given in a large airy barn by a family
of wandering geniuses, not gypsies or minstrels,
certainly not "agents" as the term is generally
understood, but hard-headed Yankee originals with
something of their own to sell and apparently a novel
way of their own of selling it. The something was a
certain soap, guaranteed of the purest; the method
of advertisement was to take it as the theme of a
simple farce, a theme varied by all manner of songs
in its praises and allusions to its perfections, brought
as by accident into the pauses of a banal dialog.
In the brief play each member of the band had a
part. The leader represented himself as a fashion-
able doctor, the rush of whose city practice had driven
him to the country for leisure and fresh air; his
brother figured as a wealthy friend of the physician,
a millionaire off for a holiday; the doctor 's two
young sons flirted madly with the millionaire's pretty
daughter and quarreled with each other about her
behind their parents ' backs ; the smaller children in
the roles of errand-boy, page and petted little house-
maid saw to it that the audience was kept smiling at
their tricks, their blunders and their comical songs.
The plot, such as it was, centered only incidentally
around the young people's love affairs, essentially
on the doctor's scientific pursuits, the object of the
vii
Vlll PEEFACE
latter being of course the discovery of a formula for
an absolutely peerless soap, one which would make
the dingiest complexion bloom with health and that
after one application. The lovers vied with each
other in helping their father to the discovery, for the
millionaire, some of whose capital was sunk in the
experiment, had promised his daughter and his for-
tune to the lucky man. When the elder son proved
the efficacy of his particular recipe by washing
away the yellowness from his father's wrinkled
cheeks and leaving them firmly and evenly ruddy,
when he was rewarded as he deserved by a parcel of
bonds and a bride, a climax greeted by whoops,
songs and hand-springs from the younger members
of the company, is it any wonder that the audience
flocked up to the stage to buy pounds of so magical a
cosmetic?
The lively spectacle, quivering in the dusty heat
of an American July, induced in the mind of one
spectator instead of the practical judgment of the
majority of the audience a mood of reflective remi-
niscence. Here was a scene in all its essentials
similar to others enacted hundreds of times in six-
teenth century Italy by traveling charlatans who
chose just such a miscellaneous farcical vaudeville
performance for advertising their vilely com-
pounded nostrums, and yet so different were the
details, the local color, the character of the audience
and of the setting, that the modern situation de-
manded no small effort of imagination to relate it to
those older farces, with which of course it could
have had not the slightest direct connection. Such
PKEFACE IX
connection as exists lies merely in the fact that this
rural seller of soap and his professional ancestors
in the sixteenth century, like the actors of vaude-
ville on Broadway at present, for mercenary pur-
poses of their own take advantage in similar fashion
of the ordinary man's need for purely recreative
amusement, by consulting his thoughtless prejudices
in the expression of commonplace social satire and
by provoking him to uproarious laughter as he
follows a simple intrigue or a series of rough jokes.
The likeness therefore between the characteristics
of ancient and modern farces should, I feel sure, be
attributed much more to their like function just
this response to an ever-present demand for care-
free recreation than to any hypothetical line of
evolution drawn through the centuries from the old
to the recent, from the Roman mime to the comic ._^,
opera, for instance, by way of Italian commedia *f
dell' art e and French pantomime.
The following study in popular comedy has re-
sulted from an effort to find material for testing the
hypothesis that I have just stated and further at
first by the way from an attempt to open jgjPto
English students of the drama a byway in their
field little known to them. The commedia dell'arte,
interesting and for comparative purposes important
as it is, has received many tributes of passing men-
tion and inexact allusion from our scholars and
critics, but except for the two brilliant and vivid
essays of John Addington Symonds and Vernon Lee,
no study worthy the name; even these two treat-
ments are inadequate, centered as both are on eigh-
X PEEFACE
teenth century developments and taking little ac-
count of earlier days and their complex problems.
It seemed accordingly time to bring together in Eng-
lish some of the widely scattered facts and theories
about the improvised plays and to point out their
significance for our own literature.
Materials for such a synthesis are not lacking.
The Italian professional actors, who in the Benais-
sance evolved these extempore farces, have left no
no scanty or uncertain memorials behind them ; there
abound letters telling of their struggles and suc-
cesses, books of their poetical compositions for the
adornment of bare plots, collections and scattered
leaves of the plots themselves, and in various
archives records from which we can reconstruct
imaginatively some of the actual performances.
Moreover Italian and French scholars have turned
over and expounded and related so great a mass of
these dusty documents as to smooth and make plain
the way to any foreign student who may wish to
investigate the subject. My indebtedness to the
work of these men, particularly to that of Adolfo
Bartoli, Alessandro d'Ancona, Michele Scherillo,
Benedetto Croce and Armand Baschet, is naturally
even greater than I can acknowledge in bibliography
and footnotes. In the field of the foreign relation-
ships of the commedia dell' art e there remains much
to do ; France has been pretty thoroughly searched
especially for the period of Moliere; on Italian
comedy in Spain little that is satisfactory is as yet
published; as to Elizabethan and Jacobean England
I feel fairly sure that if more definite traces and
PREFACE Xl
names of Italian actors in London at that period are
unearthed, there will be no difficulty in adding to the
suggestions I have brought together, some further
proof of the existence and the influence of the corn-
media dell'arte in England.
It is not only to foreign scholars that I realize my
indebtedness as I look back over the progress of this
little book. Professor John W. Cunliffe, Associate
Director of the School of Journalism, Columbia Uni-
versity, who almost alone of American scholars is
investigating the interrelations of Elizabethan and
Italian drama, has taken a very helpful interest in
my work. To many of my friends and to several of
my fellow-students at Columbia University, to my
colleagues in the Department of English at Vassar
College, most of all to several members of the Divi-
sion of Modern Languages at Columbia, I am under
heavy obligations. Professor Arthur A. Livingston
has made a number of suggestions on matters of
detail. Professor Ashley H. Thorndike has been
especially kind, not only in reading the manuscript
twice but in offering much valuable criticism. To
Professor Jefferson B. Fletcher, who first suggested
the commedia dell'arte to me as a subject worth in-
vestigating, and who has been unwearied in his in-
terest and helpfulness throughout my study, I owe
not only particular thanks on many scores, but much
gratitude for very far-reaching illuminations of the
wider meanings of scholarship. Finally the study I
have done with Professor John Dewey has been of
vital importance in helping to formulate my point of
view. My friend, Mrs. J. S. P. Tatlock, and two
Xll PEEFACE
others, who from personal interest have read the
manuscript entire, must accept this bare acknowl-
edgment as a mere symbol of deeper feeling; these
last two are my brother, Dr. Preserved Smith, of
Amherst College, in constant and close touch with
my work and never unfruitfully, and Professor
Laura J. Wylie, of Vassar College, from my under-
graduate days my most stimulating critic and always
an untiringly generous friend.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PREFACE .
DEFINITION OF THE COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE. 1
Characteristics: improvised dialog on an outline
plot, set speeches, masked clowns. Themes : satiric
treatment of them. Reasons for growth of im-
provised comedy in Italy: importance of profes-
sional actors, etc.
ORIGIN OF THE COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE: I.
THE MOUNTEBANKS 21
Old theories: Origin in (a) Roman Mime, (Z>) in
mystery plays, (c) in popular medieval farces.
Modern theory: the commedia dell'arte a composite
of popular and literary elements.
Popular elements, found chiefly on mountebanks'
stages. The mountebanks' troupes and perform-
ances described (a) by Coryat, (&) by Garzoni,
(c) by Grazzini; indicated by certain traces in
the commedia dell'arte, e. g., the charlatan, the
gymnast and others.
III. ORIGIN OF THE COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE, CON-
TINUED: II. THE ACADEMIES 67
IThe rise of Italian literary drama. Classical influ-
ences. Theory and practice. Academic and
-j courtly performances.
L. de'Sommi's precepts for academic theatricals.
Relation of professional to dilettanti actors. Early
traces of professional influence on literary drama ;
Beolco, Calmo.
Growth of the commedia dell'arte as a compromise
form.
xiii
XIV TABLE OF CONTENTS
SOME TYPICAL SCENAEIOS 103^,
Comedies: Massimo Trojano, 1568. Flaminio Scala,
1611 and earlier.
Pastorals and extravaganzas, 1611 and earlier.
Tragedies, late seventeenth century.
V. THE COMMEDIA DELL'AETE IN FOEEIGN
COUNTEIES, 16TH AND 1?TH CENTUEIES I
FRANCE, GERMANY AND AUSTRIA, SPAIN. 141 V
The Gelosi and their travels. Other traveling
troupes.
Influence of the improvised plays on foreign stages,
especially on the comedies of Moliere. Lope de
Eueda. Lope de Vega.
VI. THE COMMEDIA DELL ? AETE IN ELIZABETHAN
AND JACOBEAN ENGLAND 170 i
Early Italian entertainers in England; musicians
and jugglers, later, troupes of actors. Drusiano
Martinelli and others.
Proof that the commedia dell'arte was known in
England: English references to Masks, to prac-
tice of improvising on a scenario: Spanish
Tragedy, Spanish Gypsy, City Wit.
Did English actors ever improvise in the Italian
fashion? Alleyn's theater " plats, " the Dead
Man's Fortune, etc.
Volpone, I, 1, and a commedia dell'arte analog.
Mountebanks in Masques.
Summary of the relation between English plays and
the commedia dell'arte.
VII. THE TEANSFOEMATION OF THE COMMEDIA
DELL'ABTE 200
Improvised comedy superseded in popularity by
musical and spectacular entertainments. Survival
of the Masks (a) in Italy, especially in popular
theaters and marionette shows; G'oldoni's reforms,
Gozzi's opposition; Gozzi's Fiabe and the com-
TABLE OF CONTENTS XV
media dell'arte. (6) in Paris, 17th and 18th cen- I /
turies: the licensed Italian theater, Gherardi, Eic- / p
coboni, the Foires, parades and pantomimes, (c)
in England, 18th and 19th centuries: Gherardi
translated, vogue of farce and pantomime, crit-
ical opposition to both.
CONCLUSION : the commedia dell'arte as a kind of
farce ; its materials and point of view ;
its contributions to dramatic technic.
APPENDIX A : Scenarios 240
APPENDIX B: Eelations between English and
Italian drama in the 16th, 17th and 18th
centuries 246
BlBLIOGEAPHY 255
INDEX . . ,280
L
ARLECCHINO,
CHAPTEE I.
* ' Contemplo nella commedia dell 'arte un pregio dell 'Italia. ' '
(Carlo Gozzi.)
Many people who have never heard of the com-
media dell'arte have enjoyed Le Mariage de Figaro
or Don Giovanni, or have seen Watteau's and Lan-
cret's pictures of Italian comedians Gilles and
Pierrot or have smiled at a Christmas pantomime,
gay with bespangled Colombines and Harlequins.
Again they may possibly have laughed at a Punch
and Judy show, or have watched some Mardi-Gras
carnival in which black-masked and patchwork-
costumed clowns tickle with wooden daggers a kilted
soubrette or a long-robed, spectacled Pantaloon. Or
if they are practical folk, unused to such holiday
gaieties, they may still characterize an enemy as a
"miserable zany" or a campaign speech as "a mere
harlequinade." Such and even more diverse, are
the traces left by "Italy's pride" on the surface of
our modern life; when we dig deeper we find roots
that spread far and are interlaced with many a
foreign growth.
Disengaging the original stem from others as
nearly as may be, we can follow it back quite clearly
to about the middle of the sixteenth century when it
begins to have a life of its own. The Italian stage
in the Cinquecento was richer than that of any other
country, rich in popular farces and moralities, rich
2 i
\ \
2 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
in academic pieces imitated from the classics; they
crowd upon each other most confusingly, as we try
hopelessly to separate the May dance from the brus-
cello, the farsa from comedy or from allegorical
morality. Yet among them all the commedia
dell' art e is one of the few kinds of entertainment
that may be loosely defined even by those who de-
spair of arriving at any satisfactory classification of
literary genres. Here the definition is not to be
made on the basis of subject-matter, for that is most
various, but by a peculiarity of form. A commedia
dell' art e was always in part the transitory creation
of the individual actors who played it ; the plot was
known to each member of the troupe, so well-known,
indeed, that an entrance or an exit was never missed,
but the dialog was chiefly left to be struck out by the
suggestion of the moment. Hence the name, com-
i/ media dell'arte aWimprovmso, professional impro-
vised comedy, for only the actor profession or gild,
arte, could be sure enough of itself and sufficiently
at home on the stage to play without being tied to
lines. Dilettanti noblemen and academicians did, to
be sure, try their skill occasionally in this difficult
art, as in the first recorded performance of the kind,
that at the Bavarian court in 1568 j 1 yet such gentle-
1 Cf . V de Amicis, Com. pop. latina, etc., 13 ; he says the name -was
"inventato appunto in quel tempo (i. e., the sixteenth century) per
distinguere queste specie di rappresentazioni, fatte da gente merce-
naria, da commedianti di mestiere, che facevano un'arte a fino di
lucro, da quelle di commedie erudite, scritte secondo le norme degli
autori classici, che si facevano da letterati, accademici, o dilettanti
nelle corti, nelle sale di palazzi principeschi ed in private accademie. ' '
Other amateur performances of improvised plays are recorded by
Bartoli, Seen, inediti, cl, note 6; one dates from 1686, the other from
1753.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 3
men usually confined their histrionic efforts to the
easier "sustained" or "learned" written drama and
left the improvised to professionals.
This simple definition of our comedy by form
alone is really the only workable one. Any attempt
to limit its content results in a confusion like that of
the traveling players in Hamlet : i t Tragedy, comedy,
history, pastoral, pastoral-comical, historical-pas-
toral, tragical-comical - historical - pastoral, ' ' the
Italians played them all, both in free improvised,
and in formal written versions. Should we adopt
the usual English synonym, the Comedy of Masks,
we should again be inexact ; the Masks, as certain of
the characters were called from the grotesque
visards they wore to heighten their comic effect,
were after all not very different from the persons of
written plays; even with the special commedia
dell'arte names and costumes they often appear in
regular comedies, particularly in those of late date,
and therefore they ought not to be made a dis-
tinguishing mark of the improvised pieces. 2 A
third test has sometimes been applied, the lazzi, or
comic business, with which these plays were so over-
loaded, 3 yet what lively stage is without such ap-
2 Allacci ) Dramaturgia, passim, gives a number of titles of written
plays in which the Masks figure, as II Pantalone innamorato, by G. j\
Briccio (Viterbo, 1629); II Pantalone impazzito. by F. Eigelli
(Viterbo, 1609).
3 Lazzi is defined by Riccoboni, Hist, du theatre italien, 65: "Nous
appellons lazzi ce que Arlequin ou les autres Acteurs masques font au
milieu d'une Scene qu'ils interrompent par des epouvantes, ou par
des badineries etrangeres au sujet de la matiere que Pon traite, et a
laquelle on est pourtant oblige de revenir: or ce sont ces inutilite's qui
ne consistent que dans le jeu que 1'acteur invente suivant son genie."
Lazzi, according to a doubtful etymology, comes from the Tuscan
4 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
peals to a primitive sense of fun? The devil in the
Mysteries chased sinners off to Hell-mouth with
blows as resounding as those inflicted by Arlec-
chino on his master's rivals, and Shakespeare's
Fools play practical jokes on each other nearly as
often as do the Italian Zanni.
Whenever even the loosest definition is laid down
it must of course immediately be qualified. If im-
provisation is to be the test for marking off the corn-
media dell' art e, it must at once be stated that the
improvisation was never more than partial. Not
only was the scenario 4 or plot outline written in
some detail, with entrances and exits noted, but each
player possessed a book which he filled with com-
positions either original or borrowed, suitable to
his role. 5 One actor rarely took more than one kind
of part, whether he learned or improvised it; if he
were young, handsome and sentimental, he was cast
word lacci, bonds, because these tricks bound the action together. Cf .
Ee's discussion, Gior. Stor., LV, 329.
* The word scenario for the plot outline does not seem to have been
used before the beginning of the nineteenth century; soggetto was the
earlier word, or simply jomedia. Cf. Brouwer, Ancora una Baccolta,
etc., 393, note 4.
5 N. Barbieri, himself an actor and playwright, bears witness to this
practice in La Supplica, Chap. VIII: "The actors study to adorn
their memories with a great provision of things such as sententious
remarks, figures of speech, love discourses, rebukes, desperations and
ravings, in order to have them ready at need; and their studies are
appropriate to the kind of part they represent. "
Perucci, Dell'arte rappresentativa, 364 f., lists and gives examples
of ' ' primuscite, disperazioni, dialoghi, rimproveri, saluti, paralelli. "
Cf. Croce, Gior. Stor., XXXI, 458 f., a description of a MS. collec-
tion dated 1734, of a "wealth of rags and literary scraps" in the
form of prologs, sketches for plots, lazzi, poems, monologs for the
Doctors r61e. etc.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 5
for first or second lover and memorized Petrarchan
laments and rhapsodies: if his skill lay in counter-
feiting the "childish treble of old age," he played
the pedant Doctor Gratiano, or the
. . . lean and slipper 'd Pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
and made up long paragraphs of nonsensical, would-
be-wise saws and "counsels to youth" on the order
of Polonius' farewell to Laertes; if he preferred
"Ercles" vein, a tyrant's vein, or "a part to tear a
cat in, to make all split," he figured as the Capitano
Spavento, or Eodomontade, or Slay-the-Moors, and
composed tirades full of the wildest exaggerations
and the most impossible feats ; if he were merely a
comical fellow, he studied out lazzi suited to the
clown's part and appeared all his life as a Zanni,
Pedrolino, Arlecchino, Pulcinella, as the case might
be. The actresses too had their aids to eloquence,
though for the women the choice of parts was nar-
rower; the prima donna was naturally the most
poetical and lackadaisical, and drew for inspiration
largely on the sonneteers; the seconda donna was
her paler shadow; the servetta Franceschina or
Colombina kept closer to earth, had always a ready
and none too squeamish word for everyone, and in
love speeches to her adorers parodied ludicrously
enough her mistress's romantic flights; the old
woman, who sometimes though rarely appeared, had
often an unsympathetic role and got through it with
the plainest words possible and few of them. 6 All
"The Masks were neither so few nor so simple as this general
classification might lead one to think ; a broadly inclusive list is how-
6 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
these " conceits " are very similar to the speeches of
corresponding characters in the fully written come-
dies and are not unlike the language of the more
affected of our Elizabethans, Nathaniel Field for
instance. Even the jdialects, supposed to mark off
the Masks of the commedia dell'arte, are to be found
in the learned plays as well, often in great variety. 7
Again English drama offers a parallel, for from cer-
tain early moralities and interludes to Henry V and
the Merry Wives of Windsor, dialects were freely
and successfully used to give comic tone. Even in
our own day the vaudeville stage makes capital of
Irish Paddies and French barons and English dukes.
Although the Masks resemble the personages of
written plays who are partly responsible for their
existence, they had also distinctions of their own.
In the first place they were almost entirely the crea-
tures of whatever actors happened to be interpret-
ing a given scenario, they were not poetically real-
ized characters but pawns in the plot, and secondly
each one tended to assume a stereotyped habit and
name, more significant, really, than anything he
might do. When Pantalone de'Bisognosi came on
in the long black robe and scarlet hose of a Magnifico
of Venice, the audience knew at once that according
ever easy to make because only the outlines of characters remain in
the scenarios, all their life and variety came from the genius of the
actor who filled in the outlines. Cf. a list of some twenty-five minor
Masks in G 1 . Petrai's Lo spirito delle mascliere, and"cf. Bartoli, Seen,
ined., clxi f., for the names of the principal actors in different roles.
T Cf. below, chapter II, on Beolco and Calmo. V. Verucci's Li
diversi linguaggi (Venetia, 1609) contains French and the dialects
of Venice, Bergamo, Bologna, Eome, Naples, Perugia and Florence.
Such a mixture was in no way peculiar to Verucci's style.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 7
to convention he would speak Venetian patois, would
be stupid, avaricious and amorous and the dupe of
the young people in the intrigue. 8 His old crony,
Gratiano, or Doctor Gratiano as he is called in the
more ancient scenarios, was oftenest from Bologna,
and wore the gown and hood of that university, with
in addition a mask blotched by wine stains to contra-
dict slyly his dignified garb.^His role varies; like
Pantalone he is sometimes tne husband, sometimes
the father of one of the heroines of the piece, and is
generally in love with another young woman. In \ j
pursuit of their ends these two old fools are willing
to condescend to any disguise and are therefore /
unmercifully baited by the hero and his servant.
Gratiano figures in early scenarios now as a charla-
tan, now as a pedagog, sometimes a councillor,
again shade of Malvolio! a majordomo, most
often a legal authority or a doctor of medicine. 9
* Pantalone 'a name has given a good deal of trouble to students ;
he was quite certainly not christened after St. Pantaleone, nor does
he seem to have been named because he represents a Magnifico who
planted the lion of Venice in the Levant. A modern derivation from
the Greek, pantos-elemon, seems still less likely; cf. Piangiani,
Vocabolario etimologico, and J. A. Symonds' discussion, Mem. of l \
Count C. Gozzi, I, 44. The name Pantalone was semi-proverbial by
1568 whatever its derivation.
'Bartoli, Seen, inediti, xviii f. and 1 f., studies some of the varia-
tions of this Mask. A modern rather superficial analysis of the
Doctor in his later developments is Sarti'a Teatro dialettale "bolog-
nese; the author shows how Gratiano persisted on the popular stage
in dialect farces, well on into the nineteenth century; cf. especially,
131 f.
The origin of Gratiano 's name is no clearer than that of Pantalone 's.
The creator of the Mask, according to the older scholars, was Luzio
Burchiello who subscribed himself Lus Burchiello Gratid and who
imitated an old barber, Gratiano delle Celtiche; cf. Quadrio, Storia
8 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
Whatever his station in life and his relation to the
other characters, his manners and morals are much
the same, his speech alternately maccaronic Latin
nonsense and Bolognese riddles or gnomic sayings
of evident folk ancestry, often indecent in their
double meaning.
The old men's almost invariable enemy, a butt who
had seldom a friend in the play, was the Captain,
a Spaniard usually, copied from life after the hated
foreign mercenaries who crowded sixteenth century
Italy. Each actor impersonating him gave a
slightly different turn to his countenance, wore his
hat and his moustache cocked at a different angle
and changed the color of his cape and the size of his
sword, but one and all followed the general outlines
laid down by the Thrasos and bravos of written
plays and by the first famous Captain of the corn-
media dell' art e, created by Francesco Andreini. 10 A
boastful, cowardly bully, always in love and always
unsuccessful, he took small part in the plot except as
an object for the wit of others to prey upon, in that
e ragione, etc., V, 219. Ancona, commenting on this (Origini, II,
446, note I) prefers to agree with the derivation of the Doctor from
the "canonist Graziano." If Gratian were indeed the learned
original of all the foolish clowns who caricatured under his name pre-
tentious scholars, until "a Gratiano" became a synonym for fool,
the distortion would be no more curious than that of Duns Scotus'
unfortunate first name into our English dunce, or that of great-souled
Hector into a verb meaning to bully. However Gratiano is not an
uncommon Italian name and may have been adopted simply for its
humorous suggestion of grace and favor, so ill-assorted to the
character.
10 Senigaglia, Cap. Spavento, is the best single study of this Mask.
Cf. also Scherillo, Commedia dell'arte in Italia, Chap. IV, and Kasi,
Comici italiani, under Andreini, F.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 9
capacity lie seems to have been unfailingly delight-
ful to his audiences. As he was one of the first
figures to appear in the improvised plays there is
a "Spanish desperado " in the oldest known
scenario so he is one of the longest lived; under
various names he trod the boards all through the
seventeenth century, indeed his ghost still walks and
talks in the Neapolitan marionette theater as Eogan-
tino or Guappo. And everyone I suppose, knows
Gautier's Capitaine Fracasse, a sympathetic attempt
to clothe an old idea with flesh. 11
Of the tiresomely monotonous lovers around
whom all the other personages circle, there is no
need to say more than a word here. They were
never Masks, that is, they played with ^uncovered
faces and spoke the most polished Tuscan instead of
some provincial dialect; they were in short in the
commedia dell'arte just about what the academicians
had made them in written comedies, centers of the
plot and mouthpieces for love speeches. The Zanni,
however, was a Mask, or rather an infinite variety of
Masks. Always of humble station, usually the ser-
vant and confidant of a principal character, 12 some-
times a rascal, sometimes a dunce, oftenest a com-
plex mixture of the two, almost always the chief plot-
weaver, his main function was to rouse laughter,
u lt is odd that G'autier named his Gascon Fracasse, for Fracasso
was at first a good-for-nothing more like Pulcinella than like the
Capitano. The earliest Captains, those pictured in Callot's Balli di
Sfessania (" little dancers"), are called Cardino, Zerbino, Cerimonia,
etc.
" Scala 's Burattino is, however, occasionally an inn-keeper, a bailiff
or a majordomo, and Pulcinella, as Croce points out, was a whole
collection of persons in himself. Cf. Croce, Pulcinella, passim.
10
to entertain at all costs. 13 One of the means he
took to this end was the use of some patois, gen-
erally Bergamask, not infrequently Neapolitan;
another was his curious costume and mask; the most
effective of all were his actions, his surprisingly
dexterous gymnastic feats, his multifarious dis-
guises and his absurd songs and lazzi. Popular
horseplay of this sort is invariably made up of very
old traditional jokes, so it is not extraordinary to
find that some of Zanni 's names point back to a
remote antiquity.
Arlecchino's origin has by some adventurous souls
been traced to that fearful spirit of the night,
Hellequin, who with his mesnie rode the air in the
wildest medieval imaginations, 14 hence, they say, his
more than human agility and careless deviltry.
JPulcinella, it appears from the latest investigations,
"Biccoboni, Hist, du theatre italien, Chap. II. All the characters
in the improvised plays of course aimed chiefly to rouse laughter,
but Zanni tried harder and succeeded better than the others.
14 For the French Hellequin cf . Baynaud, in Etudes romanes dediees
a Gaston Paris, 51 f ., and O. Driessen, Ursprung des Harlekin. Dante
mentions Aliehino among his grimly comic devils, Inferno, XXI, lin
118, and XXII, 112 f. Cf. Wesselofsky, Aliehino e Aredodesa, Gior.
Stor., XI, 325 f.
Eenier, Arlecchino, Fanfulla della domenica, Anno XXVI, no; 12,
gives a sensible summary of the problem, showing that the tradition
of the diabolical Charivari existed in Italy as well as in France, and
admitting that the "transition from the devil-clown to the Zanni-
Arlecchino" is very hard to trace. All that we know is that Arlec-
chino appeared on the stage at least as early as 1574 when Ganassa
played the part in Spain, and that he figures prominently among
Scala 's Zanni, before 1611. Whether the protection accorded to Zanni
in Paris by Achille de Harley affected the name of the Italian clown
as some have thought, seems exceedingly doubtful; cf. Sand, Masques
et Bouffons, I, 73, and Bartoli's criticism, Seen, inediti, clxxiv.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 11
has an ancestor at least as illustrious as Arlecchino,
preferable perhaps as being historical instead of
mythical ; his name at least, whether or not any con-
clusions may be drawn therefrom as to character
resemblances, is the same as that of a restless and
grotesque patriot of thirteenth century Verona, Pul-
cinella dalle Carceri. 15 It may be a stretch of
imagination to see a popular memory of this adven-
turer preserved in the Pulcinelli of carnival songs,
whether of the fourteenth century or of jSicily
to-day; the facts are that such Pulcinelli are men-
tioned as long ago as 1363 and that it was probably
from them Silvio Fiorillo took the name and idea
for the Mask he created in the early seventeenth cen-
tury. From that time on Pulcinella takes his part
in numerous scenarios and written plays ; Scala does
not use him, but he appears in other plots, now as
peasant, now as merchant, or as painter, soldier,
thief or bandit, always as the successful lover of Co-
lombina. 16 In Gr. B. della Porta's outline, La Trapo-
laria, he is a silly old burgess, who among other per-
formances disguises himself as a Turkish slave-girl.
u Fainelli, in Gior. Stor., LIV, 59 f ., makes the connection between
Pulcinella dalle Carceri and the Pulcinelli of carnival songs. The
best study of this Zanni in comedy is Croce's Pulcinella, etc. The
name may possibly mean little cock, as some have thought from the
birdlike mask worn by Pulcinella. Or there may have been an actor
who gave his name to his creation long before Fiorillo : Croce has dis-
covered a Joan Polcinella in 1484 (cf. his Teatri di Napoli, 689) and
Scherillo records a Lucio Pulcinella who flourished about 1572.
(Comm. dell'arte, 57-8 and 68-9.)
Cf. Easi, Comici italiani, I, 921 f., and for the modern carnival
figure, Pitrd, Studi di poesia popolare, 58 f.
18 Cf. the description of Passante's scenarios by Croce, Gior. Stor.,
XXIX, 211 f. For Porta's scenario, cf. Scherillo, Comm. dell'arte,
Chap. VI.
12 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
With Arlecchino and Pulcinella are to be grouped
Brighella, Pedrolino, Mezzetino, Cola, Trappolino,
and innumerable other Zanni, hard to classify be-
cause they vary with every actor of the role. None
of them wears so bizarre a suit as Arlecchino, whose
many colored patches are reminiscent of his original
rags, yet they all have some ludicrous peculiarity of
dress and they are all as adroit as Arlecchino in
their use of comic tricks and gestures. Ability to
move quickly was the first requisite for the clown ;
on this he had to depend for the effectiveness of his
instantaneous maskings and unmaskings, and the
appearances and disappearances that so mystified
slow-witted old Pant alone and Gratiano and propor-
tionately delighted the audience. Brains, too, had
to move as quickly as muscles if Zanni were to fulfil
his function of embroiling as much as possible his
master's rivals and even, with pretended stupidity,
his master himself and the heroine. Sometimes he
did this by disguising two lovers of the same lady in
the same style and sending them to meet under her
window where a fight was sure to ensue ; frequently,
by ventriloquism in the manner of Ariel, 17 he imi-
tated different voices and led on his impatient dupes
to their own confounding ; again he would dress him-
self as a ghost or a lunatic or in a gown exactly like
that of the heroine or her maid, and so cause either
terror or confusion; 18 still more remarkable he was
able in his own person to play several parts, even on
17 Cf . scenario published by Toldo, Gior. Stor., XLVI, 128, and that
published by Martucci, Nuova Antologia, Ser. II, No. LI, 223 f.
18 The ghost motif is found most often in the early plays; cf.
Scala's Gior. I, Act I, Gior. VII, Act I, and elsewhere in his book.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 13
occasion simultaneously. 19 The ancient repertory
of practical jokes was drawn upon again and again,
blows, trips, stumbles, starts of causeless fright,
pretence of stupidity, misinterpretation of orders
with laughable results, puns and satiric repartee, all
these ways of rousing mirth, ways still thriving on
our vaudeville stage, were the chief stock in trade
of the commedia dell'arte. 20
Just when the tricks came to be conventionalized
and listed for the benefit of their performers is not
very certain; Scala's book contains few evidences
that the lazzi had become by 1611 as stereotyped as
the ' ' conceits, ' ' whereas Perucci about a century
later draws up a long table of apparently well-known
19 Cf. Arlequin lingere du Palais, Gherardi, Theatre, etc., I, 61 f.;
Arlequin dressed half as a man and half as a woman, bobs in and
out of two adjoining booths, alternately offering Paseariel linen and
lemonade, and in his double role, abusing himself and even aiming
blows at himself in the most ridiculous way. Similar double parts are
still to be seen to-day in the popular theatres of Italy and Spain and
are not unknown in city vaudevilles. The device is, I suppose, merely
a kind of objectification of a mock-serious debate with oneself, of
the sort that Shakespeare often -used in the comic soliloquies of his
clowns; Launcelot Gobbo's remarks, Merchant of Venice, II, 2, offer
an excellent chance for a dramatisation of the two disputing elements
in the boy's own mind.
20 Old jokes constantly reappear in the scenarios. For example the
central incident of Scala 's Cavadenti is the same as that introduced
in a minor part of JBoccaccio 7 s ninth novella (Decameron, Gior. VIII)
which in turn goes back to the medieval Comoedia Lydiae; of Francia,
Gior. Stor., XLIX, 201 f., especially 224. In one of the later eigh-
teenth century scenarios (cf. Diet, des theatres de Paris, VI, 195 f.)
Gratiano and Pantalone are hung in two baskets at an equal distance
from the ground because they had confided in the promise of a servant
to introduce them to her mistress through the window. The same joke
was played on Virgil and Hippocrates according to a medieval tale.
Cf. Comparetti, Virgilio nel media evo, II, 109.
14 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
jokes, as the "lazzo of fear/ ' " of weeping and laugh-
ing," "of knocking at the door," "of the slipper,"
and ' ' of crying loudly. ' m The process of recogniz-
ing, labeling and classifying the lazzi must have
begun in the Cinquecento, for in Porta's scenario
just mentioned, there are noted the "trick of going
back to knock" and "of hiding" and "the I-don't-
know-you dodge," all as though familiar to the
actor. Presumably they made the basis of a book
of reference like those of the set speeches for the
other players. Zanni had also, however, written
compositions of his own; he often spoke the prolog
or epilog to the comedy, and in the course of his love
affairs with the servetta he had need of "com-
plaints" (for beatings as well as for slighted love)
"passions, "serenades and sonnets. 22 No one firmly
defined character is behind these speeches of course ;
they merely express incoherently enough, sentiments
and opinions appropriate to the cleverest, the most
plain-spoken, the most satirical and the most cynical
of the Italian Masks, for whom the insensate rap-
tures of a lover are only food for mirth. 23
21 For other lazzi cf . Croce, Gior. Stor., XXXI, 458 f .
221 Bocchini, Corona Maccheronica, I, 6 f., preserves a number of
speeches for the servants' roles, for "Zagna" as well as for Zagno;
cf. II, 28 f., for a typical Petrarchan cursing sonnet, burlesqued, to
be used as a clown's serenade.
For the servetta cf. Scherillo, Comm. dett'arte, Chap. II, and
Guillemot, Revue Contemporaine, 15 mai, 1886, 97 f.
28 One Zanni thus expresses the unromantic view of love to his
master: "This love has made you timid, from a brave man it has
turned you into a coward, from a wise man into a fool, from sensible
to silly, from a Spanish charger it has changed you to a mule, for
from the hour you fell in love you have made nothing but trouble,
singing your sonnet nonsense through the streets, your Petrarch in
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 15
Yet a love intrigue, usually doubled and even
tripled, is the life of the Italian plays as of the
Elizabethan. 24 In every case the commedia dell'arte
tends to be more lively, more exaggerated, more dis-
heveled than her formal sister, but allowing for the
difference in their dress, the resemblance between
them is striking. It is the style of drama familiar
to us in the Comedy of Error?, the Two Gentlemen
of Verona, some of Chapman's, Middleton's and
Jonson's comedies, in short the less serious plays of
our great age which combine material from the
novellas with borrowings from Plautus and Terence.
Only, be it remembered, the English imagination is
coldejLeven in the sixteenth century than the Italian,
iSgllsh taste more hesitant to report or to enlarge
upon immoral complications and to jest with
ribaldry. If the Decameron is truly the fount of all
Italian comedy as it certainly is of many single
plays, it is the Decameron unexpurgated, unsoftened,
not refined as Shakespeare refined it in All's Well.
In the improvised farces especially, a popular
amusement above all things and at least in its begin-
nings an amusement for men alone, the unsavori-
ness of the fable was intensified by acting and by
jokes far more impudent than the English stage
knew in its most unregenerate days. 25
your fist." (Gl* amorosi inganni, by V. Belando, Paris, 1609, Act I,
ec. 13.)
24 The complication of plot as a characteristic of Renaissance drama *
is well illustrated by a comparison of Cecchi's Bivdli to the Casino, of
Plautus, Gior. Stor., XXII, 417 f.
25 The better Italian actors were constantly having to apologize for
16 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
Not that there was not always an underlying theme
of at least apparent dignity! Those commonplaces
of fashionable Eenaissance discussion, the opposi-
tion of love to fortune or to friendship or to duty,
were worked out in the academic plays under the
guise of a rivalry between father and son or between
a pair of youths for the favor of one mistress; or
in the story of a father's recovery of his long lost
children, or in the winning back of a faithless lover
by a constant maiden. The commedia dell' art e took
these themes and twisted them to suit its purpose of
merrymaking; shameless old men and still more
shameless young people attempt to get their wills
through a series of outlandish maskings and tricks,
and disguises like those of Viola in Twelfth Night
and Imogen in Cymbeline occasion mistakes quite
other than those permitted by Shakespeare's sym-
pathy for his heroines. In all these intrigues it is
the subplot group of characters, the servingmen and
maids, who set the tone for the piece as well as plan
most of its complications; endowed with more wit
their profession. Cf. N. Barbieri's Supplied and P. M. Cecchini's
Moderne commedie, passim.
Baschet, Comediens italiens, etc., gives an account of the diffi-
culties the Italians had with the authorities in Paris, because of the
immorality of their plays. Priests, like the Jesuit Ottonelli, launched
execrations at the abandoned character of their country 's theater and
urged in vain a more decent comedy. Ottonelli says the most harmful
plays are those given indoors, but this is only because robbery and
other ill deeds could more easily be committed in a hall than on the
piazza; cf. Delia Christiana moderatione, 457. The priest further
accuses the commedia dell'arte in particular (p. 29), "I Zanni,
Covielli, Pantaloni . . . e simili . . . voglion cavare il Eidicolo dall'-
oscenita. ' '
Cf. also Bartoli, Seen, inediti, xiv.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 17
than sentiment they go about to attain their ends
with a fertility and a straightforwardness of bold
invention that often plunges them and their betters
into most embarrassing situations. Therefore, while
among the pairs betrothed at the end of the play
there is always at least one couple from below stairs
6 ' coming toward the ark, ' ' their concession to matri-
mony does not mean that a romantic tone predomi-
nates at the climax, it rather intensifies the effect of
the whole as a piece of parody.
Improvisation, with the Masks and all the farcical
quips accompanying them, was by no means con-
fined to "right comedies. " To the scandalizing of
critical theorists in the academies, the Italian actors
lightened their serious plays by bits of quite as lively
clowning as any in their farces. Laughter, yet more
laughter, was the end and aim of the professional
entertainers, and they cared only enough for the
sacred critical canons to make a few such concessions
to decorum as would bring them popularity among
well-educated audiences. So they generally passed
off lazzi in tragedies as acts of madness, not unlike
Hamlet's freakish doings and like them when first
presented, undoubtedly highly amusing to the
house. 26 Scala's Mad Princess was evidently very
popular and successful for he has preserved larger
extracts from her ravings and a fuller account of
her wild deeds than of those of most of his hero-
ines. 27 A hundred years later several madmen
"Corbin, The Elizabethan Hamlet. There were comic mad scenes
in Marlowe's Dr. Faustus and Tamburlaine as first acted, scenes
omitted in the printing. Cf. A. H. Thorndike, Tragedy, 90.
"Scala, Gior. XLI; cf. Gior. XXXVIII, La pazzia d' Isabella,
3
18 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
make a scenario in which they figure extravagant
enough for the comic opera stage. 28 If lunatics
were made to bear the burden of ridiculous lazzi in
tragedies and tragicomedies, peasants and magicians
had to perform a major share of them in pastorals
and extravaganzas imitated from the Spanish, for
only by seeing the horse-play assigned to such in-
ferior characters could a possible objector with his
Horace in his pocket, be persuaded that the actors
knew their rules as to the observance of dramatic
propriety.
No definition of the commedia dell' art e however
summary would be complete without at least a glance
at one of the fundamental perplexities connected
with it: why, it will occur to everyone to ask, did
Italian players alone develop a peculiar kind of
comedy out of all the elements of farcical amuse-
ment found singly or in partial combination on the
stages of other countries! Improvisation, masked
fools, acrobatic tricks, intrigue plots, satire and
music are widespread in the sixteenth century thea-
ter, but only the Italians combined them all on out-
lines roughly resembling regular plays. The phe-
nomenon has been variously accounted for, most
often by ascribing to the Italian race superlative
mimetic excellence. But such a would-be explana-
tion begs the question and falsifies the facts ; surely
summarised below, chap. IV. The pazzie device was used in written
plays as in improvised, cf. Porta's La furiosa.
**Un pazzo guarisce I'altro, Wiener. Sitzungsberichte, phil.-hist.
Klasse, CXLIII, part 16. The play is of Spanish inspiration, Don
Quixote figures in it, and it is closely allied to a written comedy of
the same name by G. Gigli (pr. 1704).
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 19
it takes much greater mimetic power to represent
adequately Othello or Alceste than to play Pantalone
or Gratiano.
More truly, I think, the materials making up
the commedia dell' art e should be recognized as
nothing but the contents of a kind of general
property-box, tricks of the trade demanding not so
much great as superficial readiness of technic. Just
why the Italians were able to use these professional
tools more freely and effectively than their foreign
rivals is ultimately perhaps inexplicable. Yet one
reason for the fact is pretty certainly that drama-
tists of great talent were rarer in Italy than else-
where and that such men as did write for the stage
were entirely aristocratic and academic in training
and sympathies ; consequently a large proportion of
literary plays are narrow in their appeal and imita-
tive and unconvincing in their art. Another and
even weightier cause for the formation of the im-
provised pieces is to be found in the position of pro-
fessional" actors ; these bands were attached to noble
patrons longer than in other countries, owing to the
relatively late establishment of public theaters in
Italy, and since educated Italians very early had
become persuaded of the value of the drama and
the importance of its presenters, all the players had
been allowed great liberty in the matter of reper-
tory. Naturally such willingness on the part of
their public to take what was offered it at the theater
would in the long run lower the average of the art
by bringing to the surface the mediocre resources of
merely mercenary troupes and individuals, and
20 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
therefore the habits of improvising dialog, of using
masked characters and old jokes, would be formed
and set. In so confused a situation no one reason
for the origin of the commedia dell' art e can be
singled out as decisive, though it is perfectly easy
to see that its peculiarities sprang from tenacious
and by no means unique folk customs and that under
academic supervision they were pruned and trained
by the skilful hands of the professional actors who
later spread them broadcast over Europe.
CHAPTEE II.
Not a little nonsense has been written about the
"evolution" of the commedia dell'arte. Of the
three main theories that attempt to account for our
farces the hoariest and most outgrown is that con-
cerning their putative Eoman father, surely a ghost
that by now ought to be permanently laid; next in
respectability as in age is the hypothesis that makes
the Masks direct descendants of comic personages in
the mystery plays; finally a modern student 1 takes
pains to trace back what he considers commedia
dell'arte motifs and figures into the folk literature I
of the middle ages and from this material to deduce
a medieval profane comedy which he asserts must
have existed perhaps for centuries, side by side with
the sacred representations, until it flowered into the
sixteenth century professional plays we know. On
the whole dispassionate criticism is tending to aban-
don or radically to modify these theories in such a
way as to make the actor class itself and in the very
Cinquecento, responsible for its peculiar product.
Exactly what this responsibility was and how it
caused the formation of improvised plays, I shall,
complex though the process be, try to explain in this
chapter and the next, after showing briefly why the
older hypotheses have become untenable.
The theory concerning the derivation of the
1 Stoppato, in La commedia popolare in Italia (1887).
21
22 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
Italian masked plays from the Atellanae took its rise
among the classicists of the Eenaissance, admirers
of antiquity so enthusiastic that they traced every
element in their own experience back to a Latin
prototype. Such irregular performances as the im-
provised farces, no matter how amusing, were
naturally regarded askance by the sticklers for
dramatic propriety until the suggestion that the
Eomans had enjoyed something similar put an end
to embarrassment by giving a reason for admiring
and encouraging these pieces. Niccolo Eossi in
1589 reluctantly admits the apology : " I would never
call those things comedies which are carried about
by wretched mercenary creatures, containing
Gianni of Bergamo, Francatrippa, Pantalone and
such like buffoons, if we could not compare them to
the mimes, the Atellanae and the planipedes of the
ancients, ' ' 2 and Minturno still earlier likens carnival
farces of Cava which he had seen, to the "Comedie
Atelane" that made hearers in old days " laugh
themselves lame." 3
For about a hundred and fifty years such state-
ments continued to be made without much attempt at
proof, until lucky accident stimulated and fortified
the theorists. A grotesque statuette representing a
beak-nosed, hunch-backed individual, was unearthed
at Herculaneum in 1727, which by a slight stretch of
imagination could be identified with Maccus, sup-
posed a type character in the Atellanae and often
compared to one of the masked clowns on the Italian
*Discorsi sulla commedia, 34.
*Arte poetica (1563), II, 214.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 23
stage. 4 Eiccoboni, encouraged by this find, very
soon published a fairly elaborate argument for the
Koman connection, supporting his assertions by
references to the classics, calling Arlecchino for in-
stance a survival of one of the "Mimi centunculi,"
and tracing the Zanni to the Sannio mentioned by
Cicero. 5 A little later Du Bos definitely reads back
the commedia dell' art e into the Atellanae, a proceed-
ing that underlay Eiccoboni 's line of thought, though
evidently it was with him unconscious: "The Atel-
lana (says Du Bos) was a kind of piece very like
the common Italian comedies; that is those whose
dialogs are not written. The actor therefore of the
Atellanae performed his part just as he pleased and
flourished it as his fancy directed.' 76
With A. W. Schlegel the theory which had begun
as nothing more than an apologetic analogy and had
developed into an apparently proved hypothesis,
*Cf. Dieterich, Pulcinella, and Collier's Punch and Judy, amus-
ing and inaccurate. The identification of the statuette with a figure
in the Mimes or even with a stage character at all is very uncertain,
nor is it safe to press its resemblance to the English Punch; there is
no doubt that it looks like Punch but this, I think, is best explained
by the fame of the figure at the time of its discovery and by the
influence of its peculiarities on the face and figure of the English
villain-clown.
5 Hist, du theatre ital., Chap. I ; Kiccoboni, in the pride of scholar-
ship, ridicules the derivation of Zanni from the Bergamask abbrevia-
tion for Giovanni, a common-sense suggestion that had been made
even before his time and that is now generally accepted. The pas-
sage from Cicero is "Quid enim potest tarn ridiculum quam Sannio
est? Qui ore, vultu, imitandis motibus, voce, denique corpore ridetur
ipso." (De oratione, lib. II, parag. 61.) The allusion seems to be
quite as probably to a particular actor as to a masked character type
in a certain kind of farce.
Critical Reflections (1748), I, 136.
24 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
entered on a third stage, the two forms of art were
explained as similar expressions of similar race
characteristics: "Of the many talents for art and
literature displayed by the Italians, the dramatic is
by no means preeminent, and this defect they seem
to have inherited from the Eomans, in the same
manner as their great talent for mimicry and
buffoonery goes back to the most ancient times.
The extemporary compositions called Fabulae Atel-
lanae, the only original and national form of the
Eoman drama, in respect of form were not perhaps
more perfect than the so-called commedia dell'arte,
in which the parts being fixed and invariable, the
dialog is extemporized by masked actors. m
Modern students 8 have in general combined the point
of view here suggested with attempts to trace the
"evolution of the genre " from Eoman days to the
Cinquecento and beyond, often with a weight of
classical quotation that is quite appalling. Maccus,
Pappus, Dorsennus, assumed to be masked person-
ages in the Atellanae, are respectively compared to
one or other of the Italian Masks with an industry
that fails to convince only because it does not suc-
7 Lectures on Dram. Art and Lit., Lecture II, 35. As usual Schlegel
is inaccurate in details, he evidently had little knowledge of the
commedia dell'arte at first-hand.
8 V. de Amicis, La commedia popolare latina, etc., makes the most
serious effort to enlarge on Eiccoboni's thesis and to prove his state-
ments more scientifically; the best modern view of this ff tempting "
but " uncritical proceeding, " as Symonds calls it (Mem. of Count C.
Gozzi, I, 36-7), is clearly stated in a review of Amicis' book, Gior.
Stor., XLII, 219.
C. G. Grysar, Der romiscJie Mimus, is a study of the facts about
the Eoman Mime, so unprejudiced and thorough as to be still authori-
tative, though dated 1854.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 25
ceed in proving that the mimes have been fairly ap-
proached; in every case the Latin allusions have
been interpreted in the light of the improvised
comedy.
The facts disinterestedly probed seem to be piti-
fully meager. The fancy pictures of Maccus, drawn
so sharply from the ancient statuette, and of Pap-
pus, Bucco and Dorsennus, generalized so readily
from imaginary etymologies of their names, disap-
pear in the haze of uncertainty which surrounds the
names themselves. Was Maccus, who figures in so
many surviving titles as exul or miles or virgo, a
type character taking the chief role in a little drama,
or was he not more probably a favorite actor or
reciter who satirized well-known individuals or some
unpopular class in society? 9 Were the Atellanae
farces or realistic monologs and dialogs on every-
day life, like those of the Sicilian Herodas? 10 What
part, if any, did masks, improvisation and gymnastic
feats play in the mimes? No example of an "Atel-
lanan farce" has lived to answer these questions
definitely and as I have said most studies in this
field have been vitiated by deductive reasoning based
on the commedia dell'arte itself. The weight of im-
partial opinion now inclines to regard the Mimes
not as farcical intrigues but as dramatic character
satire, for that reason if for no other widely differ-
ent from their supposed offspring.
Even admitting the unproved hypothesis that the
Scherillo suggests that Maccus may have been an actor, La Comm.
dell'arte, 57.
10 Sharpley, A Realist of the Aegean, a translation of Herodas. Cf .
P. S. Allen, Mod. Philology, Jan., 1910, 320 f.
26 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
Atellanae were farces marked by improvisation and
masked personages, it would be impossible to estab-
lish between them and the Italian extempore plays
a connection worthy the name. Eiccoboni to be sure
with his comfortable eighteenth century dogmatism,
assumed that the commedie dell' art e of his day were
literally linked to the Mimes by an unbroken chain of
^.similar comedies extending back through the middle
ages ; he went so far indeed as to assert that scenarios
of Dante's time were in existence. It is this meager
statement that has been seized upon by a different
school of students, those who are primarily inter-
ested in proving the continuity of profane comedy
through the middle ages rather than in finding its
origin in ancient Borne, Of these scholars Stoppato
is the most serious but with all his erudition he has
not succeeded in making his argument convincing;
his examples of farces, contrasti and the like, how-
ever analogous some of their features may be to
some of the elements of the professional plays, are
still quite distinct kinds of dramatic performances.
As Mr. Allen has recently and forcibly said, "If we
make one thing the literary source of another . . .
then we mean the first thing is the direct and ascer-
tainable source of the second thing. We do not mean
that vaguely and despite our utter lack of proof the
first thing is in a general sort of way perhaps in its
age what the second thing is in its later time." 11
And no amount of good will can make the shadowy
Roman Mime or the still more insubstantial medi-
eval profane comedy take the definite form of the
perfectly familiar commedia dell' art e.
11 The Medieval Mirmis, 339, note 2.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 27
Neither is it possible to trace the Masks as some
have endeavored, to certain dramatic figures in the
Mystery plays, for instance to the boasting captain,
the pedantic or magicianlike astrologer with his
Latin lingo, and the clownish devil and his imps.
These personages may offer some analogy to those
of later Eenaissance comedy but merely because they
represent quite universal kinds of people, the
soldier, the old scholar, the rustic, and fools and
knaves of various stripes. If the sacred repre-
sentations had any real influence it was not through
their characters so much as through the tradition \
of stage technic learned and handed on by the actors
in these earliest regularly organized and regularly
performed dramas. Strolling professional players
apparently first brought into the Mysteries in the
burlesque roles of devils, next took over the parts
susceptible of comic color and in the late fifteenth
century became not only the chief actors but the
managers of these spectacles, by that time gor-
geously presented. 12
Instead then of ancestor-hunting in imperial Eome
or in the middle ages, the commedia dell'arte might
better try to account for itself by looking about in
the sixteenth century where it first comes to con-
sciousness. There, overflowing with life, alternately
shouting and tumbling with vulgar strength and
"For texts of the Sacre Kappresentazioni cf. Torraca, Teatro
Italiano, and Giudici, Storia, etc. The best work on the early Italian
theater is of course Ancona's Origini, etc. For the part taken by
the professional actors in the sacred plays, cf. Ciampi, Eappresen-
tazioni sacre nella parte comica, 30 f.; Quadrio, Storia, etc., V, 207;
Ancona, op. cit., I, 55 and 77.
28 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
posturing and singing with exquisite grace, the
genius of the people expressed itself through the
drama as freely and variously as did the English
spirit under Elizabeth fifty years later. Carnival
dances, folk plays, courtly mythological spectacles,
moral allegories and sacred legends all satisfied
some of the general demands for amusement, and
each in turn contributed something toward the edu-
cation of those wandering entertainers who became
more important with every increase in their reper-
tory. Gradually the players formed themselves into
gilds whose prerogative was acting: gradually, by
a combination of effrontery and merit, they made
their way into the presence of nobles powerful
enough to protect them and to give them position;
finally through their attachment to great families
they became firmly enough established to venture
on their own initiative something bolder than the
mere representation of the texts given them. It is
in this last moment of their successful social climb-
ing that they seem to have thought of creating ex-
tempore plays, yet not until they went at least one
step farther and began to emancipate themselves
from aristocratic patronage by looking to a larger
public for approval could they have dared to bring
from the streets and squares, farcical themes and
masked clowns of popular origin and to introduce
them often and systematically into plays of semi-
literary appeal; thus only after the middle of the
sixteenth century do commedie dell' art e as we know
them, outline pilots filled in by extempore dialog,
begin to be recorded. So tangled a situation is
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 29
naturally impossible to sketch very clearly except as
it is bound up with the history of the men and women
who worked it out in their daily rehearsals, after
they had painfully forced their way into legitimate
drama.
If then the actors themselves are to explain the
commedia dell'arte it is the least respectable of this
despised class who are most important for the pur-
pose, since it is they, fluent improvisatori, active
gymnasts and shameless wits, who gave their crea-
tion its peculiar stamp by keeping alive on public
squares the themes and language and grotesque
figures of popular festival, and by beginning in the
late fifteenth century, to bring their tricks into the
pastimes of the great. 13 Cantimbanchi, saltimban-
chi, mountebanks, charlatans, jugglers, so they
were called, men, women and children together, wan-
dering gypsylike from country fair to city carnival,
setting up their temporary stages wherever they
might hope for a few pennies from the crowd, free
for half an hour from the interference of civil or
ecclesiastical officers. They were compelled to lurk
in corners partly because they sold quack medicines
of doubtful composition, "counterpoisons" more
apt to kill than cure, 14 parity because they practiced
"Bartoli, Seen, inediti, ix-x, says of improvised comedy: "questa
commedia che probabilmente si recita per tutto il Medioevo degli
istrioni piu volgari, mezzi commedianti e mezzi saltimbanchi, sail in
grande onore verso la fine del secolo XVI. "
14 Picot, Le monolog dramatique, Komania, XVI, 492 f ., published a
monolog by Rutebeuf, Li diz de I'erberie (Paris, c. 1250), which
proves the antiquity of the charlatans' practice of selling their wares
in public with commendatory speeches. Picot draws an analogy be-
tween these early mountebanks and those of the fifteenth century.
30 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
sleight of hand and magic, still more because their
songs and dances and jests were judged unwhole-
some for the public morals. 15 Probably the early
street performances varied little from those so gaily
painted by Garzoni and Cory at a century later,
although by 1600 official intolerance was somewhat
less marked than it had been.
Coryat, an open-minded English traveler who saw
Venice in 1608, begins his description: "I hope it
will not be esteemed for an imperteneee to my dis-
course, if I next speake of the Mountebanks of
Venice, seeing that amongst other thinges that doe
much famouse this Citie, these two sorts of people,
namely the Cortezans and the Mountebanks, are not
the least : for although there are Mountebanks also in
other Cities of Italy : yet because there is a greater
concurse of them in Venice then else where, and that
of the better sort and the most eloquent fellowes ; and
also for that there is a larger tolleration of them
here then in other Cities (for in Eome, &c., they are
restrained from certain matters as I haue heard
which are here allowed them) therefore they vse to
name a Venetian Mountebank . . . for the cory-
phaeus and principall Mountebank of all Italy;
neither doe I much doubt but that this treatise of
them will be acceptable to some readers as being a
meere nouelty neuer before heard of (I thinke) by
thousands of our English Gallants . . . when I was
in Venice they oftentimes ministered infinite pleas-
ure vnto me. I will first beginne with the etymologic
18 Cf. Chambers, Medieval Stage, Bk. I, for a description of the
medieval strollers and their art.
18 Coryat 's Crudities, reprinted from the edition of 1611, II, 50-4.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 31
of their name : the word Mountebank (being in the
Italian tongue Monta'in banco) is compounded of
two Italian words, Montare, which signifieth to
ascend or goe vp to a place, and banco, a bench, be-
cause these fellowes doe act their part vpon a stage,
which is compacted of benches or fourmes, though I
haue seene some fewe of them also stand vpon the
ground when they tell their tales, which are such as
are commonly called Ciarlatanoe's or Ciarlatans, in
Latin they are called Circulatores and Agyrtae,
which is derived from the Greeke worde ayeipeu
which signifieth to gather or draw a company of
people together. . . . The principall place where
they acte, is the first part of Saint Marks street that
reacheth betwixt the West front of S. Marks Church,
and the opposite front of Saint Geminians Church.
In which, twice a day, that is in the morning and in
the afternoone, you may see fiue or sixe seuerall
stages erected for them: those that acte vpon the
ground, euen the foresaid Ciarlatans being of the
poorer sorte of them, stand most commonly in the
second part of S. Marks, not far from the gate of the
Duks Palace. These Mountebanks at one end of
their stage place their truncke, which is replenished
with a world of new fangled trumperies. After the
whole rabble of them is gotten vp to the stage, wherof
some weare visards being disguised like fooles in
a play, some that are women (for there are diuers
also amongst them) are attyred with habits accord-
ing to that person that they sustaine; after (I say)
they are all vpon the stage, the musicke begins.
Sometimes vocall, sometimes instrumental!, and
32 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
sometimes both together. This musicke is a pre-
amble and introduction to the ensuing matter : in the
meane time while the musicke playes, the principal!
Mountebank which is the Captaine and ringleader of
all the rest, opens his truncke and sets abroach his
wares ; after the musicke hath ceased, he maketh an
oration to the audience of halfe an houre long, or
almost an houre. Wherein he doth most hyper-
bolically extoll the vertue of his drugs and con-
fections :
Laudat venales qui vult extrudere merces.
Though many of them are very counterfeit and false.
Truely I often wondred at many of these natural!
Orators. For they would tell their tales with such
admirable volubility and plausible grace, euen ex-
tempore, and seasoned with that singular variety of
elegant jests and witty conceits, that they did often
strike admiration into strangers that neuer heard
them before: and by how much the more eloquent
these Naturalists are by so much the greater audi-
ence they draw vnto them, and the more ware they
sell. After the chiefest Mountebanks first speech is
ended, he deliuereth out his commodities by little
and little, the iester still playing his part, and the
musitians singing and playing vpon their instru-
ments. The principall thinges that they sell are
oyles, soueraigne waters, amorous songs printed,
Apothecary drugs, and a Commonweale of other
trifles. The head Mountebank at euery time that he
deliuereth out anything, maketh an extemporall
speech, which he doth eftsoones intermingle with
such sauory iests (but spiced now and then with
THE COMMEDIA
33
singular scurrility) that they minister passing mirth
and laughter to the whole company, which perhaps
may consistjrf a thousand people that flock together
about one of the stages. ... I haue obserued mar-
ueilous strange matters done by some of these
Mountebanks. For I saw one of them holde a viper
in his hand, and play with his sting a quarter of an
houre together, and yet receiue no hurt ; though an-
other man should haue beene presently stung to
death with it. He made vs all beleeue that the same
viper was linealy descended from the generation of
that viper that kept out of the fire vpon S. Pauls
hand, in the Island of Melita, now called Malta, and
did him no hurt ; and told vs moreouer that it would
sting some and not others. Also I haue seene a
Mountebanke hackle and gash his naked arine with
a knife most pitifully to beholde, so that the blood
hath streamed out in great abundance, and by and
by after he hath applied a certaine oyle vnto it,
wherewith he hath incontinent both stanched the
blood and so throughly healed the woundes and
gashes, that when he hath afterward shewed vs his
arme againe, we could not possibly perceiue the least
token of a gash. Besides there was another black
gowned Mountebanke that gaue most excellent con-
tentment to the company that frequented his stage.
This fellow was borne blinde, and so continued to
that day: he hath neuer missed Saint Markes place
twise a day for sixe weekes together: he was noted
to be a singular fellow for singing extemporall
songes, and for a pretty kinde of musicke that he
made with two bones betwixt his fingers. Moreouer
4
34 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
I haue seene some of them doe such strange iugling
trickes as would be almost incredible to be reported.
Also I haue obserued this in them, that after they
haue extolled their wares to the skies, hauing set the
price of tenne crownes vpon some of their commodi-
ties, they haue at last descended so low that they
haue taken for it foure gazets, which is something
less than a groat. These merry fellowes doe most
commonly continue two good howres vpon the stage,
and at last when they haue f edde the audience with
such passing variety of sport that they are euen
cloyed with the superfluity of their conceits, and
haue sold as much ware as they can, they remoue
their trinkets and stage till the next meeting.
Thus much concerning Mountebankes. ' '
Garzoni throws more light on the bizarre crea-
tures, the masked, bedizened tricksters, male and
female, who clustered around the chief charlatan. 17
"Here (he says) is Zan della Vigna with his per-
forming monkey; there Catullo and his guitar; in
another corner the Mantuan merry-andrew, dressed
like a zany, Zottino . . . and a pretty Sicilian rope-
dancer. Tamburino spins eggs on a stick, the
Neapolitan capers about with brimming bowls of
water on his pate; and Maestro Paolo da Arezzo
makes his solemn entry with a waving banner, on
which we see St. Paul . . . his great ancestor."
Again "in one corner of the square you see our gal-
lant Fortunio with Fritata . . . entertaining the
company every evening from ten to twelve, spinning
"Garzoni, Piazza universale, 738 f. I quote the first selection in
Symonds' translation (Mem. of Count C. Gozzi, I, 78), the others
in my own.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 35
yarns, inventing tales, composing dialogs . . . sing-
ing extempore, getting angry with each other, mak-
ing up, dying of laughter, changing countenance
again, falling on the stage, quarreling anew and at
last pulling out their purses and coming to the point,
the cash for which they have fished with all this
polished chatter. " "In the background Burattino
staggers along with a sack on his back like a peasant
porter; elsewhere snake-charmers and dog-trainers
attract a portion of the crowd, while the gymnasts
too have their admirers. ' ' Fabio, an actor ' i of great
worth/' holds his audience spellbound by "his grace
and fair discourse " as well as by his accomplish-
ment of turning from red to pale and back again. 18
The agility of several members of the band is shown
by an appallingly various list of jumps which they
exhibited, "somersault, standing jump, . . . back-
ward jump with feet crossed, . . . out of the
window, . . . on to the table, . . . the cat's leap into
the chair, ' ' and among numerous others, the one for
which Gabriele da Bologna was noted, "the back
somersault with hands on hips." 19
The central figure in every group of charlatans,
the quack doctor, half astrologer, half magician,
nimbused by a certain mysterious terror, traded on
the superstitions of his audience in his long-winded
nonsensical speeches about the more than natural
"The same feat was a chief acquirement of the Spanish actress
Marie de Riqueline (Fl. c. 1625). Cf. Eennert, Spanish Stage, 163.
Fabio like several, perhaps all of the strollers mentioned by Garzoni
was a real person who made his name c. 1580. Cf. Easi, Comici
italiani, I, 854.
"Grarzoni, Piazza universale, 197.
36 THE COMMEDIA DELL J ARTE
powers of his drugs. 20 He made a specialty of
riddling couplets, gnomic sayings and burlesque pre-
scriptions ancient conceits that undoubtedly influ-
enced the Doctor of the commedia dell'arte. Lodo-
vico de'Bianchi, the famous Gratiano of the Gelosi,
himself sometime a mountebank, published in 1585
a book of wise observations, " conceits " for his role
in the improvised plays, that probably represents
very fairly a portion of the charlatan's stock
speeches. The author introduces himself thus:
A poet well-known from afar
And near as an unexcelled star,
A doctor who cures all the healthy,
Fortune-teller, helps all to be wealthy,
Magician who surely will find
The things you've forgot from your mind. 21
After such claims we might be justified in expecting
something more stimulating than the actual plati-
tudes he presents us ; in fact it is hard to understand
the popularity of such remarks on the stage, for to
most of us it would be a little wearisome to be told
often that, "The man who walks is not dead," "The
ship on the high seas is not in port," "A hungry
20 The problems of the relation of the charlatan to the doctor of
folk-plays and of the latter to the primitive medicine-man are too
complicated to go into here. Some curious facts on the medical super-
stitions of the Italian peasantry are collected in Zanetti, Medicina
delle nostre donne. For the universality of the quack-doctor in folk-
plays cf. Chambers, Med. Stage, Bk. II, and Ordish, FolTc Drama, Folk
Lore, II, 331.
"I translate the doggerel somewhat freely from the introduction
to Le cento e dodici conclusions in ottava Eima del Plusquamperfetto
Dottor Gratiano, Partesana da Francolino, comico geloso . . ., pub.
c. 1585.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 37
person has great appetite," "A gentleman is not a
peasant, " "One who does not hear may be called
deaf, ' ' " He who does not speak might be considered
dumb," etc. Probably the Bolbgnese dialect of these
rimes and the weight of gravity with which they were
uttered at various inapropos moments in the comedy
accounts for their unfailing comic appeal. In kind
they are not unlike the ever green platitudes of folk
poetry, statements of analogy self-evident to sophis-
ticated minds but always delightfully fresh to the
simple. 22
The quack doctor beside selling his wares some-
times took part in one of the crude farces or con-
trasti given on the street stages. Perhaps the oldest
theme in which he found his place is the struggle
between winter and summer, personified in the Con-
trasto between Master Carnival and Lady Lent;
each of the leading characters appropriately dressed
salutes the other in foully abusive language till both
^Aneona, La poesia popolare, 94, gives an example of Contrarj
from a MS. of the Quattrocento that is very similar in tone to these
rimes of Gratiano. For instance
La salsiccia non & carne,
Ne la came non & salsiccia;
Ne bu non e torriccia,
Ne la torriccia non 6 bu.
Ne le tre non son du
Ne le du non son tre ... etc., etc.
The rimed couplets or quatrains closing a speech or scene in some
commedie dell'arte may perhaps be a relic of another folk tradition;
many Italian folk tales end with a rime, sometimes a little charm or
blessing, sometimes a challenge to another story-teller to "do it
better. " Cf. Neri in Gior. Stor., I, 78, Bartoli, Seen. ined. Ixxix,
for the chiusette, as the couplets were called in the improvised plays;
and Crane, Ital. Pop. Tales, xvi-xvii, and Pitre, Fiabe, etc., I, 196,
for the rimes in folk tales.
38 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
fall to blows to decide their contest. Carnival must
die of course but not until lie has called in doctors
and magicians, heard and even attempted their
burlesque prescriptions, and made a ridiculous will,
leaving to his sisters his "credits never acquired, "'
to his wife "property not yet bought " and to others
still less desirable gifts ; then amidst howls of grief
from members of the family, Lent summons her
enemy's soul, 23 a piece of unadulterated folk humor,
with all its outrageous flyting, its fisticuffs, its in-
decencies and its parody of serious subjects in the
mock testament, death and lamenting. In a little
Frottola di Carnasciale printed in 1554 there is more
evidence of " cultured " interest; the themes are the
same but there is inserted a conversation between
two councillors who try to explain a dream Carnival
has had, in a coarse and senseless Latin. 24
Eealistic farces of common life like those of medi-
eval! France were also given by the mountebanks.
The doctor frequently took part in them, always in
a grotesque manner, and the comic consultations
and the extravagant remedies of Gratiano were in-
herited from these popular pieces. 25 Cola's advice
29 A. Lumine, Farse di carnevale, etc., 67. Others are given in the
same collection. For a modern example cf. Gior. Stor., XXXI, 178.
"Ancona, Origini, I, 538. Cf. the Tragicomedies di Squaquadrante
Carnevale et di Madonna Quaresima (Brescia, 1544), described in
Manzoni's Libra di carnevale, etc.
There is a strong influence surviving from such contrasti to be
found in scenarios; cf. that published by Toldo, Gior. Stor., XLVI,
128 f., where one of the main episodes is a dispute and fight between
two peasant merchants who finally appeal to a judge for settlement.
35 In the farse of P. A. Caraceiolo, early Cinquecento, the doctor
takes a prominent part; cf. the Farsa in persona di un Malato e di
tre Medici, cited Ancona, Origini, I, 578 f.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 39
to the Zanni in II Medico Volante on a cure for tooth-
ache is quite absurd enough for the charlatan's
repertory: "Hold a ripe apple in your mouth (he
says) and put your head in the oven; before the
apple is cooked your toothache will be gone." 26 In
another scenario a doctor tells Arlequin that there is
no hopeless insanity, "upon which he speaks a
tirade, enumerating ridiculously various madnesses
of men, adding thereto remedies just as ridiculous
for curing them." 27
It is not of course Gratiano alone who preserves
bits of the charlatan's repertory in the commedia
dell'arte. Many of the lazzi of the Zanni were
simply the mountebank's tricks introduced into the
improvised plays as episodic farce, furnishing a
means for the clown to exhibit his characteristic nim-
bleness. Scala's scenarios indicate that the Pedro-
lino, Burattino and Arlecchino of his company could
leap on and off the stage with disconcerting rapidity,
sometimes from a dark corner of the street, some-
times through a window; that they slipped into a
disguise and dropped it again in the winking of an
eye; that they were equally expert in whatever re-
quired manual deftness, whether fencing or picking
pockets ; in short that they were accomplished in all
those "singeries tres-agreables " which G-herardi
tells us have always been proper to the Italian
plays. 28
*Bartoli, Seen, inediti, 104 f., Act II, sc. 3.
*Un pazzo guarisce I'altro, Wiener Sitzungsberichte, CXLIII,
part 16.
ffl Gherardi, Theatre italien, IV, 21, L> 'opera de campagne, Act I,
"Cette scene est une des plus plaisantes de toute la comedie, mais
40 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
The mock fights that so often mark the close of a
scene or an act in the scenarios are among the most
important of the agreeable monkey tricks inherited
from the charlatan's bench by the actors of corn-
media dell'arte. The more extravagant these fights
the more the brawlers were clapped; when Scara-
muccia at the age of eighty-three was still able to
administer a box on the ear with his foot, he was
considered the marvel of the Italian stage, "the
comptetest, the most famous Italian artist of the
seventeenth century." 29 That trick to be sure was
only one of his large collection yet it is fairly repre-
sentative; not many jokes in the improvised farces
got beyond the low level of horse-play set by
the mountebanks' exhibitions. Sometimes however
there was a slight seasoning of wit to disguise the
flatness of the jest, as in a deceit practiced on the
Doctor in Scala's fifteenth piece. The old miser
enters with a plate of seven delicate little fritters
"received from one of his clients," and begins to
count them, saying,
" 'Three for me, two for my guest and two for my
son'; then saying that the maid would be offended if
she didn't eat some, he made a new division, saying,
'three for me, two for my guest, one for my son and
the other for the maid.' Then he decided that this
c'est line de celles qui ne se peuvent exprimer . . . c'est ce qu'on
appelle scene italienne, scene jouee sur le champ, sans rien apprendre
par coeur et qui depend entierement du g&rie et de 1 'esprit de
Pacteur." Ib., Act II, sc. 2, p. 39, "La scene . . . est encore tres-
plaisante, par le jeu que Arlequin y fait, en donnant au bailli tantot
un coup de pied, tantot un coup de baton, et par d'autres singeries
tres-agr6ables. . . . "
w Easi, Comici italiani, I, 888 f.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 41
was not a good thought, to make the maid equal to
his son. Arlecchino signals the Captain to get
behind the Doctor, then Arlecchino kneeling, begs
alms, saying he had been driven out of his home.
The Doctor asks the history of his misfortune and
Arlecchino begins: 'Signor mio, your lordship
should know that my father had a stranger to break-
fast with him one morning ; when they had finished
eating many dishes a platter was brought in with
seven little fritters on it ; I seeing it and delighting
in such fodder, cast my eye on them and saw how
they swam in their batter, and were all a golden
color, wrapped up in honey ; then the guest stretched
out his hand, took one and ate it' (here the Captain
from behind the Doctor, reached over, taking a
fritter and eating it at a mouthful), and so as Arlec-
chino numbered the fritters they were taken and
eaten by the Captain, Arlecchino remarking, *I had
to watch the greediness of this gluttonous stranger.'
Finally, seeing that he had got to the last ... he
drew his sword and giving him (i. e., Gratiano) a
blow said 'Much good may they do you!' and then
left with the Captain." From the context it is clear
that Arlecchino 's rage is directed against the Doctor
for his miserliness which is here rewarded as it
deserves. The incident is a kind of interlude in the
comedy and is exactly the type of trick that the
miscellaneous performances on street corners were
likely to develop and actors coming from them into
more regular plays, to utilize as they could.
Most of the absurdest lazzi in the improvised
farces fell to the role of the servant-clown, the
42 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
Zanni. Like the grotesque lad, the Tommy, of Eng-
lish folk plays, the Zanni shows signs of being a
traditional relic of immemorial ceremonies; his
mask, either a black animal face or a birdlike beak,
the rabbit scut in his cap, his suit of many-colored
rags, his wooden dagger, all point back to the rustic
agricultural festivals whose spirit the carnival li-
cense and the mountebanks' exhibitions preserve. 30
Perhaps, as has been suggested, this primitive figure
was early associated in some parts of the country
with satire of the Bergamask peasant facchino who
haunted Venetian squares ; certainly from the middle
of the sixteenth century the Zanni of comedy tended
to speak the patois of Bergamo and to be paired off
in dialogs with the rich old Venetian merchant,
Pant alone. 31 This ancient sage, at first only one
among several clowns in the charlatan's band, by
; about 1550 had definitely put on the long gown and
beard of the Magnifico and had begun to illustrate
the proverb, 32 "Vecchio innamorato e il saracino
80 Chambers, Medieval Stage, I, 192, and Bk. II passim.
The derivation of Zanni 'a name from the Bergamask abbreviation
of Giovanni is now generally accepted. Of. Tiraboschi, Vocobolario,
etc., and Panigiani, op. cit., under Zanni.
n Merlini, La satira contro il villano, 139 f . The suggested con-
nection of the Zanni with the Bergamask facchino is apt only in
Venice where the peasant porters were unpopular; it does not apply
to south Italian types.
82 Mr. Livingstone tells me that the reference in the proverb is to a
"saracen" or block of wood tilted at in a game something like the
Elizabethan quintain. One example of the popularity of this judg-
ment gives the gist of many stornelli:
Sentl questo stornel, com'e curioso,
Un vecchio di sessant'anni vuole un bacio!
Canti pop. della montagna lucchese, ed. Giannini, 85.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 43
della piazza," "an old man in love is the butt of
the piazza."
~3Ts early as 1518/9 Pontano describes an enter-
tainment played outdoors by masked actors, 33 but
whether or not Zanni and Pantalone were among
them he does not say. From that time on however
Zan, or Zanni, or Zoan, "Bergamask servant,"
begins to appear in written plays, "ludi zanneschi"
to be mentioned vaguely among courtly amusements
and Zanni with various companions to be noted in
accounts of carnival merry-makings. 34 At the
Eoman Mardi-gras of 1555/6 Joachim du Bellay saw
Marc 'Antonio and Zanni "bouffoner avec un Magni-
fique a la Venitienne " 35 and to 1559 belongs the
much-quoted carnival song of Anton-Francesco
Grazzini, supposed to be sung by this pair of fools.
This Canto di Zanni e Magnifichi is one of several
madrigals seemingly written by Grazzini for pro-
fessional strollers to sing; 36 there is a Song for
Buffoons and Parasites, 37 "cheerful, happy folk,"
"J. J. Pontani, Opera (Venetia, 1518/9) II r 91 f. Quoted by
Croce, Teatri di Napoli, Chap. I.
"Merlini, Satira contro il villano, 144 f., says that the various
kinds of rustic plays containing satire of the peasant, frottole,
contrasts, etc. are called indifferently ' ' vilaneschi/ ' "alia berga-
masca" and "alia f acchinesca. ; ' Like the entertainment given by
Beolco, referred to below, these simple little pieces were often recited
at banquets, probably with some of their jokes improvised at the
moment. Cf. Ancona, Origini, I, 414-5.
Solerti, Ferrara, etc., Ixxxix-xc, says: "In una lettera del 18 gen-
naio, 1585, cominciano ad apparire gli Zanni, ma non sappiamo quali
e quanti fossero," etc. This seems to refer to a particular company
which took its name from its chief actor.
86 Cited by Flamini, II Cinquecento, 314.
** Tut ti i Trionfi, etc., Grazzini 's songs are in volume II. He is best
known by his nickname of II Lasca.
8T Ib., II, 468-9.
44 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
they call themselves, though they go on to complain
of the discouraging number of clowns in Florence;
there is a song of Youths impoverished by Courte-
sans?* which except for its verse form might serve
as one of the lover's laments in an improvised play;
there is also a description by the "surgeon-doctors"
of their cures for human ailments, doggerel quite
possibly droned by some mountebank in the street.
The most interesting of these pieces is the first, the
duet, or perhaps the two part chorus, of Zanni and
Magnifichi which has frequently been called the first
satisfactory evidence of the commedia dell'arte: 39
Playing the Bergamask and the Venetian,
Traveling in every part,
And acting comedies our famous art, . . .
All Zanni we,
Actors fine as you may see.
The other chosen players,
Hermits saying burlesque prayers,
Lovers, women, braggart captains,
At the hall are guarding treasure. . . .
When you our brand new farces hear and see
You'll laugh beyond all measure,
At their quips and jests so free.
The comedy well ended
Gorgeous ballets are appended,
Whose fresh and varied jokes cannot be mended.
But since in this old town
*Ib., II, 471-3. There is a Canto de'medici fisichi, I, 48.
38 This song may have been written as early as 1540 though not
printed till 1559; the piece is so important that I attempt a rough
translation of the more significant parts, though they have often been
noted before.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 45
Ladies, you are not allowed to come
To see us at our hall,
We'll visit you in your own home,
To show you at least some
Of the sweet and lively pleasure of our art,
As lucky men in public see each part.
Pray hear awhile what jolly clatter
Among themselves these witty Zanni chatter ! . . .
See from the scabbard
How daggers fly, and staves, and do such acts
As force wise men with folly to make pacts.
Moreover we will show you there
A painted scene well-made and fair,
There where Cantinella acts
And Zanni offers you such mirth and gaiety.
So if you wish to be
Diverted for a time,
And laugh more than your fill,
To-morrow seek our playhouse on the hill. 40
40 1 append the original with apologies for the freedoms I have taken
with it, especially with the final couplet.
Facendo il Bergamasco, e'l Veneziano,
N'andiamo in ogni parte,
E'l recitar commedie e la nostra arte. . . .
E Zanni tutti siamo
Eecitatori eccelenti, e perfetti:
Gli altri Strioni eletti
Amanti, Donne, Romiti e soldati
Alia stanza per guardia son restati. . . .
Commedie nuove abbiam composto in guisa
Che quando recitar le sentirete
Morrete della risa
Tanto son belle, giocose e facete;
E dopo ancor vedrete
Una danza ballar sopra la scena
Di varj e nuovi giuochi tutta piena.
46 THE COMMEDIA
The whole poem reads like an advertisement for
an approaching performance of a highly amusing
kind. The repertory of this troupe can be inferred
or rather guessed from the list of characters, to be
composed of realistic farces popular in theme and
origin, for May-plays and other rustic comedies
loved to ridicule the hermit of unrighteous life and
pretention to holiness, and they were quite as severe
on the chicken-livered braggart who in Italy as else-
where took a prominent part in folk merriments. 41
The soldier of these city street shows, however, was
Ma perehe'n questa terra (i. e. Florence)
Donne, che voi non potete venire
A vederci alia stanza
Dove facciamo ognun lieto gioire:
Se ci volete aprire
Verremo in casa a far gustarvi in parte,
La dolcezza, e'l piacer della nostra arte.
Di grazia udite un po', che ciarleria
Insieme fanno que valenti Zanni. . . .
Vedete f uor de 'panni
Uscir pugnali, stocchi, e far certi atti
Da far crepar di rider savj e matti.
Alfin vogliamvi una ben f atta e bella
Prospettiva di nuovo far vedere,
La dove il Cantinella
E Zanni vi daran spasso e piacere.
Or se volete avere
Buon tempo un pezzo
E rider fuor d'usanza
Doman venite a trovarci alia stanza.
Ancona, Origini, II, 405, says stanza is the term for a private
room where professional actors played, sola for a hall in a palace
where private performances were given.
w Mazzi, Congrega dei Rozzi, II, passim, gives many examples of
rustic comedies in which the hermit's ill-living and pious professions
are satirised. Of. Stoppato, Comm. pop., 107 f.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 47
more than a reminiscence of the boasting peasant
fools; he was a merciless parody on the well-hated
foreign bravos and military mercenaries, French and
Spanish, who overran the country at this time. 42 It
was just because he was made to express the general
loathing of these tyrannical aliens that in Italy his
figure is especially definite and ubiquitous. Numer-
ous farces survive which though late in date give
a fair idea of this grotesque soldier among the
mountebanks and prove it to have been alive with
vulgar force and homely wit.
Like the quack doctor the hero has to have some-
one to talk to and chooses Zanni as his confidant,
just as in the speeches for the Captain's part pub-
lished later by Andreini, it is to his squire that the
vain-glorious one looks for an audience, 43 unfortu-
nately without finding the sympathy and support he
might wish. In one dialog Zanni comments, verse
about with his master, on the exaggerated state-
ments of the latter: "He is the king of cowards, this
fellow, in all his acts and doings. " 44 The Captain
answers, "If you knew how many this hand has
slain, . . . " and so on in his usual style, till Zanni
4a Senigaglia, Cap. Spavento, introductory pages, and Easi, Comici
italiani, I, 62.
**Ancona, Origini, II, 59 f., notes some resemblances between
popular types in folk tales and in the Sacre Rappresentazioni. Cf.
Stoppato, Com. pop., 193 f., for an analysis of a Farsa satira. morale
by V. Venturini (pr. before 1521) in which a certain Spampana takes
a large part, ' { dimostrandosi . . . bravissimo bravo. '*
** The tremendous force and bold deeds of Cap. Heads-off-and-Spit-
Dart, an honest and laughable trifle, is the title of one of these rimed
conversations, pr. Bologna, 1606 j cited entire with others of the same
sort by Basi, Comici italiani, I, 67 f.
48 THE COMMEDIA
brings him down with "I know well enough that
hand has slain a quantity of lice." 45 It is hardly
necessary to quote more to show that in his way the
Captain was as much of a charlatan as the quack
doctor ; hoth dealt with words rather than deeds and
both were fair game for the satire of the plain man
whom Zanni always represents.
The " Donne " of the company whom Grazzini's
clown mentions as preparing at the Hall for a per-
formance, were probably really women, not boys
dressed for female roles. Their characters as well as
their repertory, can be inferred from the remark here
that honest women did not attend public spectacles,
at least in Florence. 46 There was always a great
deal of license on the Italian stage and what it must
have been in the lower class of entertainment, cer-
tain scenes of the commedia dell'arte remain to wit-
ness. 47 The heroine's maid exhibits all the tradi-
tional agility of a mountebank by dances and "feats
of activity" like those of a wandering Signora
45 Kasi, op. cit., I, 71-2, Contrasto alia Napolitano ridicoloso.
"Montaigne, Voyage en Italie (1581), 253-4, says of Italian women,
"ou ellea se laissent voir en public, soit en coche, en feste, ou en
theatre elles sont a part des homes. ' ' The same custom was observed
in the Spanish theatres, cf. Eennert, Spanish Stage, 118 f . As to the
character of the women who went to the public plays generally in
Italy, cf . Coryat 's account of the Venetian playhouses, cited below.
Ademollo, Teatri di Eoma, xxii-iii, states that he has found records
of boys occasionally taking the part of < ' Franceschina in comedy, "
even in public performances in the latter half of the Cinquecento;
this would have been more usual in Eome however than elsewhere.
4T The written plays immoral though they are in tone and plot,
probably could not have been presented with as much brazenness of
action as the freer improvised comedies. Of. Bartoli, Seen, ined.,
xii f .
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 49
Angela "who jumps so well" commended by the
Duke of Mantua's secretary in 1567. 48 Moreover the
most outspoken in effrontery among the Masks was
always the maid, and in her boldness she was quite
true to her antecedents ; when Franceschina advises
her mistress to put on a masculine habit and volun-
teers to teach her how to wear it, she reminds us of
the girl in the mountebank's troupe who, dressed
as a man, marched at the head of the company, an-
nouncing a coming performance. 49 So Garzoni pic-
tures her in his satirical account of an indoor play
by a traveling band of the very sort Grazzini's
carnival song advertises:
"When they (the actors) enter a city, a drum im-
mediately lets everyone know their arrival; the
woman dressed as a man goes ahead, sword in hand,
to make the announcement and invite the populace
to a comedy or a tragedy in a palace or at the Pil-
grim Inn, where the mob, eager for novelty and
curious by nature, flock to occupy the Stanza, pass-
ing into the room by means of a groat ; there they
find an imitation stage, a scene painted with char-
coal; they hear an introductory concert of donkeys
. . . ; a prolog by a charlatan, an awkward thing
like that of Fra Stoppino ; the action is as stupid as
misfortune; the intermedj as bad; a Magnifico not
worth a penny ; a Zanni who is a goose ; a Gratiano
who spits out his words ; a silly idiotic bawd; a lover
who lames everyone's arms when he talks; a
Spaniard who can say nothing but Mi vida and Mi
48 Ancona, Origini, I, 449.
49 Garzoni, Piazza universale, 320-1.
5
50 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
corazon; a pedant who goes off on Tuscan words all
the time ; a Burattino who knows no gesture but that
of putting his cap on his head; a Signora who is a
monster in her speaking, dead in her talking, asleep
when she gesticulates, who is at war with the Graces
and has had an important difference with Beauty.
So that the crowd comes away scandalized and ill-
satisfied with them, carrying off the memory of the
villanous speeches recited, resolved not to spend a
penny the next day to hear again such nonsense,
. . . Thus hy the wretched doings of such people
good actors come to be despised and suffer affronts
not at all suitable to their merits."
Although Garzoni is pleased to be very sarcastic
over the "wretched doings" of these humble players
it is in exactly such a school as the one here por-
trayed that the good actors he commends were
trained. By his time the mid-sixteenth century-
differences between fine and poor players were
easier to note than they would have been fifty years
before the formation of regular companies and their
alliance with aristocratic patrons. When the older
records are searched for traces of the steps in the
actors' upward progress, the earliest are found to
be a few tantalizingly scant and unsatisfactory
notices, scattered chiefly in accounts of carnival
gaieties 50 and for the most part mere allusions in the
letters of princes to some buffoon whom they have
taken from his companions and established as court
60 Passages in th<? commedie dell'arte recall this association of its
actors with the carnival; Cf. Scala, Teatro, Gior., XXI, where Graziano
excuses himself for being drunk by saying it is carnival season, II
finto negromante, Act II.
THE COMMEDIA DELL*ABTE 51
fool. 51 Such was "our Fritellino" described in a
note from Giovanni Gonzaga to Isabella d'Este, 52 as
leading a dance with all the grotesque motions
"which he knows how to do," a juggler rather than
an actor. More dramatic were the powers of a
certain Strasino who at the Eoman carnival of 1518
recited a farce "all by himself," 53 and a "comedia
buf ona ' ' performed by Fra Mariano, a clerical clown
in the protection of Leo X. 54 Another jester under
the same papal patronage, Francesco de'Nobili, fled
from Eome in 1527 and became popular in Venice in
a kind of farcical comedy which has often been con-
fused with the improvised plays of fifty years later. 55
Of Zan Polo, still another Venetian buffoon, there
is recorded a success that throws more light on the
court performances given by these men; between
01 It seems probable that in the Quattrocento as in the following
century there was a good deal of interaction between piazza and
palace, less differentiation than in earlier days between court fool and
strolling player. Cf. G. Bonifacio, Giullari e uomini di corte nel
Dugento (Napoli, 1907), for the early history of court entertainments.
82 Dated Jan. 25, 1495, cited Ancona, Origini, II, 366-7.
Whether Fritellino were the real name of this clown or the nickname
of a Mask, is not known; as will appear below Fritellino was the
stage title of the famous actor-manager P. M. Cecchini, about a cen-
tury after this. Cf. Ademollo, Una famiglia di comici italiani, ix-x.
^Ademollo, Alessandro VI, Giuliano II e Leone X, 78-9.
64 Graf, Attraverso il Cinquecento, 369 f ., brings together the extant
information about this curious person, once a priest. Cf. Easi, Comici
italiani, I, Giov. Ammonio, for the account of another actor-friar of
the period. Also Bartoli, Buffoni di corte, Fanfulla della domenica,
1882, number II.
86 F. de'Nobili (called II Cherea or sometimes Terenziano), on the
authority of Klein, Gesch. des Dramas, IV, 903, has been credited
with the "invention" of the commedia dell'arte, quite mistakenly,
as is proved by Bartoli, Seen, ined., x, note I, and Eossi, Lettere di
M. Andrea Calmo, xviii.
52 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
the acts of Plautus ' Miles Gloriosus, played by dilet-
tanti (February 16, 1515), Zan Polo acted, evidently
with helpers, a "new comedy, feigning that he was
a necromancer and that he went to Hell, and showed
a Hell with Furies and Devils ; then he represented
the God of Love and was carried to Hell . . . there
was a dance, then music of nymphs in a triumphal
car who sang a song. ... " 56 Zan Polo here was
the victim of his environment; he was obliged to
consult the tastes of the academicians, choose a semi-
classical fable and keep to the stage usual in aristo-
cratic entertainments, the open, three-story arrange-
ment of the Mysteries. 57 With the exception of the
lazzi of the devils and necromancer there is nothing
here to suggest the peculiar art of the street mounte-
banks nor to point the way toward the perfection of
* ' professional comedy. ' '
Yet it was in Venice that an actor took the first
long stride toward self-asserting independence and
there that he worked out a form of art of his own,
in some ways prophetic of the commedia dell'arte.
Angelo Beolco, a Paduan associated with Zan Polo
in Venetian records of 1520 and after, is certainly
one of the first of those actor-manager-dramatists
who were responsible for the evolution of the im-
86 The play was given before the Accademici Immortal! at San
Beneto near Pesaro and was described by a witness, cited Kasi,
Comici ital., II, 74S. Of. ibid., II, 600-1 for more discussion of Zan
Polo.
57 The stage of the Mysteries was used for allegorical performances
after it had been discarded for the presentation of the classical
comedies so fashionable at the end of the Quattrocento. Cf. Ancona,
Origini, II, 2 f., for a description of the first version of Poliziano's
Orfeo, played in 1471, ' ' not at all different ' ' in form from a Mystery.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 53
provised plays. An illegitimate son of a noble
house, a man whose "affable nature' ' and whose
learning admitted him both to aristocratic academies
and to bourgeois clubs, 58 he turned to account all
his knowledge and observation by writing plays of a
new kind; in them he drew for plot material from
the classic theater, from vernacular tales and in
this he was particularly original from popular con-
trasti. 59 His enthusiastic publisher, Giovanni Greco,
assures his "wise readers " with a little pardonable
exaggeration, that the work of his author is "char-
acterized by good morals and descriptions of virtue
and vice, of truth and falsehood, marvellously ob-
servant of decorum . . . (containing) in them a
great portion of moral philosophy, with such witty
speeches that this alone, without the oddity of the
different dialects, would suffice to delight and to
instruct/' 60
Whatever efforts Beolco, like his friend Zan Polo,
may have made to please his fellow-academicians,
and this preface shows he made some his most
genuine interest was undoubtedly in humbler life
and in the representation of it to his audiences. His
"Preface to Tutte le Opere di Messer Angela Beolcho (Vicenza,
1584). Cf. E. Lovarini, Gior. Stor., XXXIII, Supp. 2.
^Contrasto is a general term for dramatized debates, sometimes
realistic, sometimes symbolic, similar to the Latin Conflictus, the
medieval Debat or the primitive flyting. For old examples of con-
trasti cf. Carducci, Cantilene e ballate and Lumine, Parse di came-
vale, etc., also Eenier, Appunti sul contrasto fra la madre e la figlia
bramosa di marito, Miscel. nuziale Kossi-Teiss.
80 Opere, Lettera ai saggi lettori. Beoleo himself probably would
not have formulated his theory quite so exactly, as by the time this
letter was written (1584) criticism had become much more precise
than it was when Beolco wrote, sixty years earlier.
54 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
own part in Ms plays was that of a rustic fool
whence his dialect nickname, II Buzzante, the rustic
speaker, a kindly satirical portrait of the Berga-
mask peasant whose unmorality and stupidity, awk-
wardness and rough speech, he mimicked to per-
fection. 61 Not one of his plays is without a rustic
or a group of them; sometimes the setting is a
situation familiar to readers of French farces, in
which a thick-headed peasant husband is unmerci-
fully baited by his lively wife and her lovers.
Again, as in La Moschetta, three or four country
folk work out in abusive flytings the author's answer
to a fashionable problem treated here and there in
the Decameron, as to the sinfulness of love between
godfather and godmother. Or as in the romantic
comedy, La Rodiana, played at Venice in 1549, the
low-class characters are introduced by way of
farcical relief to the monotonous propriety of the
principal lovers. 62 Through the conventionality of
81 Ancona, Origini, II, 120, note 6, quotes a contemporary tribute
to Beolco's skill, dated Feb. 13, 1520, a description of a comedy
"a la vilanesca" done by a "certain Ruzante, a Paduan, who as a
peasant spoke most excellently/' The role taken by Kuzzante him-
self varied from play to play, though it was given a kind of unity
by the name, dialect and peasant status of the character; he was
sometimes a lover, as in La Fiorina, sometimes a duped husband, as
in La Moschetta, sometimes a boasting soldier, as in L'Anconitana.
62 This play is especially noteworthy for the number of dialects
used in it; one of the humbler personages speaks a Venetian patois;
another Bergamask; a third, an old man, swears immensely in still
a different lingo; a negromante uses something like Spanish mixed
with Latin and Italian, finally Corrado "Tedesco," talks in mimicry
of the German accent.
There has been a deal of discussion as to the authorship of this
play, which many critics ascribe to Calmo though it was first published
as Beolco's. Cf. Rossi, Lettere, etc., XXXVII f., and XLIV.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 55
much of the characterization there penetrates a good
deal of fresh observation and rather more sympathy
than one finds in most sixteenth century representa-
tions of the despised third estate.
No matter how popular the material and how
homely the art, such plays as these, written with
quite elaborate artistic finish by a man of as much
originality and as much interest in character as
Beolco, offer very little resemblance to improvised
intrigue farces which are almost entirely the ex-
tempore composition of several actors and actresses.
It is probable that occasionally Buzzante left some
scene of clowning to the invention of the individual
who took a comic part ; indeed he is thought to have
composed a dialog on rustic themes in which one of
the stage directions reads, i l Zilio the lover comes on
singing and arguing with himself of the nature of
love," a gap being left in the verses for this im-
provised soliloquy. 63 It is certain also that the
liveliness of the comedies depended largely on the
lazzi of the peasants, yet neither such jests nor the
use of dialects were entirely peculiar to Beolco 's
work. Even granting in addition that some dis-
guises were worn and that the stupid rustic was
sufficiently stereotyped to be called a Mask, Euzzante
ought not to be regarded as the father of the corn-
media dell'arte. 6 * One of its grandfathers, to keep
68 Cf. Rossi, Lettere, etc, xxi-ii, note, and Ixxix-lxxx.
84 Sand, Masques et Bouffons, 35 f., following Eiccoboni, Hist, du
theatre italien, 50 f., laid great stress on the relation of Beolco to
the commedia dell'arte; he was imitated by Burckhardt, for criticism
of whom cf. Bartoli, Seen, ined., cxxvii, note 3, and Flamini, II Gin-
quecento, 304 f. Even so well-informed a student as Baschet says
56 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
to the trite figure, he might perhaps more justly be
named, for as a practical playwright and actor he
took, as I have said, the first step toward that fusion
of classic and popular themes and technic, of ro-
mantic story and satirical characterization which
provided later Italian actors with a common fund of
material for the plays peculiarly theirs. Yet no
scenario from his hand has been discovered and
there is no reason to think he wrote one; plot was
not his chief preoccupation and he was too much the
literary artist ever to have been content with out-
lining an intrigue for other and less skilful men to
fill in as the moment prompted.
This Venetian genius seems moreover never to
have organized or managed a troupe capable of ex-
pressing his ideas in words of their own. The
meager notices that remain to tell of his perform-
ances at princely festivals and before learned socie-
ties rather indicate that he relied for help on such
singers and entertainers as chanced in his way. In
1532 he had trouble in finding enough professional
actors to play a comedy before Ercole d'Este at
Ferrara. 65 Once however at a banquet in 1529, he is
mentioned with five other men and two women as
singing "most beautiful songs and madrigals " and
going around the table "chanting of rustic things
and in that (rustic) language most pleasingly, and
dressed in their new style. " 66 Whether this were
an unusual occasion or whether he employed women
that Beolco "mis en vogue " the improvised plays, c. 1526-7; cf.
Les comediens italiens, etc,., 12-3.
"Kossi, Lettere, etc., xxx-xxxi.
"Ancona, Origini, II, 120, note 6.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 57
regularly in his plays as well as for songs and
dances, is uncertain; probably he followed the cus-
tom of the dilettanti academicians, who distributed
heroines' roles among their youngest men. 67 For
although the women among the mountebanks did not
hesitate to take speaking parts any more than to
walk the rope, dance, sing or play the lute, they
were too untrained to be given important places
in the academic productions, either Latin or Italian ;
accordingly the noble youths themselves in their
quality of amateurs, at first played the comedies
written for them by Ariosto or Bibbiena or Grazzini,
and engaged professionals only for the clown's parts
and for the musical and spectacular interludes. 68
Before 1550 there seem to have been few efforts
to bring together the professionals sporadically em-
ployed, in permanent troupes attached to specific
91 As late as 1542 it is recorded that men took the women's parts
in an Italian play, the Orbecche of Giraldi Cintio; ef. Amieis, La,
com/media, popolare latina, 82.
Cecchini, Breve discorso, etc., says it is "scarcely fifty years since
women have appeared generally on the stage "; he speaks with the
authority of a long-lived actor who had traveled much and should
have known whereof he spoke. Eiccoboni quotes him acquiescently
(Hist, du theatre italien, 42) and indeed the statement has never been
seriously questioned so far as regular dramas are concerned; actresses
took part much earlier in courtly intermedj and in street farces, cf.
Ademollo, Teatro di Eoma, xxii-iii.
68 The prologa of Grazzini 's comedies testify to this custom of
dilettante acting; cf. especially the prolog "alle donne" to La
Gelosia and the long prose prolog to La Strega, ed. of 1859, 10 and
171 respectively.
Cf. Ademollo, Teatri di Roma, 35 f., and Una famiglia, etc., x f.
Ancona, Origini, II, 137, note 2, describes a performance of the
Andria in 1539 in which a princess of the Este family took part; cf.
ib., 352, 494 and 551.
58
patrons. Even the theater-loving princes of Fer-
rara made no attempt to hold the actors they tem-
porarily applauded; Ercole d'Este writes, February
5, 1496, to Francesco Gronzaga, Marquis of Mantua,
that he regrets not being able to send him the
comedy recently given at court; the roles for each
person, he adds, were written out separately and
never put together, and as the actors had scattered
the comedy was lost. 69 Such players as made a
favorable impression at one palace were sure of
engagement at another, but between these moments
of glory and repletion the majority went back to
the precarious hand-to-mouth existence of the un-
protected stroller.
During the first half of the century however there
must have been great progress made in the develop-
ment of class-consciousness among the players, and
consequently in their efforts to organize their
troupes and to study their art. After 1550 public
theaters began to be built and the best of the wander-
ing bands to be formed into regular companies under
the protection of noble patrons. 70 There were
68 Letter quoted by Kasi, Comici italiani, II, 448; cf. ib., 703. The
actors mentioned, all men, seem to have been professionals unattached
to a patron.
Kossi, Lettere, etc., rax f., discusses admirably the actor class in
the Cinquecento.
70 The dates for the foundation of theatres in the chief cities of
Italy are thus given by Ademollo, Una famiglia., etc., introduction,
and in Teatri di Roma.
Mantua, c. 1550.
Venice before 1565.
Siena, 1570.
Eome before 1575.
Florence, 1576.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 59
usually some ten or twelve actors in one group, a
number that remained about the average for two
centuries ; the Magnifico, the Gratiano, the Captain,
two pairs of lovers and from three to five clowns for
servants' parts or for inn-keepers, peasants and
magicians, were the essential characters, and they
were united in an organization more or less perma-
nent according to their leader's strength and tact. 71
This leader was licensed by some prince to choose
his companions and that difficult task accomplished,
was expected to recognize his first duty to his lord ; 72
at odd times he was allowed to play in public and
to reap the considerable rewards that came from
such representations. 73
Milan before 1583.
There was a public theater in Naples before the end of the century,
cf. Croce, Teatri di Napoli, Chap. IV.
Ricci, Teatri di Bologna, Chap. I, thinks the Teatro della Sala in
Bologna was built in the first half of the sixteenth century. He
publishes in this book some interesting plans of early stages.
71 Rossi, Lettere, etc., xxx f ., says the earliest companies were not
formed before 1548. Ancona, Origini, II, 454, sets 1567 as the year
in which public performances were general.
There were ten persons in the Uniti in 1584. Tristano Martinelli
had in his "good and perfect company" (1621) ten or eleven persons
(Jarro, L'Epistolario, etc., 26-7). Eiccoboni (Hist, and Grit. Account
of the Theaters of Europe, 68) says: "No Italian company ever con-
tains more than eleven Actors and Actresses; of whom five, including
the Scaramouch, speak only the Bolognese, Venetian, Lombard and
Neapolitan dialects." Eiccoboni 's contemporary, the Italian actor,
A. Constantini, in his Vie de Scaramouche, 171, mentions as the
essential characters in an Italian troupe : ' ' two lovers, three women,
to wit, two for the serious parts, and one for the comic, one Scara-
mouche, a Neapolitan; one Pantalone, a Venetian; one Doctor, a
Bolognese; one Mezzetin and one Arlequin, both Lombards." In
this company the Scaramouche would play the Captain.
72 Jarro, L 'Epistolario, etc., 22-7 and 35.
7S Jarro, op. cit., passim, especially 58.
60 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
Probably the atmosphere of freedom and the
mixed company as well as the more certain pay, had
something to do with making the actors feel most at
home on a public stage. Coryat at least bears vivid
witness to the simplicity and informality of one of
the better Venetian theaters, describing it in detail :
"I was at one of their Play-houses where I saw a
Comedie acted. The house is very beggarly and
base in comparison of our stately Play-houses in
England ; neyther can their Actors compare with vs
for apparell, shewes and musicke. Here I obserued
certaine things that I neuer saw before. For I saw
X women acte, a thing that I neuer saw before, though
I I haue heard that it hath beene sometimes vsed in
I London, and they performed it with as good a grace,
action and gesture and whatsoeuer convenient for a
Player, as euer I saw any masculine Actor. Also
their noble and famous Cortezans came to this
Comedy, but so disguised, that a man cannot per-
ceiue them. For they wore double maskes vpon
their faces, to the end they might not be seene : one
reaching from the toppe of their forehead to their
chinne and under their necke; another with twiskes
of downy or wooly stuffe couering their noses. . . .
They were so graced that they sate on high alone by
themselues in the best roome of all the Play-house.
If any man should be so resolute to unmaske one of
them but in merriment onely to see their faces, it is
said that were he neuer so noble or worthy a per-
sonage, he should be cut in pieces before he should
come forth of the roome, especially if he were a
stranger. I saw some men also in the Play-house,
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 61
disguised in the same manner with double visards,
those were said to be the fauorites of the same Cor-
tezans: they sit not here in galleries as we doe in
London. For there is but one or two little galleries
in the house, wherein the Cortezans only sit. But
all the men doe sit beneath in the yard or court,
euery man vpon his seuerall stoole, for the which he
payeth a gazet." 74
It would be a little hard to realize to-day were not
Elizabethan customs familiar to us, that in the public
theaters the Italian players like the English were
not free from obligation to their patrons. Numerous
decrees and letters are extant telling of the favor or
the tyranny from which supposedly protected com-
panies rejoiced or suffered. In 1565 the governor
of Milan, Don Gabriel della Cueva, prohibited all
" Masters and players of comedies, herb-sellers,
charlatans, buff oons,Zanni and mountebanks" "who
are used to mount their platforms and to draw a
crowd around them" to play on church feast days or
in Lent or on stages near the church except after
service, * l on pain of whipping. ' ' The governor was
a Spaniard and perhaps brought his country's
manners with him, for the church and the state
between them made an actor's life hardly worth
living in Spain. 75 Yet Italian clerics were some-
times equally severe ; the Gelosi had great difficulty
in persuading Carlo Borromeo to allow them to play
their "honest and pleasing comedies" in Milan, and
were in fact only permitted to give those pieces that
"Coryats Crudities, II, 16-18.
"Kennert, Spanish Stage, 207 f.
62 THE COMMEDIA
had passed the censorship of "several learned and
pious theologians. 7 ' 76 It would be interesting to
know which of the plays, all seemingly about on a
level so far as taste and morality go, this worthy
jury pronounced harmless to the public; probably
they only suppressed those containing a tinge of
heresy or blasphemy. Occasionally there are traces
of other limitations, such as that laid down by Sixtus
V in 1588, forbidding the Desiosi to employ women
in their comedies while in Eome and further requir-
ing them to act by daylight. 77
On the whole most Italian princes, secular or eccle-
siastical, were less careful of the sacred interests of
morality than the few unfavorable decrees alluded
to would imply. Once the rage for theatricals was
started, the high and mighty fairly fought with each
other in the attempt to give beautiful and startling
spectacles and to procure the most accomplished
interpreters for their pieces. The Cardinal Orazio
Lancelloti, a creature of Paul V, had a little theater
of his own and a band of actresses, some dressed as
men, whom he trained and rehearsed himself. 78
The Dukes of Mantua were among the first to estab-
lish their own companies and were such liberal and
obliging patrons that their favor was much sought.
In 1580 the then Duke of Mantua appointed Fran-
cesco Angeloni chief of the Mantuan "mercenary
79 The whole of this interesting duel between the saintly arch-
bishop and the most famous of the Italian companies has been ably
studied by Scherillo, La comm. dell'arte, Chap. VI, 139 f. Ancona
claims to have published the facts first, Origini, II, 183, note 2.
77 Scherillo, op. cit., 138, and Ancona, op. cit., I, 416, note 5.
78 In 1615 and after. Cf. Ademollo, Teatri di Roma, 5-6.
THE COMMEDIA DELL*ARTE 63
actors, charlatans and mountebanks" with permis-
sion to grant a written license to other players "to
recite comedies or to sing in the street while selling
chestnuts or other trifles." 79 Again some years
later the Duke's decree shows that the connection
between the mountebanks and their more fortunate
fellows was still close; Tristano Martinelli, the
famous Arlecchino, is declared ' ' superior to all mer-
cenary players," to Zaratani, jugglers, . . . who
put up their stages for selling oils, soaps, romances
(historic) and the like articles: we make him supe-
rior to them all in this our State and also in the other
of Monferrato, so that none of them, either alone or
accompanied, may dare to recite farces or to sing on
the platform . . . without a license from the said
Martinelli in writing, nor to leave without license
from the same, under pain of being stripped of all
they have either in common or of their own, which
shall be divided into three parts, ' >8 one part for the
treasury, one for the magistrate and the third, pre-
sumably, for Martinelli who was very avaricious.
The decree goes on to state the toll that the monopo-
list was allowed to levy, and to say that Arlecchino
was to supervise all festivals in order that neither
scandals nor disorders should occur.
Such documents are interesting to us principally
in their suggestions of the way that the popular ele-
ments in the strollers' performances were brought to
"Easi, Comici italiani, I, 162, and Ancona, Origini, II, 474 and
note 1.
80 Jarro, L'Epistolario, etc., 11. Barbieri's Supplied furnishes
valuable information on the relation of actors to patrons in the early
Seicento.
64 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
the notice of educated audiences and learned dram-
atists. From about 1565 when an actor known as
Pantalone appears in a Eoman lawsuit, 81 the Masks
begin to emerge from obscurity and to crowd into
the foreground of the only public attention that
counts historically, that of important personages
and letter-writers. Naturally it is in records of
carnival festivities when universal license was per-
mitted and when the clowns were most in evidence,
that the most frequent mention is found of the Masks
and of the properties they require, visards, beards
and the like. 82 At the carnival of 1565 "ein Vene-
diger mit sein Knecht, Zane," entertained Ferdi-
nand, Duke of Bavaria, in Verona so gaity that one
could "nit Peser noch wercklicher gedenkhen"; the
same letter describes a Prologus "dressed like a
Doctor, riding in on a donkey," 83 probably a person-
age from a popular rustic comedy in which the quack
magician and the doctor were one and the same. In
1566 there is an allusion to the Spanish Captain of
comedy in a complaint of the Duke of Mantua's
secretary that "the Spaniard of the comedies " has
not come in time to act his part. 84 The same Man-
tuan archives note performances in 1567 85 by La
Fliaminia (probably the "young Eoman woman "
praised in an earlier document) and by the
w Rasi, Comici italiani, II, 231.
82 Solerti, Ferrara, etc., cxlix. The ducal accounts of Ferrara and
Mantua have been the most carefully searched for records of comici;
cf. Ancona, Origini, II, 510, note 1.
88 Trautmann, Italienische Schauspieler, etc., 234.
"Ancona, Origini, II, 443, points out that the Spaniard must
have been a Mask, not a Spanish actor.
85 Ancona, Origini, II, 447 f. and 445.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 65
"Graziani," a company which took the name of its
leader, a specialist in the Doctor's role.
That many of the plays given so successfully be-
fore these aristocratic audiences were commedie
dell'arte is made fairly certain by the oldest surviv-
ing scenario (1568), a play so well developed in its
main characteristics that it could not possibly have
been unique. Moreover Henri III seems to have
been entertained by two improvised plays of the
Grelosi when he was at Venice in 1574; at least he
peremptorily summoned the whole company to
France two years later, begging especially that ' ' the
woman called Vittoria 86 and the Magnifique" should
not fail to come, an indication that the Masks stood
out vividly in his memory. 87 There must still how-
ever have been a good many occasions when nothing
so elaborate as a complete comedy was attempted
and when the little interludes and debates from
the mountebanks' portfolio were quite satisfactory.
Pedrolino, himself the leader of a well-known com-
pany, did not disdain to amuse his patrons by some
of these simpler tricks, as witnesses his practical
joke at a banquet in the palace of Ferrara, 1580. He
hid under the table unknown to anyone but the
Duchess, and when Pantalone came to look for him,
the clown stuck his head out of a large patty and in-
formed the guests that he had been punished for his
greediness, for that having gone into the kitchen
88 Vittoria Piissimi, whom Garzoni calls a ' ' bella maga d ; amore, ' '
was one of the first actresses to attain recognition and to be largely
rewarded; cf. Rasi, Comici italiani, II, under Piissimi, and for the
Magnifico here mentioned, ib., II, 226-7.
"Baschet, Comediens italiens, etc., 54 f.
6
66 THE COMMEDIA
"per gola" the cook had baked him into a pie; after
this comic lament he disappeared under the crust
and kept on talking from there. 88
Another dialog between Pantalone and Zanni is
described in a German account of a noble marriage
in 1585 ; 89 one of the performers was represented
"in the figure and dress of a Magnifico of the Vene-
tian state, playing on a violin and singing . . . most
ludicrously in the Italian tongue. . . . The other
was in a very peasantlike costume, with wide long
hose and a rare large hat which he knew how to turn
and fold in all sorts of ways, and he spoke in Berga-
mask, and had a rake which he swung in a rustic
manner, and moreover added every kind of amusing
trick. . . . With their singing and springing they
showed how much before all others their nation
deserves the prize. " A little song and dance like
this is not formal enough to be classed with "pro-
fessional" comedies, it rather belongs to the cate-
gory of "things" half scornfully alluded to by
Niccolo Eossi as "carried about by mercenary
bands," unworthy of the name of art. In 1550 the
actors who gave such shows were already dissociated
from the charlatan's bench but they had further to
learn concentration and to undergo a severe course
of training in dramatic theory and practice before
they could make their improvised plays famous over
Europe.
88 Solerti-Lanza, Gior. Stor., XVIII, 14S f.
For more details on Pedrolino cf. Kasi, Comici italiani, II, 241.
89 Trautmann, Ital. Schauspieler, 226-7.
CHAPTER III.
If only the beggarly and base stages of public
theaters had been open to professional actors the
commedia dell'arte would never have advanced to
the complicated form that we know; it would have
remained unrecognized, merely the inartistic hodge-
podge of clowning, old jokes and more or less
hideous tricks that the mountebanks exhibited either
on the street or at informal entertainments. But
princely encouragement brought the quick-witted
men and women among the strollers into contact
with the interests of the intellectual world and
forced them to modify their programs in accordance
with academic theory. They learned that amateurs
of the theater began to represent Latin comedies and
then Italian plays modelled on them in the latter
part of the fifteenth century; they were told of the
discovery of twelve plays of Plautus in 1429 1 and of
the publication of Aristotle's Poetics in 1498, two
facts which gave an enormous impetus to critical
theorizing and a great stimulus to dramatic activity.
They were introduced into large halls set apart in
palaces, and into private buildings erected specially
for theatricals either by individuals or by academies,
like the splendid Palladian structure, the Teatro
Olimpico, described by Coryat in Vicenza; 2 perhaps
i, II Quattrocento, 376.
*Coryats Crudities, II, 86. Cf. the recent account by Magrini of
the Teatro Olimpico, especially p. ii f.
67
68 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
they were even allowed to take small parts in the
classical dramas given here.
No doubt the actors soon came to realize that so
noble a setting as that of the Olympian Theater was
unsuited to anything except Greek or Senecan trag-
edies but in the smaller private halls they felt at
liberty to give many performances of modern plays
expressing the interests of their patrons. These
Italian comedies written by members of the academies
were at first merely satirical "imitations of life"
closely following Plautus and Terence; then came
freer manipulations of romantic and sometimes of
popular material with a central theme, it might be,
dealing with Platonic love or working out a problem
as to the relative values of duty, love, friendship
and honor. 3 However large the canvas on which the
action was painted there was always, in the sixteenth
century at least, an attempt to observe proportion
in plot development and to keep to the laws of unity
as formulated by Aristotle 's commentators and the
laws of decorum as understood by Horace. 4
' For the performances of classical and pseudo-classical plays at the
ducal courts cf. Kossi, II Quattrocento, 379 f.; Solerti, Ferrara, etc.,
passim; Luzio-Kenier, Commedie classiche in Ferrara; Kossi, Com-
medie classiche in Gazzuola.
Ariosto 's Cassaria, from the Mostellaria of Plautus, is now generally
admitted to have been the first Italian comedy in the vernacular; it
was written in 1488. Bibbiena'a Calandra, written about 1506-8
on the model of the Menaechmi, has often been called the first Italian
comedy. Both plays are classical in content as well as in form not-
withstanding their Florentine color and their Italian names.
B. Accolti's Verginia on the other hand, played at an aristocratic
wedding in Siena, 1494, is a romantic tragi-comedy from Boccaccio's
story of Giletta of Narbonne, loosely constructed, and showing none
of the Latin influence on technic.
*Cf. Spingarn, Lit. Crit. in the Renaissance. Minturno's Arte
poetica is a mine of information on academic theory and practice.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 69
It is not necessary to go into much detail in
describing these written or " learned " plays; every-
one who has read Gascoigne's Supposes or the
Comedy of Errors or any of Chapman's comedies,
knows the kind of plot and characterization that pre-
vailed. Our concern here is with the literary influ-
ence such pieces exerted on Italian actors in the
Cinquecento, and through them on their peculiar
product, the "professional comedy." During the
earlier half of the century as has been said, profes-
sionals were not often employed for the principal
parts in academic productions; they gave their wit
and grace mostly to the interludes. It was only the
exceptionally gifted genius like Beolco or his Vene-
tian follower Calmo, 5 who was clever enough to step
to the front of the stage and take an important part
in plays of his own writing. The majority were con-
tent to contribute to minor roles their quota of
amusement, while absorbing what they could of aca-
demic ideas on the nature and presentation of
regular plays. So by the time that organized com-
panies began to be formed, about 1550-60, their
managers were perfectly aware of what a noble audi-
ence looked for and criticized in a comedy, tragedy or
pastoral, and were prepared to meet the demand by
presenting literary drama in the approved manner.
Perhaps it is worth while to quote in this connection
part of a dialog on " scenic performances " com-
posed under the influence of an academy between
1567 and 1590 by an actor-manager, Leone de Sommi,
8 Calmo was as famous for his creation of old men as was Beolco
for his peasants; cf. Eossi, Lettere, etc., introduction, passim.
70 THE COMMEDIA DELL ? AETE
a Mantuan Jew who was at the head of a company
favored by the Duke. 6
"In the first place, " says Veridico, the spokesman
of the author's opinions, "I should make every
effort to procure a comedy that would satisfy me,
with all the requirements that belong to such imagi-
native works (talipoemi), above all written in choice
prose and not tiresome by reason of many soliloquies
or long digressions or remarks not germane to the
subject. . . . But I should also wish the comedy to
be new if possible, or at least little known, avoiding
as much as may be the printed ones however fine,
because every new thing pleases ; comedies that are
known to the audience are usually little liked for
many reasons, chiefly for this: the actor's great
effort is to deceive and force the spectator into
thinking the story presented is true, but if the hearer
knows just what the actor is going to do and say, all
will seem the veriest foolish lying. . . ."
As to division of parts in a play Veridico says:
"After I had written out the several parts care-
fully and chosen the persons who seemed to me
fittest ... I would call them all together, and when
I had distributed the parts as best suited, I would
have them read the whole play, even to the boys that
were in it they would thus be taught the plot or at
least as much of it as concerned them impressing
on their minds the kind of persons they had to repre-
sent ; then I dismiss them, giving them time to learn
6 The dialog is published by Easi, Comici italiani, I, 107 f ., from a
MS. in the E. Bibl. of Parma. For De Sommi cf. Easi, I, 106; An-
cona, Origini, II, 403 f., and Neri, Gior. Stor., XI, 413, and Gior.
Stor., LIV, 103 f.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 71
their parts. ... It is far more important to have
good actors than a good play, for truly I have often
seen a poor play well acted, succeed better than a
fine one badly played. Therefore I choose . . .
those who can best imitate the different personages,
seeing to it that a lover is handsome, a soldier
muscular, a parasite fat, a servant agile, and so with
all. I also pay great attention to their voices for I
find it a precept of prime importance that . . . the
role of an old man should not be given to someone
with a childish voice, nor a woman's, especially a
young maiden's, to a gruff- voiced person. 7 If for
instance I wished to make a ghost speak in a tragedy
I would search out a voice naturally shrill, or at
least a trembling falsetto which would do for such
a part. As to faces I take less pains for there art
can supply nature, either by dyeing a beard or paint-
ing a scar, making a face pallid or yellow, or
healthier and ruddy, or whiter or browner, etc., as
may be necessary. But I never in any circumstances
use masks or false beards, 8 because they too much
impede utterance; if I were forced to give an old
man's part to a beardless actor, I would paint his
chin so that it looks shaved and add to the white wig
under his cap a few locks hanging over his cheeks
and forehead. ..."
1 This remark among others shows that De Sommi had in mind the
amateur performances of academicians rather than those of profes-
sionals.
"This is probably directed against the street actors whose use of
masks and other farcical disguises is often reproved by academic
writers, even by some of those of the actor profession; cf. Eossi,
Discorso sulla comedia, passim.
72 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
Veridico then discourses at some length and very
sensibly on the manner of using the voice on the
stage, making a great point of clear and intelligent
enunciation. He next takes up a favorite critical
problem character decorum and the representation
of typical persons: "It is not enough for the man
who plays the miser's part to hold his hand con-
stantly on his purse nor to look every minute to see
if he has lost the key of his chest ; he must also know
how to represent the insanity that seizes him when
he discovers that his son has robbed his hoard. If
he plays the part of a servant he must know how in
a moment of sudden joy to cut a quick and graceful
antic, in a moment of grief to tear his handkerchief
with his teeth ; or in rage to pull out his hair, or with
similar effective strokes to give life to the perform-
ance. If he plays a fool, beside answering off the
point (which the poet will teach him by his words)
he must be able to act the imbecile, catch flies, kill
fleas and do the like foolish actions. If he plays the
part of a serving-maid he must learn to shake his
skirts coquettishly and if occasion demand it, to bite
his finger for disdain, 9 and so on, things which the
poet in his writing cannot fully indicate. ..."
Massimiano, one of the interlocutors, remem-
bering the mountebanks, no doubt remarks that he
has seen some actors who at hearing a piece of bad
news in a play turn as pale as if a misfortune had
really happened to them, whereupon Veridico after
quoting the Ion of "the divine Plato," goes on to
9 Perhaps the thumb-biting among the servants in Romeo and Juliet
is a relie of this stage tradition.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 73
say that such talents cannot be taught but must
come by nature, and praises some of his contem-
poraries for their rare gifts. " Among many accom-
plished persons who play perfectly in this age of
ours . . . especially remarkable has always seemed
to me the acting of a young Eoman woman named
Flaminia, who beside being adorned with many fair
qualities, is adjudged so rare in this profession that
I think the ancients never saw nor can there be seen
among the moderns anything better than she on the
stage, for one does not seem to see a concerted imi-
tation of an action but something which really
happens unexpectedly, so much she changes her
gestures, voice and color according to the variety of
incidents. ' '
There follow some detailed instructions on pos-
ture and grace, summed up in the precept: "Always
imitate and observe the characteristic nature of the
person who is to be represented, fleeing above all
things as one would misfortune, a certain pedantic
manner of playing . . . like that of boys in school."
In order further to emphasize the character of the
persons in the piece dress is to be carefully consid-
ered: "I try to dress the actors as nobly as possible
but with some difference between them . . . (above
all things the action, time and place must be ob-
served) ... for sumptuous garments add much of
dignity and charm to comedies and more to trage-
dies. Yet I would not dress a servant in velvet or in
colored satin unless the habit of his master was so
rich with embroidery and gold that a due measure
was preserved between them." Meaner clothes are
\l
74 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
recommended for a miser or for a peasant, then
after an allusion to the custom of the ancients in
keeping to stereotyped costumes for old men, para-
sites, courtesans and others, Veridico speaks of the
need for some variety: "Had I to dress three or
four servants I should put one in white with a hat,
another in red with a small cap on his head, another
in livery of divers colors, another perhaps I might
deck out with a velvet cap and a pair of netted
sleeves. . . ."
Actors are bidden to disguise themselves thor-
oughly, so that the pleasure of the audience in the
action may not be spoiled by the recognition of a
familiar face, for that would break the illusion.
Moreover "since every novelty is pleasing, it is a
delightful sight to see on the stage foreign costumes,
varying from our usage ; hence it is that the most
successful comedies are those costumed in the Greek
fashion. For this reason more than any other I
have arranged that the scene of the piece which, God
willing, we shall present Tuesday, is laid in Constan-
tinople, so that we can introduce for men as for
women a style of dress unfamiliar to us here. . . .
And if this succeeds well in comedy, as by experience
we are sure that it will, all the more will it succeed
in tragedy, in costuming which the greatest care
must be taken, never dressing the actors in the
modern manner but in the way that is shown in
antique sculptures or pictures, with those mantles
and that attire in which the persons of former cen-
turies appear so charmingly. And because in the
best spectacles one of the finest sights is a company
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 75
of armed men, I praise those who always bring into
the presence of Kings or Captains, some soldiers
or gladiators armed in the antique fashion. . . ."
"Of pastorals we will speak to-morrow . . . but
as to the dress of the shepherds . . . there should
be some variety among them, and their general style
as follows: cover their arms and legs with flesh-
colored cloth, or if the actor is young and handsome
it is not bad to have his arms and legs left bare, 10
but never the feet, which should always be lightly
cased in sandals or socks; then there should be a
shirt of rough cloth or some material of a pleasant
color, sleeveless, and over this two skins (in the
manner Homer describes in the dress of the Trojan
shepherd), either of a leopard or of some other
pretty animal, one on the chest and one on the back,
bound together, with the feet of these beasts over
the shoulder and behind the back of the shepherd.
. . . Then let one have a small flask or a purse of
some fine wood at his girdle, others a scrip bound
on one shoulder. Let each have in his hand a club,
some stripped, some with leaves, and the more
extraordinary the more fitting they will be; their
hair, either their own or false, some curled, some
long and combed. . . . For the nymphs . . . wo-
men 's tunics are needed, worked and varied, with
sleeves . . . girdles of silk and gold making folds to
please the eye . . . then some pretty colored silk
garment should be added from the belt down, girded
10 These suggestions as to costume are undoubtedly the result of
much classical study, but there was on the stage of the Sacre Kappre-
sentazioni a tradition in favor of a similar realism; cf. Ancona,
Origini, I 446.
76
np to the ankles; the feet covered with a gilded
buskin in the fashion of the ancients . . . the hair
thick and blond, apparently natural, and some may
wear their hair loose on their shoulders with a little
garland on their heads, some may add a circlet of
gold, others may knot it up with silken ribbons and
cover it with a very thin veil falling over the
shoulders. . . . These nymphs may have in their
hands some a bow, with a quiver bound to their
backs, others a single lance. ... If the poet brings
in a witch she ought to be appropriately dressed, or
if a cowherd, let him wear rustic clothes that he may
appear peasantlike. . . . And it adds much pleas-
ure if the shepherd have with him at times one or
more dogs, so also it would please me if the nymphs
too had some, but gentler, with pretty collars and
delicate little coats. . . ."
After having commented on all these weighty
questions De Sommi returns to his rehearsal and
says he always makes a point of calling over the
list of names of the characters to see if they all
understand what they have to do ; then he draws up
a list of the scenes in order, with the names of the
persons in each, of the houses or streets from which
they come out and at what place they must begin
to speak. Such a paper, though Veridico does not
say so, is practically the same thing as the scenario
for an improvised play, perhaps slightly less full.
But this admirer of the ancients and the aristocracy
had no eye for anything so popular and irregular as
an extempore farce ; he shows his classic preferences
by concluding his remarks with some directions on
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 77
the prolog and interludes, always important parts
of academic theatricals. He first commends the
prolog in the manner of the ancients, when the poet
himself or his representative came out in a toga and
crowned with laurel, to speak with dignity and
gravity: "Leaving aside for the moment those
ingenious prologs into which the gods or other extra-
ordinary personages are introduced. ... I say that
he who speaks in the poet's person should always
direct his words to the spectators, contrary to the
usage of the other actors, and should appear to them
as their fellow citizen, giving them notice of what
city the stage represents, of the kind of play and
its name, asking for silence, and the like." As to
interludes Veridico thinks that those of music are
best for comedies, and that choruses only should
mark off the acts in a tragedy; for pastoral poems
something more elaborate is to be allowed. 11
In his fourth dialog De Sommi talks of stage
machinery and as in his remarks on costume, shows
a taste for magnificence. Of pastorals he says:
"The most of the plot and many kinds of plots, can
be easily represented; in Bologna years ago I saw
Amphion introduced in an intermedia, to the sound
of whose music and singing the rocks piled them-
selves on each other until they made a wall for
Thebes; in another an eagle appeared to carry off
11 All the literary dramatists who had anything to say objected to
the intermedj ; II Lasca bitterly complains in the preface to La Strega
(1582) that " intermedj were invented to serve the comedy, now the
comedy serves only as an excuse for the intermedj." Cf. with De
Sommi, Ingegneri's Discorso de la poesia rappresentativa (1568), and
also Macchiavelli J s prolog to La Clizia.
78 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
Ganimede ; then in the interval between the third and
fourth acts Deucalion and Pyrrha came in, casting
stones behind them, which stones rose up in the form
of little naked children. And the fourth interlude
was a giant who carried a very large ball, and having
put it down on the stage he gave it several blows
with his club and it opened and four Satyrs came
out of it and danced a most charming moresca." 12
Obviously such splendid and costly spectacles
were far beyond the resources of actors not in the
employ of a prince or a wealthy academy. De
Sommi himself was protected by Cesare Gonzaga,
the founder of the Academy of the Invaghiti, a
society for which the learned Jew managed dra-
matics in Mantua during several years. 13 These
dialogs of his sound as though they had grown out
of academic discussions of the nature of the drama,
they certainly summarize the "correct" view of
such matters. That theory should be so far devel-
oped to exact and dogmatic statement, marks the
close of a long period of experimentation nearly a
century of familiarity on the part of educated people
with classical canons and technic, and an even longer
time spent on the elaboration of stage machinery. 14
12 Rasi, Comici italiani, I, 133.
"Ancona, Origini, II, 406-7.
14 For the Italian stage and its gradual transformation cf . Flechsig,
Die Decoration der modernen BiiTine in Italien. Descriptions of the
intermedj abound in the literature and letters of the period and
have been often reprinted; cf. Motta, Gior. Stor., VII, 386 f.;
Arteaga, Rivoluzioni del teatro miisicale italiano, III, 187 f . ; Solerti,
Gl'albori del melodramma, II, 17 f.; Mazzi, Nuova Ant., Ser. II, Vol.
XXVIII, 577 f.; Saviotti, Gior. Stor., XLI, 42 f. Mazzi, Congrega
del Rozzi, I, 298 discusses inframessi, etc.
THE COMMEDIA
79
The professional actors, formerly so despised and so
shut out from all real communion with their betters,
had at last come to recognition; partly perhaps
through the influence of Plato in that very Ion cited
by Veridico, they were regarded, women as well as
men, as in some subtle sense the instruments through
which the divine fire manifested itself to humanity.
Such at least is the sentiment that underlies many of
the extravagantly complimentary poems addressed
to players in the latter half of the Cinquecento. 15
Platonic theories of inspiration, although their in-
fluence may have been really felt, must have con-
tributed much less to the building up of the actor
class than did its own advance in proficiency and
culture. Very many players were taken into
academies as regular members with the usual honor-
able ceremony of crowning with laurel, and such
favored persons added their plays or poems or philo-
sophic essays to the publications of these learned
bodies. 16 In order to keep up their reputation and
to deserve the name of scholars, the actors studied
hard, learned Latin and Greek beside the dialects and
modern languages needed in their plays, searched
the classics for information on their art or for quo-
tations to be used in their speeches, wrote songs
15 Kasi J s two volumes contain a wealth of material on this point as
on many others; cf. especially the articles on the three Andreini, on
Vittoria Piissimi, Maria Antonazzi, Vincenza Armani, P. M. Cecchini
and his wife Orsola, Drusiano Martinelli and his wife Angelica.
"The most famous of the actor-academicians were Francesco An-
dreini (1548-1624), his wife Isabella (1562-1604), a member of the
Pavian Intenti, and their son, Giovan-Battista, "academico Spen-
sierato." There were many others; cf. Bruni, Fatiche comiche
(1623), 9 f.
80
and sonnets and "conceits" to express their ideas
on the philosophy of love and on other intellectual
problems of the time, and not infrequently published
defenses of the theater based on their critical studies
and on their arguments in divinity and ethics. 17
Antonio Molino, called II Burchiella, the "Koscius of
his age," a friend of Andrea Calmo, was educated
"like any gentleman" as well as in the special arts
of song, dance, gymnastics and literary composi-
tion. 18 Isabella Andreini when she addressed one
of her patrons, that Duke of Mantua who had stood
sponsor to her child, was well enough seen in phi-
losophy and the graces of compliment to begin her
letter thus.: 19
"Most Serene Lord: If in Ethiopia where there
are barbarous races, there are some peoples who
however barbarous yet adore two gods, the one im-
mortal and the other mortal, the immortal as the
creator of the universe, the mortal as their bene-
factor, how much more here in beautiful Italy, gar-
den of the world, where there is the light of faith
and the splendor of civilized customs, should be
adored the high and immortal God, supreme mover
"Solerti, Albori, etc., I, 16, calls the comici of this period "colti e
letterati," "critic! delle question! teatrali," etc. Bartoli, Seen,
ined., cix f., gives a long list of the literary works of these men and
women.
Bonfigli in the introduction to his reprint of Un Capitolo in morte
di Simone da Bologna calls attention to the connection of the actors
with ' ' penny literature ' ' of all kinds, and points out that the mounte-
banks quite early in the Cinquecento began to write these little pamph-
lets. Cf. Perucci, Arte Rappresentativa, 195 f.
"Eossi, Lettere, etc., xxxi f. Cf. Easi, op. cit., I, 533.
19 The letter is dated 14 Jan., 1587. Ancona, Origini, II, 490-1.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 81
of the universe, and in the fair bosom of the most
noble city of Mantua Your Serene Highness as
mortal god, true giver of so many and notable
benefits/'
Since it might be a trifle wearisome to hear any
more proof of this kind of learning, let Vincenza
Armani stand as an example of all these accom-
plished beings; her funeral panegyrist, who to be
sure as her lamenting lover must be read with some
slight allowance, tells his hearers that the " divine
Signora Vincenza was born in the most famous city
of Venice, ' ' that ' l in cooking, in embroidery, nay in
painting with the needle, she outstripped the
Arachne of fable and Minerva herself, inventor of
these arts, . . . and before she finished the third
luster of her age she perfectly possessed the Latin
tongue, admirably explaining all its peculiarities,
and read and wrote so easily and correctly in Latin
and in her native idiom that the very discoverer of
orthography could not have done better. " "A
wonderful speaker, a sublime musician, herself a
composer of madrigals and of the music for them,
which she sang herself ; an exquisite player on many
instruments, a sculptress in wax of the most skilful,
ready yet thoughtful in talk, and a very remarkable
actress. . . . She played in three different styles, in
comedy, tragedy and pastoral, observing the pro-
prieties of each so exactly that the Academy of the
Intronati in Siena which cherishes the cult of the
drama, often said this lady spoke better extempore
than the most finished writers after much thought.
. . . Everyone avoided arguing with her (in the
7
82 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
academic debates) for if at times she sustained the
side of falsity she made it seem to those who heard
her, the truth. " 20 As might be expected her charms
and her talent procured her many enemies and she
died young, of poison.
The craze for culture was not the only result of
learned influence on the actors. It was academic
custom that started the practice, universal among
professional troupes, of choosing a symbolic name
and motto for their band, the Gelosi, because
" Virtu, Honor e Fama ne fer gelosi," the Desiosi,
the Fedeli; from imitation of a similar fad came
also the habit of calling individuals among them by
their stage names, Celia, Flaminia, Isabella,
sometimes with a punning significance; just as the
academicians designated themselves by titles sup-
posed, modestly, to express their leading traits,
the Stupid One or the Stutterer or the Idiot. 21 The
like small hobbies were only the outer sign of the
deeper influence, that shift of point of view, that
broadening of the intellectual horizon, which as I
have said brought about such important modifica-
tions of the popular amusements.
The rough debates between Zanni and Pantalone
or the Captain, or between the Doctor and the
Signora of the mountebanks' stage were no sooner
heard by learned ears than they became a subject
20 Oratione d'Adriano Valerini Veronese, in morte de la Divina
Signora Vincenza Armani . . . (Verona, 1570) cited Easi, Comici
italiani, I, 205.
21 Everyone knows the absurdities to which this fashion led, how
for instance, members of the academy of the Umidi took each the
name of a fish, A.-F. Grazzini, the best known of them, calling himself
II Lasca, the Mullet. Cf. Mazzi, Congrega, etc., I, passim.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 83
of discussion and criticism. They were so enjoy-
able that various excuses were found for them. Not
impossibly Aristotle's dictum as to the use of char-
acter names for the persons of comedy may some-
what have reconciled the theorists to the constant
reappearance of a certain limited number of farcical
Masks; 22 undoubtedly an early comparison of the
popular types to the figures in the Eoman Atellanae
had a good deal to do with bringing them into a
more dignified position than they had ever held.
Moreover it is not difficult to see them as variations
from the characters of written plays. The boasting
bravo of the street platforms could very easily be
compared to the Latin Thraso or Pyrgopolinices ;
were they not both arrant cowards, loud-mouthed in
their own praise but ready to start at a shadow on
the wall? The resemblance may be traced both
ways of course; if the literary figure influenced the
popular, it is quite as true that the captains in very
early written comedies such as Calmo's Rabbioso or
Dolce ? s Capitano, bear a strong resemblance, under
their predominantly Plautine color, to the vulgar
satiric conception of the bravo and the Spanish mer-
cenary. 23 Again the charlatan Doctor of the piazza,
23 Poetics, ed. Butcher, 4th ed., 35-7, section IX: "In comedy the
poet first constructs the plot on the lines of probability and then
inserts characteristic names, unlike the lampooners who write about
particular individuals." Butcher (376-7) interprets the phrase to
mean that names in comedy should suggest certain traits, ' ' humours ' '
or occupations.
28 Cf. to Senigaglia's Cap. Spavento, Easi, Comici italiani, I, 59 f.,
and Bartoli, Seen, ined., clxix and liii f. ; Scherillo, Comm. dell'arte,
chap. IV. Ancona, Origini, I, 590 f., studies the braggart in the
84 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
with his pretence of learning and skill and his ex-
travagantly expressed belief in his pills and oils
could by a little analogy-forcing be confounded with
the " self -wise-seeming schoolmaster, " the pedant
doctor, whom Sidney, true to the best critical ideas
of his time, mentions as one of the proper butts for
comedy. 24 This once seriously regarded medicine-
man of folk superstition when held up to the view of
politely cynical audiences lost all his prestige and
became merely one among several kinds of pedants,
unmercifully ridiculed for a show of wisdom they
have not, or for unbecoming seriousness over the
wisdom they have. 25 Do not aristocratic dilettanti
always see a grimy Holofernes in a professional
scholar?
It is impossible to generalize too dogmatically
about any of these character types or to set off too
sharply the finished artistic version of any one of
them from its skeleton in a scenario. The Doctor in
an improvised play has usually quite as many traits
of the Latin senex as has Pantalone who regularly
filled the chief role of deceived father or husband;
both are equally remarkable for avarice, an amatori-
Sacre Rappresentazioni ; Eeinhardtstoettner, Plautus, etc., the liter-
ary type.
Eossi, Letters, etc., Ixxiv f., finds a closer relation between the,
Capitano of Calmo's plays and that of the commedia dell'arte than )
between the latter and the Capitano of any other written plays. The
same is true of Calmo's old men and Pantalone.
24 Defense of Poetry, ed. Cook, 51.
25 For the Doctor Mask cf. Easi, Comici italiani, I, 406 f., and for
the principal actors of the part, Bartoli, Seen, ined., clxv f. Dr.
Gratiano da Francolino is supposed to have made his first appearance
on the stage about 1560.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 85
ous disposition and either gullibility or low cunning ;
both are altogether such unattractive persons that
any sympathy for their invariable ill-fortune is ab-
solutely impossible. Here academic theory bore out
the popular judgment as to old men in love; they are
among the proper subjects for comedy, says Min-
turno, 26 because they are always ludicrous, A Curs-
ing of old men in love, written probably for inser-
tion in a scenario by Isabella Andreini, 27 herself both
an actress and a critic, expresses the usual view :
"Is it possible that you do not know that in this
wrinkled forehead, these bristling brows, this color-
less face, there is little, nay nothing, suited to a
lover? . . . Ah, poor wretch! consider your folly,
. . . love in an old man is nought but grief. . . . You
ancients among many bad qualities have two that
are intolerable, enviousness and evil- speaking, . . .
so that no one escapes your slander. ... As for
your love letters they are audacities worthy silence
if not laughter. " The written plays almost always
voiced a similarly unkind opinion and allowed little
individuality to an ancient lover.
Arte poetica, cited Spingarn, Lit. Crit., etc., 2d ed., 61 f. For a
study of the old man in comedy cf. Amicis, L'imitazione latina, etc.,
and Camerini, Nuovi profili letter ari, II, 27 f. and 225 f.
Fresco, Una tradizione novellistica nella commedia del secolo XVI,
(Camerino, 1903), studies the old man of Italian comedy as originat-
ing from two of Boccaccio's caricatures, Calandrino and Messer
Simone, a view as one-sided as that which sees in the classic theater
the only source of Eenaissance drama. Boccaccio's influence was
however tremendous. Cf. the befooled husband in Macchiavelli 's
Mandragola with Decameron V, 5 and 10.
21 1. Andreini, Lettere, 21 f. This Biasimo might well have been
used in Scala's thirteenth piece, II Dottor disperato, Act II, where
the direction in the scenario is "Oratio rebukes the Dr., an old man,
for being in love."
86 THE COMMEDIA
In Calmo's comedies the peculiarities of the Vene-
tian Magnificos and their Bergamask servants are
so constant that these personages may fairly be
called types, probably they may even have worn
some sort of conventional costume and mask ; merely
/the difference between premeditated and extempore^
speech sets them off from Zanni and his masters. 28 f
Indeed the hero's servant in most academic plays
is always the character who comes nearest to the
^lown of street shows in his name, his dialect and
his lively manners. However consciously modeled
by his creator on the Latin servus, the lad must
naturally have taken the complexion of the strolling
merrymakers who from the first played the part in
otherwise amateur productions. As Zanni 's traits
vary with his every interpreter he probably seemed
more amusing and individual than his stiffer counter-
part, forced as the latter was to keep to the lines
written for him by the poet; yet as Veridico had
advised the adept in fool's roles to think up all
possible illustrative action for his lines, perhaps
there was really very little difference in the pre-
sentation of this character whether informal or
formal. Like Zanni the servetta owed little to
classical traditions; indeed even more than Zanni
23 The relation of Calmo to the commedia dell'arte has given as
much trouble as that of Beolco; no scenario from Calmo 's hand has
survived but Rossi thinks he may very likely have written up his playa
after a first extempore performance in which he tested their popu-
larity. In the predominant interest in intrigue and in the kind of
persons in his plays as well as in the use of dialect and extravagant
concetti, his work is certainly nearer to the commedia dell'arte than
that of most of his contemporaries, naturally, as he was himseliLan
actor. Cf . Eossi, Lettere, etc., Ixix f. and passim.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 87
she is the shameless creature of the mountebanks'
bench, who is brought into the play for the purpose
of adding to the main intrigue a subordinate love
plot, a parody on the principal interest. 29
The lovers in the improvised plays on the other
hand were taken bodily from the written comedies ;
young, inflammable, conscienceless they generally
were, and, as Lamb says of the characters in our
Eestoration drama, not to be judged by the moral
standards of every-day life. Their names were
taken from life however, their faces were unmasked,
their costumes those of ordinary well-to-do young
people, their talk the Tuscan of the academies.
Isabella Andreini, the most famous of prime donne,
not only gave her name to her role in Scala's plays
and in many later ones but wrote volumes of
speeches appropriate to the part in their expression
of love as the Petrarchists and Platonizers conceived
it. Like the conceits for the Doctor and the Captain
and the extravagances of the heroes and heroines in
written plays, these "tirades" are full of mythology,
classical quotations and allusions and far-fetched
figures. 30
29 The critical tradition of there having been but four Masks, two of
them belonging to the old men and two to distinct kinds of Zanni,
the knave, Brighella or Pulcinella, and the fool, Arlecchino, seems to
go back to Barbieri's Supplied, in which the actor-author says "The
first servant . . . provokes laughter ... by most subtle tricks and
ready replies ; the second by foolishness. ' ' Goldoni probably did not
know Barbieri but he expresses the same opinion, Memorie, II, 185
f. ; L. Moland, Sand and Symonds all adopt this statement as the
basis of their exposition of the commedia dell'arte.
80 P. M. Cecchini in his Frutti delle moderne commedie says, ' ' They
who play the difficult parts of lovers enrich their minds with a pretty
lot of noble discourses suitable to the variety of matter which the
88
Where the scenario notes, "Isabella despairs as a
despised lover, "or * * Isabella raves against Love and
Fortune," she might say: 31 "If I did not complain
of Love I must have been born mute. So great are
my misfortunes that not only must I complain of
him but must lament that I have not all the tongues,
all the languages of the world, that I might better
sorrow over his injustice ; he rewards my pain with
grief, wills that I feed on wormwood and hemlock,
wills that I suffer patiently . . . wills that I dis-
simulate my woe and cruelly commands me to show
a smiling face, rejoicing while my miserable heart
in its bitter pain bitterly bewails its sorrow. ... I
renew the torture of Tantalus and long for the food
and drink of love which are not given me." Or
* ' My days fleet on with the months and the seasons.
The sun changes the trees, alternating with his sister
in giving light, my sorrow alone remains the same. 32
That changes neither its character nor its place nor
gives way to any pleasure. Yet what do I say? My
stage should treat . . . (by) a frequent reading of elegant books
so that there remains in the reader's memory an impression of most
heightened style, which when their speeches are heard produce the
effect of springing from native genius. ' '
81 1. Andreini, Lettere, 9 f.
32 It is hardly necessary to note the commonness of this Petrarchan
conceit. The most familiar Elizabethan statement of it is in the
Earl of Surrey's sonnet, " Wherein each thing renews save only the
lover. " The antithesis appears often in Isabella's Lettere and is the
theme of a song in her pastoral Mirtilla, Act I, scene 2, of which
one quatrain is:
E quanto il ciel di piu bel fior dipinge,
E piu le cose allegre
Tanto al mio tristo core
La fiera doglia aceresce.
THE COMMEDIA
grief changes only too much; from ill it goes to
worse, from cruel and bitter to unspeakable and un-
bearable ... so that now my harsh laments weary
town and village, mountain and valley, rivers, seas,
meadows, woods and even tireless Echo herself." 33
Debates on the nature of love were also suited to
the lover's role, therefore Isabella, a philosopher
and academician as well as a poet, wrote, doubtless
as she spoke on the stage, "You say that love is a
mode of behavior of the soul, that the soul is eternal
and that therefore love will be eternal. I admit that
the soul is immortal, but love is only one of its
attributes (cade in lei per accidente), . . . since it
is not credible that an attribute of the soul is, like it,
eternal, why do you wish me to believe this? Love
in others, moreover, is fed on hope and happiness,
yet you say he is fed in your breast by despair and
pain. . . . Everyone follows, you add, his own good,
and you alone your own enemy, desire your harm
and seek it." 34 So for many pages the fine-spun
sentimentalities of the sonneteers are restated in
more or less inflated and pedantic language, not at
all different from the style of lovers in the most
affectedly Italianate Elizabethan plays.
Sometimes elaborate and vicious punning gave a
kind of symbolic force to a lover's argument, again
a manner imitated by the Elizabethans. In one of
the conceits in dialog form written by Domenico
Bruni, a youth argues with his former sweetheart,
whom in her page's dress he does not recognize, that
38 1. Andreini, Lettere, 143.
IUd., 143.
90 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
his present love is fairer and worthier than his first,
She defends herself ingeniously by pointing out that
his first love's name was Celia, and that in offending
her he has offended Heaven (il Cielo), "and who-
ever offends Heaven is damned to Hell. ... I have
heard (she goes on) that names indicate in them-
selves fortunate or unhappy destinies ; therefore this
name of Lavinia (his present mistress) does not
please me; for Lavinia was that most unfortunate
creature sung by Virgil who started the war in
Latium, caused the death of Turnus and the sorrow
of Aeneas ; moreover if you take the second syllable
of this name, which is Vi, and place it first, you com-
pose a name which is Vilania, or villany. Now
Villanies dishonor men, whence you may conclude
that the possessing this lady will only dishonor
you." Fulvio, the victim of this lecture, cannot
avoid retorting, "How well up in worldly wisdom
you are, my Lucio!" 35
Thus the lovers in the best commedie dell' art e of
the Cinquecento exhibited their refinement, their
learning and their powers of expression, nor did
they forget to inveigh at proper intervals against
Cupid and Fortune, the bugbears responsible for all
the ills they suffer. In similar manner Doctor
Gratiano and the Captain and even poor old Panta-
lone made the most of their academic accomplish-
ments in the speeches they wrote for their parts.
The Doctor was especially given to the insertion of
Latin, usually of the maccaronic variety, and to the
35 Bruni, Dialoghi scenici, a MS. of the Seicento, published in part
by Kasi, Comici italiani, I, 521 f.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 91
elaboration of platitudes and the laboring of etymol-
ogies in a way that makes us suspect him of laugh-
ing in his sleeve at the diversions of the learned
societies before which he played. Soldano Aniello,
one of the earliest specialists in the Bolognese role,
wrote a whole book of Fantastic and Ridiculous
Etymologies, sometimes little plays to be used as
prologs, sometimes mere conceits for the Doctor to
insert in the comedy at the right moment. 36 A late
Tirade for a Gratiano gives the etymology for sol-
dato in a monolog which begins :
"This word divides into three syllables, sol, da,
to. Sol means that the soldier must be like the sun,
(sole) in giving light to the whole world of soldier-
dom; alone, (sol) in touching mud without being
defiled, water without wetting himself, fire with be-
ing burned/' etc. 37
A different kind of speech for the pedant's part
is the Persuasion to Study; an example quoted by
Perucci fairly reeks of the library: "The man in
this world who is without wisdom is sicut asinus
sine capistro, because lacking the bridle that leads
him along the road to virtue, he goes headlong to
the precipice. He is just sicut porcus in luto; he
who does not fatten himself on the drink of knowl-
edge will remain ever dry and thin as a starling,
36 An early instance of this fascinating pursuit of the derivations of
words is noted by Monnier, Le Quattrocento, 142, in a description of
how Marsigli's free school debated in 1389 the origin of the word
prato. The academies kept up the exercise constantly.
For Aniello cf. Rasi, Comici italiani, I, 164 f. He flourished c.
1590.
87 Quoted by Bartoli, Seen, ined., Ixxxvi, note 3, from an unpub-
lished MS.
92 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
and cannot thicken the soup of conversation. . . .
You will be the ass, but bridled by my discipline,
(i. e. after studying with Gratiano) the pig, but
fattened by my learning," etc. 38 Whatever the
Doctor said, whether studied or extempore, was ap-
parently marked by irrelevance and lack of sequence
in its propositions, for Captain Spavento, in one of
his dialogs with Trappola says, "Apropos of Bac-
chus, I remember a dispute I once had with Death, ' '
and the Zanni takes him up with, "This remark of
yours sounds to me like a speech of Grratiano, your
saying ' Apropos of Bacchus I remember Death !'
Master, beware! pay attention to what you speak,
how you speak and where you speak, else those who
don't respect you as I do, may cast 'fool' in your
teeth. " 39
The old men's plague and the lovers' enemy, the
Captain, had many famous interpreters, and none
better than Francesco Andreini, the redoubtable
Captain Spavento of Hell- Valley, some of whose
words have just been quoted. This gentleman, for
gentleman he was, knew intimately the soldiers of
written plays, had often acted their overbearing
demeanor toward servants and women and had
learned their speeches, loaded with ancient mytho-
logical ornament and absurd exaggerations. He
was familiar with their tales of "shattered legs,
crushed arms, rolling heads, cries of terror from
one party, threatening roars from the other, and
""Perucci, Arte Eapp., 279 f., says the actor of the Dottore must
study Fidenzio "to learn his phrases " and must "strengthen him-
self" in the style of Merlino Coccai and Stoppino.
w Andreini, Bravure, I, Eag. 17.
THE COMMEDIA DELL/AKTE 93
blood, always blood. " 40 He knew how among other
exploits, Martebellonio, son to Mars and Bellona,
killed Death, or Mona Viva Lady Life as she
was called before this hero took her throat between
two fingers and "strangled her like a quail." 41
Therefore when he came to write set "tirades" for
his part in the improvised plays he imitated the
tales of these braggarts and shook the stage by
stories of his battles with giants, gods and Death
herself.
"Know," he says to Trappola, his Zanni, "that
one day Death and Cupid got drunk and went to
sleep in the temple of Bacchus Lyaeus, Bassareus,
Father Liber, which you please and when they
woke each took the bow and dart of the other; so
they went about their business."
Trappola, "A nice sight ! Cupid and Death drunk
and tramping through the country like a couple of
Germans!"
Captain, "I happened to be passing, full of pride
and glory, across the ridge of the Caucusus ... as
I walked Death (whom I despised) shot a mortal
bolt to take away my life; instead it made me fall
in love with the Queen of the Amazons, who stood
delighting me in the window of her palace. I felt
myself wounded and wrenching the arrow from my
breast, I threw myself against Death, who was at
once caught in the snare of love for me, and said,
1 Captain Spavento, my soul, I am yours ! ' . . . But
I so burned with contempt instead of love that I
* Senigaglia, Cap. Spavento, 93.
41 G. B. della Porta, I due fratelli rivali, I, sc. 4.
94'
seized her by one foot and slung her at the head of
Heresy/' 42
Elsewhere the warrior tells of so wearying Death
by the number of his victims that she begged him
to assume her office for a month. 43 At still another
time he took Death, Love and the Devil prisoners, 44
and finally, like Theseus and Pirithous, he went to
Hell to steal Proserpina. 45 No wonder that he de-
scribes himself as "King of the Proud, Emperor of
the Ambitious, Monarch of the Wrathful, . . . who
with my head threat the East, with my foot press
down the West, with my left hand bind the south
wind and with my right tame the cold, icy north," 46
"the brave, the unconquered, unconquerable, in-
vincible, a lightning flash, an eagle, a scourge in
war." 47 He admits that he arms himself fantastic-
ally and oddly with Mt. Taurus on his head as a
helmet, the labyrinth of Crete as a cuirass and the
pyramids of Egypt as bolts. 48 ' What a pity that we
are haunted by memories of the way, in the scena-
rios, this same tremendous talker flees from a ghost
or a boy !
He is as proud of his learning as of his valor and
to prove his accomplishments quotes from the
classics and from Petrarch, Tasso, Marini, Ariostb,
even a line from Dante, though ascribing this last
"Bravure, Part I, Eag. 17.
43 Hid., I, Eag. 22.
/&., I, 13.
48 76., I, 39.
"76., I, 6.
47 II., I, 23.
J6.,I, 2.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 95
to Petrarch. 49 He also takes part in a famous
academic quarrel and in two discourses defends
Tasso 50 as "he who in the Tuscan tongue and the
heroic style conquers every other poet . . . who is
considered worthy to fill the second seat on Par-
nassus, by the side of the most famous Petrarch."
Trappola's comment is, "This is a right honorable
end to the scholastic battle, to recognize as poet
such a man, the honor of our age and of all poets,
whose honor was yet questioned by some envious
of his glory, who have tried though vainly to ob-
scure it with slander. ... It is enough now to say
Tasso, and everyone knows we mean poet."
The Captain's love affairs as told by himself are
quite as astounding and much more unquotable than
his warlike deeds or the proofs of his learning.
Goddesses are rivals for his favor, 51 the Moon for-
gets Endymion for him, 52 and innumerable mortals
break their hearts for his inconstancy. In a
scenario of later date than Andreini's dialogs the
Captain opens the play by telling Coviello that he
has conquered Cupid in battle and has forced the
god to name the most beautiful lady in the world;
she is Isabella, daughter to Dr. Gratiano, and the
"Bartoli, Seen, ined., xxv, note 4, remarks on this and cites still
other poets mentioned by Andreini.
M Bravure, I, 45. Cf. I, 40, the Defense of Tasso in the Inferno.
Probably the position of the Gelosi, Andreini's company, as proteges
of the ducal houses of Ferrara and Mantua gave the impulse for this
defense. The question is interesting as showing that the professional
plays, like some of our vaudeville, made a kind of journalistic appeal
to their patrons.
n Bravure, I, 26.
B I6., I, 51.
96 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
soldier is here to seek her, sure of success. Un-
fortunately his talk in this case as always is based
on vain imaginations and after some ridiculous
Tweedledee-Tweedledum mock-fights with Gratiano,
the hero is obliged to retire discomfitted, leaving the
damsel to her young lover. 53
Although as I have said Zanni has more traits
of the mountebank's clown than the other persons
in the improvised plays, even he does not entirely
escape the prevailing infection of pedantic talk.
The set speeches for his part are not so numerous
as those for the Captain, the Doctor, Pantalone and
the lovers, yet he does have his soliloquies for use
either as prologs or epilogs or in the body of the
comedy his laments and love rhapsodies parody-
ing his master's, his prescriptions parodying Gra-
tiano 's, more rarely his bombastic ravings meant to
be taken seriously but ludicrously out of keeping with
his character. Of these last one must suffice; it is
supposed to be spoken by the much-traveled Zanni,
Ganassa, who addresses a lament to his master :
"Alas, dear master, let me weep, me who have a
real cause to be the most unhappy and unlucky man
alive to-day, because the dearest friend and com-
panion I had is dead! Why have I not the elo-
quence of Demosthenes, of Cicero and of Quintillian,
that I might describe the worth of his merits and the
passion of my soul! He was joined to me by the
closest ties of friendship that have existed since the
days of Theseus and Pirithous, Titus and Gisippus,
Pylades and Orestes. . . ."
83 Flaminio disperato, Nuova Antologia, Ser. II, Vol. LI, 223 f .
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 97
Pedrolino, in Scala's Faithful Pilgrim Lover
(Gior. XIV) proves Ms education to have been as
liberal as Ganassa's, for in one scene he " lists the
famous men at-arms who have loved and been the
servants of love" and meditates the proportionate
values of a soldier's and a scholar's career, an
ancient problem debated time and again by the
academies and found in not a few medieval con-
trasti. 5 * Sometimes Zanni invented genealogies,
boastful tales, lawyer's quibbles and the like which
savored more of the study than of the charlatan's
bench, 55 yet on the whole his singing and tumbling
and jesting were more usual and certainly seem far
more congenial to him than the arduous searching
of the classics necessary for his literary efforts.
If there were space to quote soliloquies either
mournful or gay from written comedies it would be
apparent how closely modeled on them was much of
the high-sounding talk in the improvised pieces.
Love, honor, fortune, examples illustrative from
Ovid and Virgil, sentiment and philosophy from the
Italian poets, all these elements were seething in the
proficient actor's memory as he had learned their
expression in literary dramas. Nothing could be
more natural than that he should draw on this store
of polite knowledge and adorn his farces with em-
64 Stoppato, Comm. pop., 90, mentions two famous medieval debates
on this theme. The same subject recurs constantly in the Decameron
and is a chief interest in one of the farces of the Rozzi, ef. ^fazzi,
Congrega, etc., I, 325.
w Cf . Bonfigli, introduction to Capitolo in morte di Simone da
Bologna. Simone had played the Zanni >s part under the name of Zan
Panza di Pegora and in this poem is learnedly mourned by two other
Zanni, his comrades.
8
98 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
broideries in which both material and pattern were
cut from something of solider and richer design.
Supplemented by his private studies, the literary
plays in his repertory also taught him a more im-
portant thing than the use of ornament, they taught
him how to construct a plot, how to make a central
love interest the framework for dialog between
the clowns of his troupe, and how to enliven it all
by the lazzi his experience had forced him to invent.
He discovered that the Signora of his company in
her masculine attire, was more interesting if she
put on doublet and hose for a purpose, say to allow
her escape from an over- strict father or her follow-
ing an inconstant lover, than if she wore them
always and as a matter of course. 56 He found it
possible to use the familiar fools, the Magnifico and
Dr. Gratiano, in the roles of the old men of the play,
thus making their vices and their foolishness tell in
the development of an intrigue. Finally he made
the most of the gymnasts and lithe Zanni in his band
by casting them for servants ' parts where they could
turn all their gifts to advantage and bring in their
tricks and their music with least outrage to the fable.
It was through changes and innovations such as
these that the G-elosi toward the end of the sixteenth
century, made good their boast of having raised the
standard of professional entertainments; 57 one of
M Cecchi's I Eivali and Gl'ingannati (by a member of the Intronati
of Siena) are two of the best known of innumerable written plays in
which the heorine resorts to masculine disguise.
67 F. Bartoli, Notizie istorfeche, etc., says Scala was "the first who
to the professional comedy gave fitting order, with all the proper
dramatic rules." Vol. II, under Scala.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 99
Francesco Andreini's prefaces says that "this mar-
vellous company in which each actor was super-
latively excellent" had showed the public and all
future players "the true method of composing and
presenting comedies, tragicomedies, tragedies, pas-
torals, spectacular pieces, interludes and other scenic
devices." The same comedian in his prefatory
letter to Scala's collection of scenarios praises his
author thus: "Signor Flavio (Scala's stage name)
could have written out his works in full . . . but be-
cause to-day there are so many printed comedies
that . . . are very offensive to dramatic rules, he
wished with this his new invention to put forth only
the outlines, leaving to excellent wits . . . the sup-
plying the words, if they do not disdain his labors,
composed to no other end than to delight." It is
true that Scala's plots do not offend against the
rules ; they are carefully planned to observe the time
and place as well as the unity of action. Even his
extravaganzas are regularity laid out after academic
patterns, following in general style the gorgeous
theatrical mongrels which critics allowed to be ap-
propriate to princely feasts.
No little effort and study and a considerable length
of time must have been given to perfecting of pieces
so complex as those in the repertory of the Gelosi.
In just what order, if in any one order, the various
ideas going into the formative process occurred to
the managers of this company and of others like it,
just what was the exact method by which their people
acquired the habit of improvising dialog on an out-
lined plot, is not known and probably never will be.
100 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
For my part I think Veridico's account of the way
he rehearsed his troupe offers a valuable suggestion
on the latter point; De Sommi could hardly have
been the only director who made analytic abstracts
of the plays in his repertory, noting places, actors
on the stage, entrances, exits and a hint of the action.
Very likely he and his kind started the custom
which Perucci describes a century later, of hanging
the outline of the comedy in a prominent place
behind the scenes where every member of the caste
could refer to it constantly. 58 It is well-known that
Italian actors were particularly apt in improvising
dialog they had had enough practice on the char-
latan 's bench and in changing their program ac-
cording to their audience. When they were per-
forming as they often did, for weeks together at
some aristocratic house where the one cry was for
variety, they would naturally be unable to learn by
heart the great number of plays demanded, and
would be forced to help out their memories by their
wits. If they followed De Sommi 's advice to present
only little known pieces and preferably those not yet
printed, their patrons could not have the text under
their eyes to refer to in case some remark on the
boards sounded too free or not quite in the poet's
style ; so no one could be blamed if on the basis of
the trainer's outline, some of the players should rave
and joke extempore.
Impromptu speakers could not of course go far
wrong when, like the best of the professionals, they
were thoroughly in touch with the intellectual inter-
M Perucci, Dell'arte rappresentativa, Parte XIV, p. 364.
THE COMMEDIA
101
ests of the day, the kind of plot and technic consid-
ered correct, the types of character appropriate to
comedy, tragedy and pastoral, the proper stage-
setting required for each and the proportion in
which realistic satire should be combined with
romance. The professional actors had moreover the
readiness that came from acquaintance with the
world ; they knew city squares and country commons
in their own land and many others, for they were
always on the road from place to place ; they knew at
first hand, because to a large extent many of them
were, charlatans of the piazza and their Zanni ; they
knew the village priest, the rustic magician, the
peasant of the country and his buxom wife and her
lovers. They were also, as we have seen, trained
from childhood, women as well as men, to please all
kinds of spectators and in the most various manner ;
they had on their tongues' end language for every
situation, from Petrarchan sublimities for the joys
and despairs of lovers to the vilest Billingsgate for
comic quarrels. In the improvised plays they man-
aged to produce from all these experiences and ac-
quirements they delighted everyone save an occa-
sional over- squeamish moralist ; the academic purists
found their own creations reflected with a difference,
and a difference making for gaiety, and soon
justified the "professional comedies" by resorting
to their usual excuse, a classical comparison; fash-
ionable Platonizers found their favorite themes
woven into the more serious scenes, sometimes even
developed with eloquence as by the Andreini; aris-
tocrats and parvenus greedy of splendor were re-
102 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
galed with spectacle, ballets and rich costumes;
last and perhaps most important, the universal liking
for the lively jest that stirs heartiest, most unthink-
ing laughter, would here be fed to the full, for who
could censure lazzi of the broadest in amusements
confessedly so farcical and free?
It is always just as impossible to pick out a certain
year and say "here began" . . . whatever literary
form it may be that is under discussion, as it is to
define a genre so exactly that all or even the majority
of its exemplars are brought under its wing. The
rise of the commedia dell'arte, which I have sketched
in broadest outline, is so intimately bound up with
the history of the actors, and of the literary and
popular drama of the sixteenth century that the
threads are particularly hard to disentangle, where-
as the difficulty in dating the process comes from
our ignorance of how many old scenarios may be lost
and of what proportion of rustic farces were impro-
vised, written scenes naturally alone survive. Yet
perhaps a more important thing than the drawing of
such hard and fast divisions, is just to recognize the
general relation of the improvised plays to the
actors and the century that produced them, persons
and an age of which they have left pictures like dis-
torted grimaces half-seen in a darkening mirror.
CHAPTEE IV.
Never was the irony of definition-making better
illustrated than by the fact that the oldest scenario
of the "professional" Italian comedy records a play
given by amateurs. As early as 1568, it appears,
the actors' peculiar resources, their Masks and lazzi
and extempore repartee, were well enough known to
be imitated by noble dilettanti with the aid of only
two professional musicians. The comedy is still
further peculiar in that it had no women in it and
that it never became part of the repertory of a
troupe. Yet notwithstanding these variations from
normality the little farce is so characteristic and so
full of reminiscences of the mountebank's bench as
to be worth quoting in full.
Massimo Trojano, the court choir-master, who
invented the "delightsome plot," reports the play
at first-hand in a conversation with a friend, a dialog
which is one of several describing the entertain-
ments at the Duke of Bavaria's wedding in Munich. 1
After explaining that the "improvised comedy" was
thought out in a day, the principal speaker in the
dialog says: "At first there was a peasant 'alia
"Book II, Dialog II, p. 183 f., of Discorsi delli trionfi, Giostre,
Apparati, etc., di Massimo Trojano di Napoli. . . . In Monaco. . . .
MDLXVIII. The scenario is quoted in full by Stoppato, Comm.
popolare in Italia, 131 f. It is in three acts, like most scenarios and
is distinctly a court spectacle like the piece published by Toldo,
Gior. Stor., XLVI, 128 f. I translate literally, keeping the confused
tenses, etc.
103
104 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
cavajola' 2 so ridiculously dressed as to seem the very
ambassador of laughter." He then goes on to tell
his hearer that there were ten persons in the play
and that the parts were so divided as to give him,
Massimo, three, namely, the prolog, Polidoro (the
young lover), and the Spanish l ' disperato. " ..The
other parts were taken as follows: a Magnifico,
Messer Pantalone di Bisognosi (played by Orlando
di Lasso, another professional musician) ; the Zanni
(Giovan-Battista Scolari, of Trent) ; the servant of
the young hero (Don Carlo Livizzano) ; the Span-
iard's lacquey (Giorgio Dori of Trent) ; the courte-
san beloved by Polidoro (the Marquis of Malespina) ;
her servant (Ercole Terzo) ; and a French servant.
"To return to our comedy (continues the narra-
tor). When the prolog had been spoken, Messer
Orlando (Pantalone) had a sweet madrigal sung
while Massimo who had played the peasant, took
off his rustic garments and all in crimson velvet
with broad cuffs trimmed top and bottom with gold,
and with a black velvet cap lined with the finest
sables, came out with his servant, praising Fortune
and boasting that he lived happy and content in the
kingdom of love ; when behold, the Frenchman, ser-
vant of Fabritio, his brother, came from the country
to summon him with a letter full of the worst news,
the which Polidoro read aloud; with a great sigh,
2 The farse cavaiole were so-called because they represented doings
of the peasants of Cava, a south Italian town. Cf. Croce, Teatri di
Napoli, Archivio per le provincie napol., XIV, 583 f., and Ancona,
in Arch, per lo studio delle tradizioni popolari, II, 239. Torraca,
Teatro italiano, etc., prints an example of these realistic little farces,
431.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 105
having finished the letter, he had Camilla called, and
after having told her the necessity of his going
away, kissing her, he took leave and departed. From
the other side of the stage entered Messer Orlando,
dressed as a Magnifico, with a doublet of crimson
satin and Venetian hose of scarlet, and a black
mantle long enough to touch the ground, and a mask
which just to see made everyone laugh, and with a
lute in his hand, playing and singing : 3
"Who passes through this street
And does not sigh, fortunate he!
After repeating this twice, he stopped playing and
began to complain of Love and say : ' poor Panta-
lone, who cannot pass through this street without
sending sighs through the air and tears to the pave-
ment of earth! . . .' and everyone began to laugh as
much as possible so that as long as Pantalone was
on the stage nothing was heard but laughter, all the
more that after Pantalone had made a long discourse
with himself and his Camilla, Zanne appeared, who
had not seen his Pantalone for years and, not
recognizing him as he walked distraught, gave him
a great shove and after quarreling, they at last knew
each other; then for joy Zanne took his master on
his shoulders and they turned like a windmill . . .
and then Pantalone did the same to Zanne; at last
both fell to the ground ; then they rose and talked a
8 In the dialog, p. 146, the second speaker remarks upon Orlando's
versatility in being able to play the Venetian when he was himself a
Fleming; Zanne 'a speech was equally remarkable, however, for it is
described as Bergamask "so good that it seemed he must have prac-
ticed it fifty years. "
106 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
little, Zanne asked his master how his old mistress
was, Pantalone 's wife, and hears she is dead, and
then Pantalone begins to howl like wolves and Zanne
to shed tears, thinking; on the maccaroni and mince-
meat 4 which she used to give him to eat ; then leaving
off their tears, they returned to cheerfulness and the
master bade Zanne carry some pullets to his beloved
Camilla; Zanne promised to speak for him but did
the contrary. Exit Pantalone, and Zanne went to
the house of Camilla, all trembling ; Camilla fell in
love with Zanne (and this is not astonishing, for
women often leave the better to turn to the worse)
and made him enter her house. And here there was
music by five viole da gamba and as many voices.
You can imagine whether or not this act was amus-
ing; I swear by heaven that at all the comedies I
have seen I have never heard so much hearty
laughter. . . .
"In the second act Pantalone appeared wondering
that Zanne was so slow in bringing an answer. Then
Zanne came out with a letter from Camilla saying
that if he desired her love he must disguise himself
in a way that Zanne would explain to him orally ; at
this joyful news Pantalone and Zanne went to ex-
change clothes, and the Spaniard entered, 'with
his heart drowned in the sea called jealousy' and
told his servant of his great and valorous deeds and
of the many souls, hundreds and hundreds, he had
sent to Charon's boat; and that now a wretched
woman had taken his mighty heart away. Com-
*In the second edition (Venice, 1568) Zanne regrets his mistress's
"maccaroni e raffioli," in the first is preserved the dialect form he
probably used, "macearu e sbruffedei. "
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 107
pelled by love he goes to salute his Camilla, and begs
her to let him enter her house ; Camilla with flatter-
ing words accepts a necklace from his hand and
promises him fair for that evening; he goes away
content. Then Pantalone and Zanne came in dressed
in each other's clothes, and after they had enter-
tained awhile by teaching how to act the Magnifico,
they entered Camilla's house. Here there was music
by four voices, two lutes and other instruments.
"In the third and last act Polidoro (who kept
Camilla) returns from the country, goes into the
house and finds Pantalone in poor clothes; asking
who he is and being answered 'a porter ' and that
Monna Camilla wished him to carry a box to Sister
Doralice at San Cataldo, Polidoro believes this and
says he'd better take the box soon; Pantalone on
account of his age is not able to lift it, and after a
little talk, says he is a gentleman ; Polidoro disgusted
at this, took a stick and belabored him so hard (to
the sound of loud laughter of the spectators) that
he would remember the blows a long time. Poor
Pantalone ran out and Polidoro entered the house,
very angry at Camilla. Zanne, who had heard the
noise of blows, found a sack and got into it ; Camilla's
maid drove him out on the stage, tied up in the sack.
The Spaniard, furious at not having received the
promised summons, is about to leave, and raising
his eyes to heaven, is beginning to say, 'Alas,' with
sighs, when he stumbles on the sack containing the
miserable Zanne and both he and his servant fell
full length ; rising in great wrath he untied the sack,
shook out the Zanni and with a stick dusted his bones
108 THE COMMEDIA
very thoroughly 5 and the Zanni fleeing and the
Spaniard and his servant after him, they left the
stage. Polidoro with his servant, and Camilla with
her maid then entered, Polidoro saying to Camilla
that she ought to marry, because he for an excellent
reason did not wish to support her any longer; she
after saying 'No' many times, finally resolves to do
as Polidoro commands her and so agrees to take
Zanne for her lawful husband. During this dis-
course Pantalone came in armed with firearms, and
Zanne with two arquebuses on his shoulder, eight
daggers in his belt, a buckler and sword in his hand
and a rusty helmet on his head; both are seeking
those who beat them; after making several thrusts
which seem to show that thus they will slay their
enemies, Camilla bids Polidoro speak to Pantalone.
He points out Zanne to the old man and Zanne,
frightened, motions his master to begin the fight,
Pantalone does the same to Zanne ; Polidoro, under-
standing the cause they both have, calls by name
*O signor Pantalone!' and puts his hand to his
sword; Zanne does not know which of his weapons
to take first and so there is a ridiculous hurly-burly.
This lasted awhile till finally Camilla held Panta-
lone and her maid the Zanni and peace was made
and Camilla was given to Zanne as his wife. In
honor of the wedding they danced an Italian dance
"The sack lazzo seems to have a perennial charm for all audiences
who like farce or uproarious amusement. There is an example of it in
one, of the mythical tales in the Mabinogion (Pwyll, Prince of Dyoed)
and it occurs again and again on the stage; cf. the two Farces
tabariniques in Fournier's Theatre fran$ais au XV le et XV lie siecles,
I,502f.
?!
THE COMMEDIA DELL^ARTE 109
and Massimo for Messer Orlando begged pardon if
the comedy fell short of the merit of their Most
Serene Highnesses. . . ." So with a conventional
apologetic and complimentary epilog the simple
little farce ends.
In such a play as this there is evidently not the
least philosophical intention, not the slightest idea
of mingling with its ' ' delightf ulness ' ' that ethical
teaching which theorists of the academies insisted
was the function of comedy; the whole thing is
merely to amuse. There is no strain on the attention
of the audience, no plot complications such as in
many plays of the period gave rise to long debates
on the relative values of love and honor ; all the merit
of the spectacle consists in its liveliness and in the
skill with which all kinds of ancient laughter-moving
devices are used. At the very first there is the ap-
pearance of the well-known figure of the rustic, so
often satirized in farces and May-plays and popular
tales, tricked out in his usual rags and talking non-
sense, no doubt in dialect. The same kind of comic
appeal is repeated in Pantalone's entrance in the
second scene, again a satiric portrait more or less
familiar to the spectators from the Magnifico's per-
formances in carnival processions and from his
similarity to the old man of literary comedies ; it is
worth remarking perhaps, that here he is perfectly
detached, that is, he is not, as so often in written
plays and in later commedie delVarte, the father of
either hero or heroine, he makes therefore not the
slightest sympathetic impression, only the ridiculous
one of an old man, love-mad. His antics, including
110 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
song and lute-playing, are all highly burlesque with-
out a thread of real character to bind them together ;
there seems to be no reason, for instance, why a per-
son so energetic as to go through the gymnastics
with Zanni should have been unable to lift a box,
but such small inconsistencies never troubled the
actors of improvised farces. The windmill business
just alluded to, the affray between Polidoro and
Pantalone, the entanglement of Zanni in the sack
with the resulting complications, and the absurd
mock battle at the end, are all the simplest and oldest
ways to rouse immediate, unthoughtful laughter.
More subtle are the suggested parodies on the aca-
demic follies of the time, Polidoro 's first speech in
praise of Love and Fortune, Pantalone 's serenade
and grandiloquent meditation thereon, the Span-
iard's still more inflated bravure. Academic and
literary also is the influence that formed what there
is of plot, the slender intrigue in which the chief
persons are as it were the shadows of Latin comic
characters. 6 The courtly demands for splendor of
costume, for music whenever possible and for a
dance at the close of the play, were as carefully
regarded by Massimo Trojano as by his followers
in the creation of scenarios; such adornments must
really have been needed by an aristocratic audience
as relaxation and variety in the continual horse-play
of these farces.
The modern editor of this comedy considers it so
complete as to indicate that the high-water mark of
8 This comedy is unlike most of the improvised plays in the fact of
the heroine's position; she is generally a girl of good family who
loves only the youth she means to marry, not, as here, a courtesan.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 111
the commedia dell' art e must be placed in the middle
of the Cinqueeento, 7 rather a rash conclusion in
view of the fact that it is the only surviving scenario
of the period and that it is so much simpler than
most of those of later date. 8 Scala 's collection may
and doubtless does contain several plots as old as
the one just described, but since the collector did not
edit each of his pieces with modern scholarly accu-
racy, speculation on the subject is unsafe. 9 Two of
his numbers may be at least conjecturally dated
before 1578 and about 1589 respectively, though such
proof as there is may seem rather shadowy. In the
Portrait 10 the assumption as to date hangs by the
slender thread of a name and one hypothesis de-
pendent thereon; the principal heroine, not as in
most of Scala 's pieces a respectable girl of the
bourgeoisie but an actress of very free life called
Vittoria, must, I think, have been played by
Vittoria Piissimi, whose character was of just the
kind suggested here. Now La Vittoria was with the
Gelosi only a few years and left them\ finally to
establish a company of her own in 1578.' Granted,
and the supposition is at least probable considering
the Italian practice, that she created the chief role in
'Stoppato, Comm. pop., 139 f.
8 Solerti, Ferrara, etc., cc-cci, mentions an improvised play given
in 1577 by noble persons, so the Munich performance was not unique.
8 Be, G'ior. Stor., LV, 328, thinks that Scala >s plays must have been
mostly composed late in the Cinquecento.
10 II Eitratto, Giornata XXXVIII of Scala 'a book, has been fully
reported, translated into French by Moland, Moliere et la com.
italienne, 81 f.
For the discussion on La Pazzia cf. Solerti, Gl'albori del melo-
drama, I, 42, and Solerti-Lanza, Gior. Stor., XVIII,
112 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
the Portrait, giving it her own name, this scenario
must have been written before 1578 or the play would
not be found in the repertory of the company to
which until that year she belonged.
La Pazzia, played at Florence in 1589, has not
been identified with absolute certainty. 11 It may
have been a pastoral or it may have been the impro-
vised comedy I am about to describe; a contempo-
rary account calls it merely a "comedy by Isabella
Andreini of the company of the Gelosi, attended by
the Grand Duke . . . with the same interludes that
served for La Zingara by Vittoria," and says
further it was played superlatively well, especially
"with genius and eloquence by Isabella." 12 The
occasion was the wedding of Ferdinand I de 'Medici
to Christina of Loraine, May 13, and the comedy, if
it were really the one of the same title preserved by
Scala, was much more elaborate than that given at
the Bavarian fete. As there seems to me a fair
chance of Scala 's piece being this royal entertain-
ment and so of its dating next in age to the Portrait,
I give a brief synopsis of it here.
The argument tells a romantic story. Oratio, on
his way to marry Flaminia, is captured by Turks
and taken as a slave to Algiers, leaving his mistress
to retire to the cloister. In Algiers the tale of
Joseph in Potiphar's house is repeated and con-
tinued, the wife of Oratio 's master falls in love
with the young captive and agrees to turn Christian
if he will flee with her and marry her. She arranges
J1 Solerti, Gl'albori, etc., II, 18.
"Ancona, Origini, II, 495 f., recounts the rivalry of the two com-
panies and especially of the prime donne.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 113
the escape, taking her small son with her. After
various adventures during which the lady's husband
and son are killed, Oratio conducts her to Genoa
where she is baptized under the name of Isabella
and where the play opens before the couple have
been married. In the first act we hear from Flavio
that Flaminia has left the convent, that he loves her
but she is cold to him. Pedrolino tells the facts
about Isabella and Oratio which the argument had
previously summed up, adding his opinion that the
two "are living in sin." The next scene is a pas-
sionate conversation between Isabella and Oratio,
she accusing him of unfaithfulness in not marrying
her as he had vowed, he promising to fulfil his oath
very soon. Isabella withdraws, making an oppor-
tunity for an exchange of the noblest sentiments by
Flaminia and Oratio, confession of mutual love and
mutual encouragement to prefer honor to love.
After their tearful parting, the Captain enters with
Arlecchino, looking for a "Christianized Turkish
woman "; the pair go to the Inn where the Captain
makes love to the innkeeper's sweetheart, Eiccio-
lina, fights with one of her admirers and is deluged
with water thrown from a window by a servant,
true commedia dell'arte fun. The act closes by the
revelation of Pantalone's determination that his
son Oratio shall no longer live in sin but shall marry
Isabella at once, a resolution imparted to the youth
with the effect of throwing him into a violent rage
and causing him to quarrel with Flavio, Flaminia's
other lover ; Isabella looks on and weeps the while.
The heroine as the second act opens tells Flaminia
9
114 THE COMMEDIA DELL^ARTE
she will rather die than force Oratio to marry her ;
the two ladies then vow friendship and " compli-
ment " each other, until Pedrolino interrupts them
with an account of the duel between Oratio and
Flavio. This recital finished, the Captain enters,
recognizes Isabella as the woman he seeks and tells
Flaminia her story ; as he is going on to make love
to Flaminia, Oratio arrives and finds a second
quarrel on his hands. Quiet on the stage is restored
after much noisy confusion, and Flavio has a chance
to urge Pantalone against postponing Oratio 's
marriage any longer. Isabella listens until she
seems to go mad and assaults Flavio with a knife;
he falls hurt and bleeding, she tells Oratio that she
has revenged his wrong, but in fact leaves Flavio to
make capital of his wound in pressing his claims on
Flaminia. Very soon Oratio leads Isabella out
again, caressing her and assuring her that he does
not care for Flaminia, and sending her in finally
" quite consoled"; he has himself of course to re-
main to inform the audience in a soliloquy that he is
true to Flaminia in his heart but that honor is
master of his acts. Flaminia interrupts these fine
words by asking sarcastically when he means to
marry his "amazon" ; he is furious, so is Isabella at
the window ; honor takes wing very quickly as Oratio
declares he will only marry Isabella to get rid of her
and to fulfil his vow, and that then he will remove
her by trickery or poison. Isabella really goes mad
this time, "raves against love and fortune," tears
her clothes and throws them about and at last rushes
off in despair.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 115
Oratio and Flaminia are overcome by remorse at
the wrong done their victim the third act shows
,and they join with Pantalone in begging Dr. Gra-\
\ tiano to try to cure her ; the mad woman is brought
in, bound and " doing her insane tricks/ 7 Pantal.one
accuses Oratio of having caused this by his love of
Flaminia, the young man " despairs. " The Captain
is greeted by Isabella as one of the constellations,
and is then violently beaten by her. Gratiano next
enters with hellebore, to cure Isabella "instantly,"
she frightens him by suddenly appearing and bid-
ding him be quiet while Jove sneezes. To Oratio 's
greeting, "You are here, my soul," she learnedly
replies: "Soul according to Aristotle is spirit" and
goes on with divers other absurdities of a semi-
academic nature, until she is seized and bound and
made to drink Gratiano 's dose of hellebore. She
soon comes to herself, receives Oratio 's penitent
apologies and agrees to marry him at once. Flavio
is immediately betrothed to Flaminia, Burattino to
Bicciolina and Pedrolino to Franceschina so that
the play may end properly.
Most of Scala's pieces are, like this one, intrigue
comedies on a considerably more developed scale
than that evolved in a day by Trojano. The rela-
tions between the persons are carefully thought out,
or rather they are adaptations of those in the
motherless households of written drama ; 13 again as
13 The absence of a respectable matron from the scene is by no
means so invariable in the written as in the improvised plays; cf.
Cecchi, Gl'incantesimi (Venetia, 1550); Cenci, Gl'errori; Gonzaga,
Gl'inganni (Venetia, 1592), all romantic intrigue comedies containing
numerous farcical scenes like Scala's scenarios, which emphasize the
116 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
in the written plays there is a large romantic element
in most of the plots and a good deal of talk about
love and fortune in the dialog; the settings for the
first forty numbers the comedies shows still an-
other literary influence, a Eoman tradition, for they
all represent street scenes calling for the same
simple stage arrangements. When the plays were
given in private before wealthy patrons these set-
tings, canvases painted in perspective, would often
be done by the best artists, Eaphael did not disdain
to design the scenery for a comedy given before
Leo X, 14 and there are records of other illustrious
representations of realistic and beautiful back-
grounds for academic plays. There were almost
always, whoever the designer of the scene, three
main houses shown, one at each side and one at the
back, leaving two streets as well as the house doors
humanly pathetic interest of the plot largely by bringing into it an
unhappy mother. Of course the commedia dell 'arte had nothing to do
with pathos and therefore left the mother out of account and made the
father so vicious or foolish that he could not be pitied.
"A performance of Ariosto's Suppositi in the Castel Sant'Angelo,
March 8, 1519. Cf. Graf, Attraverso il Cinquecento, 369.
Grazzini in the prolog to La Strega played before a Florentine
academy, says: "La scena si conosce benissimo esser Firenze; non
vede tu la cupola?" Evidently this was as realistic a representation
as that of Cecchi's Incantesimi in the prolog to which the author
says. ' ' Voi conoscete che questo proscenio e in Firenze, che '1 Car do e
la Cupola e la piazza che e qui, ve la figurano assai chiara." So
also an Italian artist painted the scenes in La Calandra to repre-
sent Florence when that comedy was given at Lyons in 1548 before
Henri II and Catherine de 'Medici (Baschet, Comediens italiens,
etc., 9).
As early as 1518 Bibbiena had a comedy given in Rome for which
the scenery was painted to represent a characteristic bit of Mantua.
The description is found in a contemporary letter cited by Flechsig,
Decoration der mod. Bulme, etc., 64.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 117
for entrance and exists. 15 The middle house cer-
tainly and the two others probably, had balconies
from which Isabella and Flaminia could exchange
insults with each other or compliments and vows
with their lovers, and over the balustrade of which
Arlecchino could leap and Oratio could climb.
Properties for these comedies were often as simple
as this setting, the only absolute requirements were
" clubs for beating," formidable weapons for keep-
ing the Zanni and the Captain in order and for help-
ing the lovers execute their vengeance on the old
men. Scala here and there lists various other
"necessary things"; according to the play may be
required an Inn-sign; 16 a long bench for the char-
latan, with a handsome trunk, a lute, charlatan's
wares, two bottles of wine ; 17 a pair of shoes, a sharp
knife, a chest of food, a roasting spit; 18 many lan-
terns and night-shirts, a woman's dress for Arlec-
chino; 19 a garden at one side of the stage, a small
table with two seats, confections, arms ; 20 a large felt
hat, a bundle of faggots for Pantalone, two loaves
of bread, a cheese, a bottle, a plate with seven
fritters; 21 a tall mirror standing on feet, two
"Bapst, Essai sur I'histoire du theatre, 167, and Rennert, Spanish
Stage, 96, call attention to the need for regarding chronology in any
study of stage arrangements. The Italian street scene seems to have
been a norm for improvised comedies from the latter part of the
sixteenth to at least the middle of the seventeenth century.
"Giornata I.
"Gior. II.
"Gior. IV.
"Gior. IX.
20 Gior. XI.
*Gior. XV.
118 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
similar rings; 22 a chest with many letters in it; 23
two Alexandrian carpets, a suit for a Turkish mer-
chant, slave's habit for Pantalone; 24 slaves' suits
and iron chains, eight barrels of water, a palace
with throne and columns. 25 All these articles,
except the palace and its columns, were perfectly
ordinary everyday supplies, easy for the poorest
company to produce. Not so the gold and silver
vessels, the rich robes, the carved furniture, the
jewels and flowers, to say nothing of the painted
scenes pastoral or marine, required for the mytho-
logical and heroic part of the repertory. For those
the Gelosi had to draw on the treasury of the dukes
of Mantua or the kings of France before whom they
played.
Not until the seventeenth century had multiplied
and cheapened stage devices and had brought the
professional actor some independence of his private
patrons could Scala's last nine pieces have been
given in public. One of these, a tragedy called the
Mad Princess, must have required at least one
painted cloth representing the seashore, and calls
for, among the properties : i ' one very beautiful ship,
two skiffs, one pavilion, four elegant trunks, four
lighted torches, four silver basins, one water-ewer,
divers lances, a head resembling the Prince of
Morocco, one moon which shall seem to set, a throne
for the king of Fez." The opere miste that follow
the tragedy make still larger demands for machinery
22 Gior. XVI.
M Gior. XXIII.
24 Gior. XXVI.
" Gior. XXXVI.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 119
and properties. There are transformation scenes
that needed skilful manipulation and rapid changes
of tableau in which the usual stage direction is, "the
middle scene (prospettiva di mezzo) falls, showing"
whatever the climax demanded, temple of Pan or
palace of a king. 26 In L'Alvida, a "royal work"
(Gior. XLII), are listed "a wood, a fine grotto, a
large tree to place in the center" and among the
dramatis personae, "a lion, a bear and an ass." 27
In The Enchanted Tree, a pastoral (Gior. XLIX),
greater demands are made: "a painted tree for the
transformation (of a nymph into a tree), a tree with
apples attached which shall rise, a grotto for the
witch, a cape in the sea which shall suddenly appear,
two fires with perfumes, two rays which shall flash
29 The battlements, trees, etc., needed for these plays were prob-
ably canvas structures like those mentioned as required by the Italian
players at Windsor in 1573 ; ef . below, Chap. V, and Feuillerat, Docu-
ments concerning the Revels, etc., for numerous entries in the Revels
Accounts of payments made on "one Citty & one battlement of
canvas/' etc.
27 Ancona, Origini, I, 318 and 511 f., describes some of the remark-
able machinery used in the Sacre Bappresentazioni at a quite early
date, devices for representing sea-fights, making a temple fall in
ruins, etc.
Animals on the stage both in the Mysteries and in intermedj were
perfectly familiar to Italian audiences. Cf. Ancona, Origini, I, 513,
and Flechsig, Dekoration, etc., 12.
In the dramatic diversions at the court of Mantua during the
carnival of 1591 elaborate settings were used; there was one painted
cloth with "a noble palace painted in chiaroscuro/' another with
trees and a third of a city with battlements and with transparent
paper in the windows, also a mountain for the temple "adorned with
flowers and ivy-leaves." The Gelosi were quite accustomed to acting
in entertainments as gorgeous as this; cf. the account of the spec-
, tacles at the wedding of Ferdinand I de 'Medici, 1589, Solerti, Albori
del melodramma, II, 19 f.
120 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
(presumably to imitate lightning), and an earth-
quake." Gold and silver utensils, handsome furni-
ture, a chariot drawn by four spirits, shepherd's
attire, princely robes with crowns and scepters, new-
born babes, battlemented cities and a forest in
Persia such were a few of the articles that gave
magnificence to this curious group of plays.
The first of these extravaganzas is an example of
the compound plays so popular at the time, consist-
ing of three or more separate little pieces sometimes
on the same theme, sometimes as in this case con-
nected very loosely by a thread of plot. 28 The scene
is conveniently laid in the Peloponesus so that the
conventional ideas of Sparta and of Arcadia may be
utilized, but the classicism of the three parts is of
the most diluted academic character. The comedy
is pure farce; an old Spartan father, called Pan-
talone of course, ignoring his daughter's love for
young Oratio, son to Dr. Gratiano, promises her
hand to one of Orestes' Captains; the soldier is
however soon summoned to the wars and when he
returns he finds that Pantalone has been prevailed
upon to betroth the girl to Oratio. Scenes of jeal-
ousy and misunderstanding follow but are cleared
up so that a triple wedding closes the act. Then
comes a pastoral interlude built on a much tangled
love plot, with the scene laid in "Spartan Arcadia" ;
28 In England the best-known work of the kind is Beaumont and
Fletcher's Four Plays in One, but there were many others which have
perished; cf. Feuillerat, John Lyly, 341, note 3, and Henslowe's Diary
for 1592 and 1597. One of the outline plots of the period surviving
in England is of the second part of such a play, Tarlton's Seven
Deadly Sins, for which cf. below, Chap. V.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 121
Fillide, daughter to Pedrolino (factotum at Panta-
lone's villa), pretends death to follow her lover,
Sireno, and after she has been put into the vault flees
in the disguise of a shepherd. Before she finds him
the faithless swain sees and loves Amarillide, who
is pining for Tirsi, who in turn loves Fillide and
mourns her as dead. Fillide after many tearful
recriminiations and after wounding Sireno with an
arrow when she finds him with Amarillide, is at last
converted to care for Tirsi by her rival's decision to
marry Sireno. Eidiculous scenes between peasants
relieve the lachrymose dolefulness of this act. The
most fully described lazzo is a trick of Lisetta, a
shepherdess, to calm two fighting cowherds; she
promises them a plate of food if they will allow her
to tie them back to back; she then sets the dish on
the ground, urging them to eat and laughing at their
struggles to reach the maccaroni. Finally one suc-
ceeds in bending over far enough and goes out eat-
ing and carrying his hungry fellow on his back.
The pastoral ends conventionally with music and a
marriage procession to the temple. 29
The tragic third of this " three-plays-in-one " deals
with Spartan royalty, with the love of King Orestes
for Altea, daughter of his guest Bramante, king of
29 Cf. De Sommi for the probable costuming of these pastorals,
above, Chap. III.
Solerti, Albori, etc., gives descriptions of other musical and mytho-
logical commedie dell'arte. He calls Orazio Vecchi's L'Amfiparnaso
(1597) "a real true commedia dell'arte to which has been applied
madrigalesque music." (I, 17.)
Ancona, Origini, II, 451, describes a comedy played as early as
1567 in which Cupid frees Chloris, a nymph who had been turned into
a tree; but this was not an improvised play so far as is known.
122 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
Mycenae, with his murder of this guest and further
with the revenge taken for the deed by Oronte, king
of Athens. A slight connection of the three parts
is made in the last by the appearance of Pantalone
and Gratiano as ambassadors to the Athenian
monarch, who present him from their master with a
silver basin containing Bramante's head. Altea
does not long survive her father, for she chooses in
the manner of her kind death rather than dishonor-
able love ; we see her, decapitated, borne across the
stage on a "car of justice " while Pantalone and
Gratiano, like a Greek chorus, "discourse on the
swift turns of Fortune." The play ends with a
messenger's account of the death of Orestes in battle
and the people's joyful proclamation of the "ancient
liberty" of Sparta, henceforth a republic.
Contrasted with this tripartite drama is the long
drawn out epical trilogy, L'Orseida, interesting
especially on account of the folk and fairy elements
in its first part. The Elizabethans would have
found no difficulty in compressing into one piece the
varied events of so romantic a history, but to the
Italians under the critical eyes of their academic
theorists the preservation of the time unity was an
ever-present anxiety; consequently they often
strained probability to the breaking-point in order
to bring about their climax within "one revolution
of the sun." Scala, if he were the author of the
Orseida, frankly begged the question by presenting
in three separate tragicomedies the three important
moments of his action. In the first, a half-serious,
half -farcical parody on the Beauty-and-the-Beast
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 123
theme, Dorinda, daughter of Pan's chief priest, is
carried off by a ferocious bear against whom all
Arcadia has for years been in arms. Her father's
despair is mitigated by a vision of the god and a
prophecy that Dorinda will be happy in the devoted
love of a divine husband and that she will be the
mother of heroes. In the second part, supposed to
take place some time later, the bear is killed by
Trineo, a prince searching in Arcadia for his friend
and his love ; the main point of the action is however
so obscured by Trineo 's other adventures, by the
comic legerdemain of the servants and by spec-
tacular changes of scene, that it is a surprise to find
the third part motived by the monster's death.
This concluding portion begins in the manner of the
usual revenge tragedy by the hero, Ulfone, vowing
vengeance on Trineo for having murdered his
father, "although a bear." Many are the complica-
tions in the way of fulfilling this simple resolution,
but justice is at last done and Ulfone receives a
bride and a triple kingdom at the hands of the priest
of Pan.
After all this confusion comes, in Scala's book, a
milder piece, a pastoral, The Enchanted Tree. The
argument states that Fillide, daughter of the old
shepherd Ergasto, loves the young Arcadian Sireno,
an exile from his country; the uncle of this youth,
a "magician enchanter," disapproves his love for
Fillide and therefore makes him insane and by that
means forgetful of the nymph. She disguised as
Lisio, a shepherd, flees from her father's home in
pursuit of her lover but "by chance" she also goes
124 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
mad and is even, through the machinations of a rival,
believed to be dead. At last by the art of the Mage
all are ' l contented. ' ' This is largely a musical play,
there being frequent directions to Corinto (one of
the shepherds) to enter "playing his pipe" and to
the nymph Clori to sing. For the rest the play is
made up of commedia dell' art e jests, partly absurdi-
ties of the two insane characters, partly tricks of the
magician. Among the latter are fireworks which
issue from the cell of the wise man whenever any-
one tries to go in, an instantaneous change of scene
in which the back curtain falls to show a "maritime
cape" and an enchanted tree with spirits and
demons dancing about it; the tranformation of a
nymph into another tree and later her restoration ;
the bewitching of Arlecchino into the form of a wild
crane who makes much mirth by stretching his neck
in reply to questions. The final spectacle must have
been a triumph of stage machinery for in it the blood
of Timbri, who had stabbed herself for love of Sel-
vaggio, restores to human form the maiden of the
tree amidst a shooting of flames "all over the stage, "
flames so potent in their magic that they bring back
to life Timbri herself and change Arlecchino from
a bird to a man. Three marriages close the action
and the Mage, as in L'Orseida, resolves to become a
benevolent being.
If I have dwelt on these extravaganzas a little it
is because they combine in a peculiarly intimate way,
popular and literary elements. For example such
ancient folk motifs as disguise, transformation,
death-and-resurrection, the use of blood as a means
THE COMMEDIA
125
of restoration to life, the humanization of animals
for dramatic purposes, are quite recognizable even
though so overlaid by convention that it is perhaps
a trifle absurd to try to disentangle them. On the
other hand the academic commonplaces which Scala
as a practical, successful manager and a supporter
of the best theatrical usage of his day felt bound to
maintain the idealistic conception of love and
honor, the pastoral and heroic machinery, the classic
legacy of myth and theory are just as evident as
the popular material. 30 During the seventeenth
century plays like these hybrids became increasingly
numerous, growing more and more spectacular until
their place was taken by the melodramma and the
comic opera.
Notwithstanding the importance of the " mixed
works" it is hardly fair to leave Scala 's book with-
out a glance at one more of the comedies that make
up its chief bulk. This time instead of summarizing
another romantic intrigue like La Pazzia, I will give
one of Scala 's reworkings of a classic theme, the
Menaechmi situation, because this serves better than
some others to show how the freedom given by a
merely outlined action favored farcical treatment of
plot material. The heroine Isabella is the wife of
Captain Spavento who has been away for six years
in search of his lost brother, a Captain also. The
play opens on the day of Spavento 's return from
* There were written plays also of the same mixed character called
sometimes ' ' regiacomiea, M sometimes ' ' tragicomica. " Spanish influ-
ence on these heroic extravaganzas was strong; cf. Bartoli, Seen,
inediti, Ivii f.; Croce, Teatri di Napoli, 138, and Maddalena in
Wiener Sitzungsberichte, CXLIII, part 16.
126 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
his unsuccessful quest, and at once portrays the state
of affairs at his home. The first scene shows that
an explanatory prolog was not necessary, for here
Isabella tells her sad story to her maid Franceschina
and her neighbor Flaminia, and confesses that dur-
ing her husband's absence she has fallen in love with
Oratio. This gentleman is the lover favored by
Flaminia and accordingly Isabella's admission is
followed by a lively and abusive dialog between the
ladies and that in turn by a bout at fisticuffs. Oratio
enters in time to save Isabella from Flaminia 's fury,
only to be rewarded by accusations of infidelity
from his mistress. More blows are exchanged with
/ so much noise that Pantalone and Gratiano, fathers
C of the girls, rush to the rescue; Isabella runs into
the house gesticulating like a lunatic and Flaminia
pretends to be bewitched; the two old men follow
to see if they can do anything. Spavento then
enters to the Inn (which is the third house on the
stage), disguised in order to find out quietly what
his wife has been doing in his absence ; Pedrolino, the
inn-keeper, promises to care for the stranger and
his servant Arlecchino. When the boards are clear
again Oratio explains in a soliloquy his adoration of
Flaminia and his fear that she has fallen into a
causeless jealousy of Isabella; his fear is not much
relieved by information from Franceschina that her
mistress (Isabella) has gone mad with love of him.
However, as she begs him to visit the lady disguised
as a doctor, he compassionately agrees, puts on a
long gown and a false beard and is about to enter
Gratiano 's house when Flaminia, who has been lis-
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 127
tening from the opposite window, runs out, throws
herself on Oratio, pulls off his beard and robe, beats
him and in her jealous rage puts everyone to flight.
The second act begins by Spavento 's telling his
friend Flavio some of his adventures and asking for
news of Isabella; the Captain gets no satisfaction
from Flavio but overhears Oratio and Pedrolino
talking of Isabella and her unfortunate love. The
men go off, making way for an explanation between
Flaminia and her father Pantalone, followed by
Franceschina's additions to Flaminia 's confession.
Arlecchino hears the maid say that her mistress
loves Oratio and not the Captain, and with true
Zanni ofnciousness goes to tell his master of his dis-
covery. Then, with the entrance of the other Cap-
tain, begins the tale of mistakes and blunders that
has always been the chief attraction of this type of
play. Flavio takes this Captain for Spavento, his
friend, and both speak at cross purposes. After
they go out a comic scene between the maid and
Spavento shows that France schina in revenge for a
beating is capable of slandering her mistress very
freely ; Arlecchino confirms the girl 's story by what
he has just overheard and is rewarded by the
flogging that closes the act.
The plot begins to clear up with the reconciliation
of Oratio and Flaminia after an angry conference
spied upon by Pantalone. The old man is seen bjK
the lovers as soon as they make up their quarrel
and is begged to consent to their marriage. No
sooner is he persuaded than the two Captains enter,
the brother first and for a moment only, Spavento
128 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
immediately after; Arlecchino informs the latter
that Pedrolino will turn them both out of their
lodging unless they pay him at once, whereupon
Spavento angrily beats his servant off the stage.
The other Captain appears again and in answer to
Pedrolino 's furious reproaches gives him money.
Next Gratiano draws near and begs the Captain to
go to his wife at once; the soldier denies having a
wife and calls the Doctor ugly names, giving him the
lie in his throat as well. As soon as he goes off
Spavento greets Gratiano and tries vainly to ap-
pease him. Exeunt severally and enter Isabella and
Franceschina debating whether or not the master of
the house will be glad to see them; on the appear-
ance of the stranger Captain they both fall at his
feet with prayers for forgiveness a tableau seen by
Spavento as he comes from the wings. The hus-
band watches till the Captain raises the lady and
then rushes forward sword in hand to avenge his
honor; instantly however he recognizes his brother,
embraces him and Isabella, and the play ends
merrily. 31
A glance at the titles in any list of scenarios will
show how largely all through its existence the corn-
media dell'arte made capital of such farcical im-
broglios as those just related, that is to say, of com-
81 For other abstracts of Seala's plays cf. a paper in Mod. Phil-
ology, April, 1911, in which I have summarized two more of his
comedies and his one tragedy ; Moland, Moliere et la comedie italienne,
81 f.; Scherillo, in La vita ital. nel seicento, 311 f., and Klein,
Geschichte des ital. Dramas, I, 913 f., give still other examples. Klein
gives a full account of Scala's Gior. XXX, drawing from it some
rather unwarrantable conclusions as to its connections with Shakes-
spere's Twelfth Night.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 129
plications resulting from the disguise of one person
like another or the resemblance of one person to
another. In the seventeenth and eighteenth cen-
turies these motifs became more and more ex-
travagant, there being sometimes two or more
couples of twins on the stage, sometimes three or
even four "similar" Arlecchini or Pulcinelli.
The improvised plays did not always however in-
tend to be pure farce or even mainly farce. Such
a tragedy as The Queen of England* 2 is for the most
part taken from some serious treatment of the death
of the Earl of Essex in the reign of Elizabeth, prob-
ably from a written tragedy, possibly from a dis-
torted memory of the actual facts. Some of the
properties needed for the piece indicate its tragic
nature : i ' One paper head which looks like the Earl ;
mask and mantle for the Queen; pistol; ribbon;
32 Bartoli, Seen, inediti, 54 f. Cf. another scenario on the same
theme, Brouwer, Kendiconto, etc., 345. It is impossible to date thia
scenario exactly though it seems to belong to the end of the seven-
teenth century. As to its literary affiliationi there is an equal amount
of doubt; the Abbe Boyer wrote a French tragedy on Essex's death,
Le conte d' Essex, acted 1678. P. Corneille's tragedy of the same
title was published in the same year and contains an allusion in the
preface to M. de la Calprenede's successful treatment of the same
subject " thirty or forty years ago/' a play I have not been able
to see. N. Biancolelli 's La regina statista d'Inghilterra e il Conte
d' Essex, etc. (Bologna, c. 1664), I have also failed to find. This
may be the source of the scenario though the latter has also been
traced in part to a Spanish heroic play, Dar la vida per la sua dama.
With the English revenge tragedy by J. Banks, The Unhappy
Favorite or the Earl of Essex . . . (1685) the commedia dell'arte has,
I am quite sure, nothing to do. There may of course, as Professor
Thorndike suggests to me, have been some common source for all
these versions of a well known story, or they may have been composed
separately on a historical basis.
10
130 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
bunch of keys ; basin ; throne of state ; gold chain for
the servant ; ridiculous costume for the same ; letters
and petitions; inkstand; small table and bell; two
silver candlesticks with large candles. " After this
list the play opens with the return of the "Conte di
Sex ' ' to the English court after a victorious campaign
in France; he is discovered at night facing the
garden-gate of the Princess Lucinda, explaining to
his servant Cola that he must see his love before he
greets the Queen; he is condescending enough to add
that he loves Lucinda only as second choice, because
the Queen has recompensed his long devotion by
cold neglect. After he has entered the garden Cola
sleeps on the ground and talks comically in his
dreams until wakened by a shot and by the flight of
three masked villains from the garden; the Count
and Queen follow, the Count wounded in the arm, the
Queen trying vainly to discover his identity and re-
ward him. Though he refuses his name he allows
her to bind up his arm with a ribbon and so they
part. The next scenes are partly comic and have
to do with the courting of Lucinda by the Prencipe
del Delfino (the Dauphin?), with her repulse of him
and with Cola's satire on the situation. Lucinda
next greets the Count and confides to him her plot
to kill the Queen and seize a crown which was by
right her father's. (If there is a reminiscence of
Mary Stuart here it is not clear, though it does sug-
gest itself.) The Count pretends to be willing to
help in the plan but secretly thanks heaven for the
chance to prove his loyalty to his sovereign.
The court then assembles and after the aged
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 131
councillors, Ubaldo and Pandolfo, the Pantalone
and Gratiano of the play, have advised the Queen in
various burlesque ways Cola announces his master's
return from France. His reward is a fine gold
chain and rich costume, for which he attempts to
thank the Queen by a kiss. When the Count enters
he receives as the meed of his victories the appoint-
ment of Governor- General. The Queen asks the
hour of his return and noticing his confusion tasks
him with a secret love affair. Essex denies her
charge and is just about to lay bare Lucinda's
treason when the Princess herself enters followed
by one of the councillors; the old man takes the
Queen out but not before she has seen and recog-
nized her ribbon on Essex's arm. Lueinda's jeal-
ousy of her royal mistress and her vows of revenge
are both so violently expressed as to drive her lover
from her, leaving the lady to give Cola an important
letter for her brothers. In a final burlesque scene
Cola is robbed of his new finery by the two other
Zanni, Trappola and Bagnolino.
The second act opens quite simply where the first
left off, with a continuation of the servants' fight;
Cola after driving away the others by pointing a
pistol at them, attempts to excuse himself to the
Count for neglect of his master's affairs. The Earl
pardons him and bids him lock up the Queen's
ribbon carefully vain counsel to a Zanni, for no
sooner is Cola preparing to obey than Lucinda con-
fronts him and forces him to give her the treasure.
There follows a romantic talk between Essex and the
Queen in which she tries to make him understand
132 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
"in ambiguous words" her love for him, chiefly by
means of a page's ditty, "the lover revealing his
love. ' ' But the noble refuses to take the meaning to
himself, still worse, he maddens the lady by telling
her that the great have no right to indulge personal
feelings ; she replies by the commonly accepted state-
ment that love equalizes all estates, "Not mon-
archs and their subjects," says her loyal servant.
Lucinda at this points interrupts the conference, ap-
pearing with the ribbon on her arm. Fatal token!
The Queen recognizes it, angrily sends her off and
turns a much-changed face to the Count, bidding him
fly the kingdom within three days or forfeit his life ;
yet a moment later, seeing his confusion and grief,
she repents, reverses her doom and confesses her
love for him a scene surely calling for the his-
trionic powers of a Bernhardt! The Earl retires
rather overwhelmed with so much passion, and
Delfino comes to tell the Queen that Lucinda wishes
to marry Essex; she again flies into a jealous rage,
summons Lucinda, has a violent altercation with her
and concludes with a vow of vengeance on her lover.
Next come two typical commedia deWarte scenes,
the first between the Count and Cola, abuse on the
one side, excuse on the other; the second, Bagno-
lino's lazzi as he prepares throne and table for the
Queen. The court meets, the Queen takes her place
and as she looks over various papers tears up the
Count's petition to serve her as Captain of her
Guard. The effort to control herself evidently ex-
hausts her, for when the Council is dismissed she
falls asleep in her chair. This gives the Earl a
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 133
chance to enter quietly and to expatiate on her
beauty and his long-established love for her; she
also is enabled to reveal still more plainly her adora-
tion of her subject by talking in her sleep. Just as
the Count stoops to kiss her Lucinda rushes toward
the throne with pistol pointed; as she fires Essex
strikes up the weapon, the traitress runs away, the
Queen wakes, the Count is suspected, arrested,
carried off to prison, all in a moment. Cola is next
seized and searched and Lucinda 's unsigned letter
taken from him. A silly lazzo relieves the end of
the strenuous act ; as the three servants quarrel over
Cola's wardrobe Cola pretends to tie his shoe and
as he stoops down, catches Bagnolino and Trappola
each by one foot, overturns them both and flees.
To the Earl in prison lamenting the disillusion-
ment s of a life at court comes a masked lady (the
Queen), with offers of aid; in his gloom he declines
help and only sighs out his love and devotion to his
sovereign. She is touched to the point of giving
him a key and bidding him escape, something he so
little desires that he ungratefully flings the key into
a well, protesting his innocence the while. Cola,
disguised, now visits the cell for the purpose of
begging to be remembered in his master's will; the
Count at once draws up the instrument, bequeathing
land and money to his servant, then gives Cola a
letter for Lucinda, a warning that Essex will not
always be at hand to save her. The catastrophe,
absurdly enough motived, follows close upon. The
Queen sends Ubaldo to the prison but bids him not
execute justice unless she twice calls out his name.
134 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
She then takes the judgment of the court on the
situation and finds it to be unanimous: "traitors
should be punished." There is a moment of sus-
pense, for as Cola passes just then and with his usual
complaisance surrenders the letter for Lucinda,
the Queen finds in the Earl's words proof of his
innocence. Overjoyed, she cries out loudly to
Ubaldo, who thinking he hears the signal, executes
his prisoner and appears shortly with Essex's head
in a basin. The Queen can only lament over it in
despair till unable longer to endure the thought of
her injustice, she kills herself.
The Queen of England is a little unusual among
scenarios in giving for all its absurdities and its farce
and its impossible characters, an indefinable sense of
reality. It is not often that an improvised play
rouses even the tritest reflections on life, yet here in
the very unreasonableness of the story and the
illogicality of its climax there seems to be a recog-
nizable representation of the actual tragedy of
Essex; as in the historic situation inconsistencies
of passionate natures and small accidents and mis-
understandings bring about a melancholy end where
a happy one might seem just as possible. There
must I think have been some definite literary source
for the scenario to which should be attributed such
little power as it may have. The tone of the written
plays differed from the improvised chiefly by a con-
sistent maintenance of just such seriousness as
haunts us fitfully here; of course the professional
actors' main care was only to amuse uproariously,
not as with the regular dramatists, to bring some
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 135
definite idea to finished expression. This diversity
of aim accounts for such formal differences as the
shortening of the five acts in written prose and
verse to the regulation three in improvised prose ; 33
the substitution of the Masks for the more highly
differentiated persons of literary drama, and the
multiplication of lazzi in the professional plays.
Yet the plot fabric of both forms was at bottom
the same and so were many of the ornaments with
which professional actors tried to grace their freer
plays. Scala, we learn from various contemporary
references, used gorgeous mythological prologs and
interludes when he performed for private audiences
and even when he was giving his more economical
public representations he may very likely have fol-
lowed academic fashion in putting the substance of
his argument into an introductory speech, perhaps
at times into a brief dialog. Whether a prolog were
appropriate or not seems to have mattered little,
actors and poets composed sheaves of them for mis-
cellaneous recital and Scala quite probably varied
his salutations according to his audiences. 34 The
written plays were almost always prefaced by one or
more introductory addresses, 35 invariably semi-
33 Only one five-act scenario has been found among the five hundred
and seventy-nine in existence, all the rest have three acts; cf. Brouwer,
Ancora una raccolta di scenari, 395, note 4.
** Domenico Bruni, a member of the troupe of the Confident!, pub-
lished two volumes of prologs and miscellaneous speeches mostly in
verse: Prologhi (Bologna, 1623) and Fatiche comiche (Bologna,
1623).
"Grazzini's La Gelosia (1551) has a prolog addressed to men and
another to women; the play was written for academic performance
by amateurs and is particularly literary in tone.
136 THE COMMEDIA
boastful, semi-apologetic, occasionally stating the
subject of the comedy, more often taken up with a
discussion of some critical problem, 36 not infre-
quently setting forth in allegorical manner either
the leading theme of the piece or a delicate compli-
ment to audience or patron; 37 or again they are in
Jonson's style, entirely independent, and consist of
a lively monolog or dialog in which one or more
lads make the spectators laugh at their stupidity or
their wit. 38
Many of these amusing trifles would have done
quite as well, and probably were actually annexed
for service in improvised plays, as in the academic
productions they adorn in print ; they belong to the
class of unattached prologs already referred to,
those written originally no doubt for some special
88 Grazzini's La Strega is prefixed by a prose debate on the nature
and function of comedy, as Cecchi's La Eomanesca by a poetic defi-
nition of the farsa. Similar philosophic efforts are to be found here
and there in Lombardo's Nuovo Prato di Prologhi (Venetia, 1628).
Lombardo probably played with the Uniti c. 1584; cf. Rasi, comici
italiani II, 45.
37 Of these an elaborate specimen that may have been used for com-
medie dell'arte was written by Soldano Aniello, for himself as Dr.
Spacco Strummolo to speak in praise of the city of Bologna, pre-
sumably at performances there; it is a debate between various
Olympians on the origin of the name of that city. Cf. Rasi, Comici
ital., I, 165 f. Cf. also Martucci in Nuova Antologia, 15 maggio,
1885, 222.
88 One of Bruni's prologs is called "for a boy," and begins:
"Most noble lords: Plato in his Banquet it wasn't Plato ah! I
remember. Aristotle in his Politics; it wasn't Aristotle either
plague take these great fantastic authors, they 've in a way turned my
head, so I can't recall the prolog nor anything else." (Fatiche
comiche, 6 f.)
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 137
performance but afterwards incorporated into a col-
lection of miscellaneous poems. Bruni wrote sev-
eral prologs to be spoken by Pantalone; one of them
in Venetian dialect begins by discussing a fashion-
able problem thus :
If honor be the reward of virtue, why may not a man who
lives virtuously even though his wife is little less than a
harlot, be regarded with honor ? And if honor be the gar-
ment of the soul of him who does well, how can the acts of
another make him despised ? And if all the virtuous actions
of a woman cannot make honorable an infamous man, why
should the infamy of a woman dishonor a worthy man ?
This is one of Bruni 's not uncommon labor-saving
devices ; he often wrote speeches which like this one
wonld do equally well for prologs to a number of
different comedies or for insertion in the main body
by the play at a crisis in the old man's ill fortunes. 39
The honor theme in Pantalone 's mouth reminds '
us once more how close were the relations between
the professional and literary theaters of Italy. The
fact of this cousinship can hardly be too much
stressed or accounted for too carefully. Beyond
the causes for it already suggested the intimacy of
actors with their patrons and the liberal attitude of
"A later volume, Bocchini's Corona macheronica (Bologna, 1663),
contains a number of speeches for the "Zagno," the servetta, etc.
Cf. p. 13, Prologo per un Zagno in Bologna, beginning:
' * No ve ste piu a stupir,
Brigade, se qua suso
Me ved& comparir
Con maschera al muso
In ecena cantando. . . "
138 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
learned playwrights toward their interpreters lies
another reason, habitual flexibility in the method of
rendering a given plot. During all the history of the
commedia dell' art e written plays were reduced to
scenarios for freer treatment and scenarios were ex-
panded into full prose or verse dramas, the changes
being made sometimes by the authors themselves,
sometimes by hack-writers or actors, and often in
such a manner that it is impossible to tell which is
the earlier version. So far as is known Fabritio
de' Fornaris, a far-traveled member of the Confi-
dent!, set the fashion in 1585 by writing up and
printing in Paris his comedy of L' Angelica, which
during some years previously had been played from
a scenario by his own company. Giovan-Battista
della Porta, author of many literary comedies, left
two versions of one of them, a scenario and a fully
written piece, La Trapolaria. 40 Niccolo Barbieri in
the dedication to his Inavvertito (1630), says he
publishes the comedy because the plot has become so
popular that every actor possesses a different form
of it. A letter of 1632 survives in which a poet is
asked to expand into "playable verses" the enclosed
"plot of a comedy to be given at the next carnival. ' M1
Such are a few examples of the interchange of form
which serves to explain similarities between literary
and professional plays. In some cases, naturally,
the written dramas do not correspond closely to the
scenarios bearing the same name; again a title was
40 Scherillo, Comm. dell'arte, Chap. VI, 117 f. Cf. F. Bartoli,
Notizie istoricJie, I, 230 f.
41 A. Bartoli, Seen, inediti, lix, note 4.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 139
sometimes altered for an improvised piece though
the latter was in plot exactly identical with a written
source. 42 In short so many kinds of relationships
existed between the two methods of dramatic art
that there is no excuse for wonder at their obvious
correspondences.
After the middle of the seventeenth century when
the popularity of the commedia dell'arte was declin-
ing, the tradition derived from the practice of its
actors contributed several elements to the favorite
amusements of the time, the melodramma and the
opera bouff e. Certain parts of these ' t mixed pieces ' '
were regarded as beneath the dignity of being set
to music or put into verse, and so were left to the
extempore invention of the actors who took the
masked parts. This combination of prose fooling
with musical numbers on a thin plot basis survives
in the modern extravaganzas of our own comic stage,
yet it is only in such old-fashioned operas as the
Manage de Figaro that there is still traceable any-
thing resembling a direct influence of the commedia
dell'arte. During the eighteenth century, as will
shortly appear, the Masks ceased to be prominent
in the better theaters and dropping out of fashion
were relegated to the places from which they sprang,
the humble amusement halls of the common people
and the booths of country fairs. So humiliating a
42 Groto 's Emilia, for instance, was played with improvised dialog
as Le furberie di Scappino; cf. Bartoli, Seen, inediti, lix.
Bartoli gives a long list of titles of scenarios (ib., xxix f.) with,
in the notes, corresponding titles of written plays. Cf. Brouwer,
Ancora una raccolta di scenari, 395 f.
140 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
downward progress however did not begin till all
Europe had become familiar with Pantalone and
Gratiano and their families, and until mimics of
their grotesque selves grimaced on every important
foreign stage. It is with this intermediate moment
of success and glory that we must deal before point-
ing to the disappearing Masks in their hungry, out-
at-elbows, poverty-stricken old age.
CHAPTER V.
Among the many causes for the Italianate charac-
ter of the Eenaissance in western Europe not the
least is to be sought in the performances of Italian
actors in the sixteenth century. These troupes were
great travelers, even more given to jaunting about
than were their English rivals, and naturally they
introduced to the courts of Paris, Madrid, Vienna,
Munich and London, their own rich and varied cul-
ture, chiefly in the early years of the century the
music of their country, later, when they had become
better organized, the improvised pieces which were
their peculiar professional glory, and the "learned"
plays of many of their academic friends. What-
ever the proportion of tragedies to comedies and of
written to extempore plays in their repertory, there
is no doubt that farcical commedie dell'arte were
everywhere the main favorites and that they became
famous far and wide ; the lazzi of Arlecchino, merry
and easily understood as they were, pleased not only
the foreign rabble but princes and their courts no
less, just as they had done at home in Italy. In
1560, to instance a typical expression of aristocratic
approval, Catherine de 'Medici in unmistakable
terms announced that she wanted no more tragedies
played by the Italian company, but, Brantome adds,
"she gladly heard their comedies and tragi-
comedies, even those of Zanni and Pantalone, taking
141
142 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
great pleasure in them and laughing her fill at them
like everyone else, for she always enjoyed a laugh." 1
Her amusement was by no means singular; she is
but one among many powerful patrons who ap-
plauded the Italians in foreign lands, and who con-
tributed to the vogue and success of the Masks
among strangers.
With the oldest records of traveling Italians we
have little to do for they do not concern the corn-
media dell'arte. That Henry VIII had several
Italians among his minstrels, that "Maistre Andre
Italien" was commissioned in 1530 by the governor
of Paris to "make and compose the most exquisite
farces for a royal entry, 2 and similar facts, are inter-
esting proofs of the cosmopolitanism of the Italian
strollers but they are otherwise insignificant for us.
The commedia dell'arte could not begin its trium-
phant progress abroad, of course, until it had taken
shape at home, that is, until its creator-actors had
become firmly enough established and permanently
1 Cited by Scherillo, La vita italiana, 317.
2 The musician Masacone at the English court in 1517 has been
traced to Italy by Professor Cunliffe; cf. Pub. of Mod. Lang. Assoe.,
XXII, 147-8. Collier, Hist. Eng. Dram. Poetry (1831), I, 83, quotes
from a document which he says is of Henry VIII 's reign, a list of
eighteen of the ' ' King J s minstrels, ' ' among whom are Nicholas
Andria and Antony Maria; as the document is undated there is no
way of telling whether these men can be identified respectively with
the Maistre Andre who was in France in 1530 and the Antonio Maria
who according to the Royal Accounts of France was paid for enter-
taining the court of Charles IX in 1572; both identifications could
hardly be true if the list is bona -fide and of Henry VIII 's reign;
yet in view of the long professional careers of some of the Italian
actors, there is a possibility of either. Cf. Baschet, op. cit., 36-7, for
the record of ' ' Anthoine Marie ' ' in France, where he was at the head
of a company in 1572. Cf. Easi, I, 185.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 143
enough banded together to work out in groups this
cooperative product, a result not achieved until
nearly the middle of the century. It is therefore
after about 1550 that Italian names in foreign
records begin to have a meaning for us, and it is
from that time on that we must search for traces of
the commedia dell' art e in other countries.
Not till 1548 when Bibbiena 's Calandra was given
magnificently by an Italian troupe in Lyons, 3 does
there appear a sign of any but single and scattered
musicians and jugglers in any foreign court. At
nearly the same time however other little companies
seem to have crossed the Alps to seek their fortunes
in different directions; at least there is in 1549 a
note of one small band, five Venetians, who were
paid one florin by the "Bechner" of Nordlingen, for
some kind of a dramatic performance. 4 Their leader
is unidentified ; he could hardly have been the famous
Giovanni Tabarin of Venice, afterwards so familiar
to Teutonic audiences, him whose company was re-
corded at Linz in 1568-9 and at Vienna often between
1568-74. 5 Although in the course of these twenty
8 A full description of this splendid occasion is given from the
original documents by Baschet, Les comediens italiens, 6 f.
4 Trautmann, ItaL. Schauspieler, 225-6.
The group who played in Nordlingen in 1549 was probably organ-
ized for real dramatic performances and with some degree of perma-
nence, since a little later they were paid by "four florins and good
words" after representing "an old Roman history of Hercules."
Vettori, Viaggio in Allemagna (Paris, 1837), says, p. 173, that
Italian comedies were known in Germany in 1507 but the statement
is on the face of it improbable, and the author is notoriously un-
reliable.
6 Tabarin was under the direct protection of the Emperor with the
144 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
years a few meager notices testify to the presence of
strolling bands in foreign palaces, they unfortu-
nately throw little light on the repertory presented,
and are therefore no more worth citing here than the
records of the musicians just alluded to.
When however a little later some plainer hint
evokes more vividly the ghost of a bygone spectacle,
it must not escape us. Such is the note describing
the performance by a Florentine, Antonio Soldino,
and his troupe, of a tragedy before "the Eoman
Imperial Majesty" in 1570, 6 and that other record
of the generous reward paid the same man by
Charles IX in Paris, 1572, for the representation in
the royal palace of "comedies and pleasing diver-
sions, " or as is elsewhere stated, "comedies et
saults. ' ' 7 Soldino 's men were evidently able to give
"regular" pieces witness their tragedy before the
Emperor and probably among their lighter 1 1 diver-
sions" included a few commedie dell'arte. Again in
March, 1571, the special ambassador from Elizabeth
to Charles IX, Lord Buckhurst, gives us a glimpse
of an Italian play in a letter to the Queen : 8
title " player to his Imperial Eoman Majesty." Trautmann, op tit.,
228 f.
Ancona, Origini, II, 458-68, brings together some facts about Taba-
rin who, he says, was the first to take troupes to foreign countries;
if this were so we should probably have to suppose him to have played
at Lyons in 1548 as well as in Germany in 1549. Cf . Rasi, II, 565 f.
Ancona states (op. cit., II, 405-6) that about 1567 Italian comici
began to travel; the German records cited above would change the
date to about 1548.
Schlager, in Wiener. Sitzungesberichte, phil-hist. Klasse, VI, 167.
T Baschet, Comediens italiens, 34 f.
8 Calendar of State Papers, Foreign Series of the Eeign of Eliza-
beth, 1569-71, 413.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 145
' ' The 4 of this month the King procures the duke
of Nevers to invite me to diner where we found a
sumptuous feste and of gret honour adorned with
musick of a most excellent and straunge conserte,
and with a Comedie of Italians that for the good
mirth and handling therof deserved singular comen-
dacion."
M. de Nevers was Lodovico Gonzaga, younger
brother to the Duke of Mantua, by all his training
and traditions a patron of the theater ; but what this
company was by which he entertained his guest or
what kind of play was given, the Englishman does
not detail..
The Earl of Lincoln in a letter dated June 18,
1572, is a trifle more explicit: "At after dynar
Monsieur and his brother brought us to a Chamber
wheare there vearie many sortes of exelent musicke ;
and after that he had us to another large Chamber
wheare there was an Italian playe and divers
vantars (vaultersf) and leapers of dyvars sortes
vearie exelent; and thus that daie was spent/' 9
From this time on the records are full of quite
definite allusions to Italian actors, especially in
France, where between 1599 and 1624 at least eight
companies performed. Ganassa whose first appear-
ance is in a comedy at Mantua, 1568, 10 was one of the
most restless of them all ; after playing at Lucrezia
Baschet, Comediens italiens, 14 f., assumes the play to have been a
commedia dell'arte; the original statement is however too vague to
be interpreted dogmatically. The company may possibly have been
Soldino 'a.
9 Nichols, Progresses, etc. of Queen Elizabeth, I, 304.
10 Ancona, Origini, II, 455.
11
146 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
d'Este's wedding in Ferrara, January, 1570, 11 he
went to serve Phillip II, playing in Madrid, as
Father Ottonelli says, "in our manner/' teaching
the Spaniards "modest and not obscene comedies." 12
On August 18, 1572, he and six companions acted at
the marriage of Henri de Navarre and Marguerite
de Valois in Paris, and as good Catholics un-
doubtedly witnessed and approved the St. Bartholo-
mew six days later. 13 So far as is known Ganassa
was the first to introduce the Bergamask Zanni to
Parisians, playing either in contrasti or in commedie
dell'arte with Pantalone, as the Sieur de la Fresnaye
Vauquelin notes:
. . . le bon Pantalon, ou Zany dont Ganasse
Nous a represents la fagon et la grace. 14
The same pair of comic figures was especially suc-
cessful in Germany and Vienna, if we can venture
such a deduction from the facts that they are the
most often described and are the most prominent
in the frescoes at Schloss Trausnitz where they are
portrayed with the Doctor, the Captain, the lovers
and the servetta grouped about them. 15
n Solerti, Ferrara, etc., xcii.
12 Cf . Ottonelli, Delia Christiana moderations, etc., II, 37. Barbieri 's
statement in La Supplica, 105, is the source of later accounts of
Ganassa in Spain. Cf. F. Bartoli, Notizie istoriche, I, 248-9.'
Ganassa was not the first Italian actor in Spain; for others cf. Ren-
nert, Spanish Stage, 22 and 29, note 1.
"Baschet, Comediens italiens, 42 f.
"In the second book of his Art poetique, a poem begun in 1574;
cited by Basehet, op. cit., 45.
15 Trautmann, Ital. Schauspieler, 193 f. The sixteenth century
frescoes at Trausnitz may commemorate the performance of Trojano 'a
play at Munich, 1568, but more probably they are generalized repre-
sentations, having nothing to do with a particular comedy. Rasi,
Comici italiani, II, 1024, reproduces a small portion of the frieze.
Pater.
MARCHE COMHU'K.
Voycz-vous ce. docteur sur sa digne monture,
Qu' accompagne Pierrot suiri d'autres boufjons,
Et qui pour annonccr sa grotesque figure,
Rctnplit 1'air de ws mauvai*
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 147
It is perfectly to be expected that the improvised
plays with their bizarre Masks and their lazzi would
have been more appreciated in foreign halls than the
sometimes tedious regular dramas, yet there is not
the slightest reason to think that the actors confined
themselves to farces or that they did not play abroad
the varied repertory they gave their home audi-
ences. They spoke Italian to be sure, but that lan-
guage was as well understood then by educated
people as is French to-day, so that at least before
the courts the strangers could act their literary
pieces. 16 As Sorel describes the Italians and their
" naive and ridiculous antics" he admits "an extra-
ordinary charm" in their plays, even though they
are unable to abstain from mingling buffoonery
with their more serious efforts, for such fooling "is
too natural to them to be omitted " they are, he
adds apologetically, so instinctively expressive. 17
Popular in the extreme there is no doubt they were
with whomever saw them, the frequency of their
visits to Paris alone proves that; just how general
and insistent was the demand for their services will
perhaps be clearest if the history of the most famous
of the companies is briefly outlined.
The Gelosi are first heard of in Milan, where they
acted in 1569 with "that sweet siren" Vittoria
10 Trautmann, Ital. Schauspieler, 235, proves that the Italians used
their own language at the imperial court of Vienna and in Germany;
in Madrid the same was true (cf. Kennert, Spanish Stage, 260) and in
England there is record of at least one play translated into Italian
for performance, probably by an Italian company. (Fleay, Chronicle
History, etc., I, 26.)
17 Rigal, Theatre frangais avant la periode classique, 48.
148 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
Piissimi as their bright particular star. In May,
1571, they furnished a dramatic entertainment for
a royal baptism in France, at Nogent-le-Eoy, whence
they went to Paris, only to regret their distance
from their protector the king; Parlement insulted
them by prohibiting from acting in public all
16 players of farces and such like common amuse-
ments " who were not properly authorized. The
Italians in vain produced their permits from the
king in which they were called "Comediens du Boi,"
Parlement referred to them indeed a little more
politely as "actors of tragedies and comedies" but
reiterated in November the interdict. The company
under its chief, Alberto Ganassa, seems to have gone
home again directly, for in the spring of the follow-
ing year they played at Milan. 18 The autumn found
them at Genoa, the next summer at Ferrara; here
upon an island in the Po where the Estensi had a
splendid villa, they gave the Ammta of Tasso before
Alfonso II and his train, unfortunately only to be
rewarded by "little gain and many insults" 19 though
a contemporary says they were at this time "most
ready in the imitation of every kind of person and
all human actions, especially those that are apt to
move laughter."
In the winter of the same year they were in Venice,
"The outline of the movements of the Grelosi I have taken from
what seem to me the most careful studies of the subject, Solerti-
Lanza, in Gior. Stor., XVIII, 159 f., Ancona, Varietd, II, 283 f., and
Ademollo, Una famiglia, etc., xxxiv f. Baschet, Comediens italiens,
16 f., gives a detailed account of the trouble with Parlemeut, citing
the documents.
19 Solerti, Ferrara, etc., xciv.
THE COMMEDIA
149
whither they returned in 1574 after a brief trip to
Milan, to play before Henri III of France in a
tragedy by Frangipani and two improvised comedies,
the latter elaborately staged and "adorned with
interludes." I have already referred to the impres-
sion made on Henri by this company, especially by
Vittoria and the Magnifico, Giulio Pasquati; to this
ineffaceable memory was due the summoning of the
Gelosi to Paris in 1576 after two years of successful
performances in Milan, Florence, Ferrara, perhaps
even in Vienna, where Pasquati had gone in 1576. 20
The second journey to France was not without
adventure for the whole company was taken prisoner
by the Hugenots near La-Charite-sur-Loire and had
to be ransomed by the king before they could appear
in January at Blois ; the same evening they arrived
they showed their gratitude by giving one of their
comedies in the great Salle des Etats, to the huge
diversion of Henri and his court. 21 In May they
established themselves again in Paris, where they
played to large crowds and at some profit as they
were allowed to charge four sous entrance fee. 22 But
as in 1571 Parlement no doubt at the instigation of
the Confrerie de la Passion, the dramatic monopoly
20 Trautmann, Ital. Schauspieler, 229; cf. Easi, Comici italiani,
II, 226.
21 Baschet, Comediens italiens, 61 f . They were allowed to collect a
demi-teston (fifteen sous) apiece from the audience, an unusually
large sum.
22 In 1541 two sous had been the price fixed by Parlement for a
place at a public performance; from 1 609^-20,, five sous was the price
in the pit and ten in the gallery and boxes, a sum increased in 1634
to nine or ten sous for the pit and nineteen to twenty for boxes. Cf.
Eigal, Theatre fran. avant la periode classique, 156-7.
150
in Paris put an end to their performances, this
time with a definite accusation to the effect that
plays like theirs only served to teach "paillardises
et adulteres" and "were a school of debauchery to
the youth of both sexes. ' ' As before the Gelosi pre-
sented the king's letters, yet now with better results
than formerly, for after a short time they began to
play again "at the Hostel de Bourbon ... by the
express permission and order of the king.' 7 "I
desire that it be done so and that there be no mis-
take, " says Henri's note of command to the city
authorities, "for I have pleasure in hearing them
and have never heard more perfect." 23
The atmosphere may have cooled in France not-
withstanding the favor of the court, or that favor
may itself have turned to some newer object, for the
Gelosi were back in Italy in 1578, when at Florence
they lost La Vittoria and made some other changes
in the company. The next year they had more
trouble. A decree of the Duke of Mantua is extant,
dated May 5, 1579, exiling "from the City and State
of Mantua the comedians called the Gelosi who lodge
at the sign of the Bissone, and also Signor Simone,
who plays the part of the Bergamask, and Signor
Orazio and Signor Adriano, who play the parts
amantiorum, and Gabriele called delle Haste, their
friend." 24 There is no record of their offense;
whether their plays were too free either in morals
or in political or personal satire, or whether like
Pedrolino's company in 1576, they were forbidden
23 Baschet, Comediens italiens, 76.
M Ancona, Origini, II, 464 f.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 151
to act because of the scandalous lives of some of
their number, nothing remains to tell. 25 Perhaps
the machinations of Vittoria, who was by this time
the star of the Duke's most favored company, the
Confidenti, were to blame for the exile of her former
confederates.
It seems almost necessary to suppose some plot or
inimical influence working against the Gelosi, for
they were quite certainly not inefficient. That same
summer they played before Prince Ferdinand of
Bavaria and were by him pronounced "die best
Gesellschaft so in gantz Italia von Comedianten." 26
Moreover in 1580 they conquered the reluctant good
will of Carlo Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, and
caused him to modify his prohibition of their plays
so that they were allowed to perform in such pieces
as were approved by an episcopal commission, a
triumph to which perhaps is due their reinstatement
at Mantua in 1582. Fortunately the Gelosi were
not under the exclusive patronage of the Gonzaghe
at this period, for in 1583 Francesco Andreini de-
clined the Duke's offer of a position in his new com-
pany with the excuse that he is engaged to the "most
famous S. Alvise Michiele, manager of the hall at
Venice, " probably the director of a public theater.
For some years the Andreini and their friends seem
to have been rather more bound to the noble family
of Este than to any other, for they played at Ferrara
quite regularly at carnival time. Between 1580 and
1599 they traveled from city to city in northern
2S Easi, Comici italiani, I, 242.
M Trautmann, Ital. Schauspieler, 235.
152 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
Italy, making a name for themselves chiefly through
the beauty and genius of their leading lady, Isabella
Andreini, and the successes of her husband in the
Captain's role.
In 1599 the Gelosi apparently went for the third
time to France; they performed at court without
molestation but of course as soon as they tried to
take money for public plays at the Hotel de Bour-
gogne, the Confrerie de la Passion again had them
restrained. Eight days after they had received the
writ from Chatelet, however, a permit was granted
them, probably as a result of their having paid a
]arge sum for the privilege. 27 By 1600 all trace of
them in Paris has disappeared and the court is ap-
plauding a new and equally excellent troupe called
the Accesi, proteges of the Duke of Mantua. But
one more bow the Gelosi certainly made to French
royalty, in 1603-4, just before the death of Isabella
Andreini and the consequent retirement of her hus-
band from the stage threw their fellows into such
despair that they disbanded temporarily, to reor-
ganize later under a different name. 28
Though the Gelosi deserve all credit as pioneers
they were by no means the only actors who familiar-
ized French audiences of the sixteenth century with
the plays of their country, plays so much more lively
"Rigal, Theatre frangais, etc., 48-9, and Baschet, Comediens ital,
103 f. The Italians were used to similar monopolies at home, cf.
Jarro, L'epistolario, etc., passim, for details on the monopoly granted
T. Martinelli by the Duke of Mantua.
28 For biographical details on this interesting couple, who added the
example of the most scrupulous regularity of life to their professional
triumphs, cf. Rasi, Comici italiani, I, under Andreini, and Bevilacqua,
Gdor. Stor., XXII, 109 f.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 153
and dramatically effective than the pieces in the
repertory of the Confrerie de la Passion. The
Accesi, whose Arlecchino set the fashion for a long
line of imitators, 29 the Confidenti in 1584 and after,
and especially the Fedeli, who under the leadership
of Giovan-Battista Andreini preserved the scenarios
and carried on the traditions of the Gelosi, 30 all
these did their part toward making the French stage
ready for Moliere. They were all exceedingly well-
known and are often alluded to in the writings of
the time. French poets rimed " histories " on the
misadventures of "Pantalon Bisognoza," 31 or wrote
sonnets to Isabelle, "one of the gods disguised as a
mortal, 7 ' and to "admirable Arlequin, whose very
posture is expressive." 32 The Sieur de Eosni used
the familiar Masks as illustrations in his pungent
satire of courtly vices, 33 and the Cardinal de Eetz in
his Memoirs constantly pillories his enemies under
the stage names of the Italians, Mazarin for one as
a "vulgar Pantaloon" or as "Trivelino Prince." 34
Malherbe censures Arlecchino 's production of / dui
28 For the Accesi and Confidenti cf. Ancona, Origini, II, App. II.
For the Martinelli, ibid., Ancona, Lettere di comici italiani, and Jarro,
L'epistolario, etc., passim.
Bruni, a member of the Confidenti, writes of them in his Prologhi
and his Fatiche comiche.
80 G. B. Andreini made astonishing advances in staging ; he was
particularly fond of presenting mythological-allegorical spectacles such
as his own Centaura, three plays in one, in which all the characters
of the first part are centaurs.
31 Loret in 1654 ; cf . Moland, Moliere, etc., 185-7.
32 Isaac de Kyer in 1600 and 1603 ; cf . Basest, Comediens italiens,
134, 119.
83 In 1603. Cf. Baschet, Comediens ital, 136-7.
34 In 1652 and after. Cf. Moland, Moliere, etc., 187 f.
154 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
simili, "which is the Menaechmi of Plautus," un-
certain whether "the sauces were bad or my taste
corrupted/' but sure that he came away "with no
contentment except from the honor the Queen did
me by her invitation. ' ' 35 Whether corrupted or not
his taste must have been singular for Martinelli, the
Arlecchino of the occasion, some ten days later
writes to a Mantuan friend, ' ' The comedy was most
successful, contrary to all expectation ; but they are
wild about comedies here so everything seems
good." 88
Before going on to follow the fortunes of other
traveling companies in other countries it may be
well to pause awhile and ask just how much influence
these strangers and especially their peculiar plays
can be proved to have had on a foreign art greater
than their own. Here again as in the case of the
Eoman Mime there is danger of taking one set of
facts out of their connection and of seeing them so
isolated as more analogous to another set of facts
than in their proper setting they really are. It will
not do to stress too much an influence that was only
one small element in the stream of Eenaissance life.
The commedia dell'arte was not responsible for the
mixture of classical and romantic material in
Hardy's plays and in the English and Spanish
drama, a mixture quite as characteristic of the
written as of the improvised Italian comedies, and
very general in the theater of the period nor was
it responsible for the theory of love that underlay
85 Baschet, op cit., 242-4. This was in 1613 on Martinelli 's second
visit to Paris.
38 Jarro, L'epistolario, etc., 57-8.
THE COMMEDIA DEL1/ARTE 155
the conceits of its young heroes and heroines
these were ideas adopted by the actors in deference
to academic taste, as we have seen. Nor is the habit
of improvisation, of which a good deal has been made
in studies of the Spanish gracioso and the Eliza-
bethan fool, to be traced exclusively to imitation of
the Zanni; improvisation, especially of sharp
repartee, topical allusion and comic lazzi, is a uni-
versal characteristic of any really popular stage, 37
and if Shakespeare 's or Lope de Vega's fools filled
out their meager lines by quips of their own, they did
it just as circus clowns or minstrels do it to-day,
because they are moved to free expression by the
nature of the entertainment they offer, not because
they ape clever improvisator!, Italian or other.
Neither can the many lazzi of the commedia
dell'arte be made a fair test of their influence;
farcical tricks, disguises, mock-fights and the rest
are, like improvisation, very general appeals to
groundlings and are found in medieval French and
English plays long before there was any possibility
of interaction with Italy. Moreover masks, inherited
from the medieval theater, were sometimes worn on
the stage as late as Shakespeare's or even Moliere's
day; Quince, you remember, silences Flute's
scruples as to acting Thisbe when he has "a beard
coming" by assuring him he may wear a mask, 38
and Corneille remarks on the effectiveness of substi-
tuting an actress with uncovered face for a masked
37 Cf. Hunter, Popular Eomances, etc., 390, for a St. George play
in which the prose parts are improvised.
38 Midsummer Night 's Dream., I 2.
156 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
man, in female roles. 39 For character types the
same warning holds good ; resemblances are not to be
too jubilantly noted between Pantalone, for instance,
and the old fathers of French, English, Spanish
plays of this period, for the Magnifico was probably
not responsible for what may be due to a direct imi-
tation of a common source, some Latin or Latinate
Italian model or to a similar expression of conven-
tional ideas as to the universal unlovely traits proper
to all old men.
In looking for signs of the commedia dell' art e in
other countries therefore, I have left aside as irrele-
vant much that might perhaps be construed into evi-
dence and have regarded as conclusive only the
plainest references to peculiarities undoubtedly
belonging to the extempore plays. The most satis-
factory of thes.e are naturally direct allusions either
to the Italian practice of improvising on a scenario,
or to some of the Masks, or of more uncertain
value to a typical commedia dell'arte motif , if there
may be said to be such, a mountebank's perform-
ance, for example. Interesting but not so germane
to the matter are resemblances of plot and char-
acter, due quite as probably, I repeat, to a common
source as to imitation. Finally there are likenesses
39 Corneille, Examen of La galerie du palais. 1 1 Le personage de
nourrice qui est de la vieille comedie et que le manque d' actrices sur
nos theatres y avait conserve jusqu'alors, afin qu'un homme le put
representer sous le masque, se trouve ici metamorphose en celui de
suivante, qu'une femme represente sur son visage."
Women on the French stage were known as early as 1545 but were
not generally countenanced until nearly a century later. Cf. Bapst,
Essai sur I 'hist, du theatre, 177-8, and Eigal, Theatre fran$ais, 181.
THE COMMEDIA
157
in comic lazzi, the most sliaky of all evidence on
which to found a theory of interaction.
France felt the Italian actors ' influence somewhat /
more definitely than other countries, as one might v
expect from the frequency of the visits of the foreign
troupes to Paris and the intimacy of their associa-
tion with their French competitors. In the earlier
half of the sixteenth century a number of the most
popular Italian academic plays had been turned into
French by Parisian dramatists; the nine free ver-
sions published by Larivey must have given in them-
selves alone a powerful impetus to imitation. 40
When it is remembered that such pieces as these,
performed by French professionals or amateurs,
40 Thia is not the place to go into the question of the relation of
Italian written plays to the French seventeenth century theater, yet
the influence was so important that it ought at least to be noted in
passing. As early as 1543 Charles Estienne translated Gl'ingannati.
P. de Larivey, himself of Italian extraction, followed Estienne ; s
example by issuing in 1579 his first six Comedies facetieuses:
Les esprits, from Lorenzino de' Medici's L'aridosio. (1521.)
Le morfondu, from A. F. Grazzini's La gelosia. (1551.)
Les jaloux, from V. Gabbiani's I gelosi. (1545.)
Les escoliers, from G-. Kazzi's La cieca. (1563.)
La veuve, from N. Bonneparte's La vedova. (1568.)
Le laquais, from L. Dolce 's II ragazzo. (1539.)
In 1611 three more translations from the Italian were issued by
Larivey.
La Constance, from Eazzi's Costanza.
Le fidele, from Pasqualigo's II fedele.
Les tromperies, from N. Secchi's Gl'inganni. (1562.)
Cyrano de Bergerac's Le pedant joue is an adaptation of Bruno's
Candelaio, and so many other plays of the end of the sixteenth century
and the beginning of the seventeenth are to be traced to Italian
originals. Cf. Ancien theatre frangais in the Bibl. elzevirienne for all
of Larivey 's comedies edited by Viollet-le-Duc. E. Fournier, Theatre
franQais au XVIe et XVIIe siecles, I, 139' f., reprints Les esprits, with
an introductory note.
158 THE COMMEDIA
were supplemented by the Italian actors' presenta-
tion of still others of their written plays and of
commedie dell'arte, it is no wonder that the work of
the greatest French comedian is full of trans-Alpine
reminiscences.
Moliere in his youth must certainly have seen
many Italian plays both in these translations and in
the original, the latter sometimes improvised, some-
V times fully written, and he as certainly learned from
them, even if he was not, as tradition says, partly
trained by the famous Scaramouche. 41 On his re-
turn from the provinces in 1659 he found Scara-
mouche and his company established since 1653 in
the Salle du Petit Bourbon, and for a few months
the two troupes shared the hall, playing on alternate
days ; a similar arrangement was made at the Palais-
Eoyal in 1662 and lasted till Moliere 's death, the
actors continuing on good terms, occasionally rivals
but often associated together in entertainments
before the court. 42
So intimate a connection between Moliere and his
foreign co-workers no doubt gave rise to the story of
41 Moland, Moliere et la comedie italienne, 177, quotes a description
of a probably imaginary lesson given Moliere by Tiberio Fiorillo, ' ' le
grand Scaramouche"; the legend of such a relation between the two
actors was well-known in the seventeenth century and the Italian 's
picture was often published with the verses,
II fut le maitre de Moliere
Et la nature fut le sien.
For Scaramouche cf. Easi, Comici italiani, I, and Croee, Teatri di
Napoli, 582 f. The apochryphal Vie de Scaramouche by his associate,
Angelo Constantini has been proved a tissue of falsehoods.
42 Moland, op. tit., 7 f ., 178' and 252. This book, though superseded
in some points by later investigations, remains the basis for all study
of this particular connection.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 159
Ms having stolen his plots from the widow of an
Italian actor who had preserved her husband's
scenarios. 43 The legend is still further colored by
numerous likenesses of dramatic method and in his
earlier work, of theme and characterization, between
the plays of the great French comedian and the
Italians. The two little farces, his first essays in
play- writing, La jalousie du barbouille and Le
medecin volant, are both quite frankly imitative, ap-
parently of scenarios. 44 The groundwork of both
the pieces he brought back with him on his return
to Paris were taken from Italian plays, Le depit
amour eux from L'interesse of Niccolo Secchi, 45 and
L'etourdi from Niccolo Barbieri's L'inavvertito, the
latter a comedy written up from a scenario and given
in Paris as early as 1627. 46 The extraordinary mix-
ture of satire, wild burlesque and tragedy in Le
festin de pier re is the result of the poet's having
42 Toldo, Moliere en Italic, Jour. Comp. Lit., I, No. I.
"Neri, Gior. Stor., I, 75 f., publishes II medico volante, a "corn-
media dell'arte difltesa," i. e., an originally improvised play, written
out fully after performance. Toldo, Alcuni scenari, etc., 462, sum-
marizes the discussion of the relation of Moliere 's play to Italian
versions; there remains some doubt as to whether the French or the
Italian form were the original.
45 First edition, Venice, 1581. Kiccoboni, Hist, du theatre italien,
141, called attention to this source of Le depit amoureux long before
any one else noted it. Moland prints L'interesse in his edition of
Moliere, Oeuvres, III, 53 f. Eigal, Moliere, I, 97, points out some
other connections between Moliere 's comedy and Barbieri ; s Inavvertito
and still other Italian plays.
Of. on this subject Despois, Theatre frangais, etc., 59-60, for an
argument on the question of Moliere 's indebtedness to the Italians.
46 Moland prints L 'inavvertito in Moliere, Oeuvres, II, 159 f .
L'etourdi also contains borrowings from Groto's Emilia and For-
naris' Angelica; cf. Eigal, Moliere, I, 56 f.
160
borrowed his material not directly from the ultimate
Spanish source but from a reworking of the story
in a scenario, 11 convitato di pietra, played in Paris,
1657; Mozart 's Don Giovanni reproduces the spirit
of the scenario more nearly than Moliere 's play,
which is always just on the edge of escaping from
burlesque and never quite succeeds in doing it. 47
Tartuffe, one of the greatest and most original
dramatic creations of the world, does not perhaps
owe his existence to the Italian theater, for had
Aretino's Hypocrite and Scala's Pedant never trod
the boards, Moliere would probably have unmasked
hypocrisy in the form of his famous Jesuit. Yet as
he had before him two convenient plots each effective -
ly showing up an unctuous faux devot, he took from
them both and especially from the scenario, hints
and more than hints for his own drama. 48 Aretino 's
Hypocrite may have been drawn on the model of a
pedant whom he knew in real life and whom he de-
scribed as "the most oily, the most disgraceful, the
41 Moland, Moliere et la comedie italienne, 191 f., reproduces this
scenario, one of the gayest and most extravagently farcical ever
plotted. Cf. Despois-Mesnard, Moliere, Oeuvres, V, 13 f.
For a scenario probably influencing Moliere 's Monsieur de Pour-
ceaugnac, cf. Toldo, Gior. Stor., XL VI, 128, and Alcuni scenari, etc.,
474 f. Scenarios of apparent date c. 1660 contain the same plot and
similar lazzi.
"Neither Moland nor Despois-Mesnard say anything about Scala's
scenario but Moland in Moliere et la comedie ital., 209 f. analyzes
Lo ipocrito. After I had noted the resemblances between Tartuffe
and II pedante, I found the same connection mentioned in Vollhardt,
Archiv fur das studium der neueren Sprachen, etc., XCI, No. I, and
in Toldo, Figaro, etc. Toldo, Alcuni scenari, 481, discusses the old
scenario of Basilisco di Barnagasso, which tradition says influenced
Tartuffe.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 161
most villainous you ever saw", a man who became
the master of a large house through his hold on its
mistress, and who lorded it over everyone including
the lady's husband. 49 The comedy so mordantly
satirizing this person or another like him, undoubt-
edly contributed much to Scala's scenario, 50 one of
the most effective of his plots.
In the first act of X^a^y^g^Cataldo, the pedant,
appears as a mediator between Oratio and his
father Pantalone, and is so plausible that the youth
feels obliged to enlighten the audience in an aside
on "the miserable nature of the pedant." In the
second act Cataldo drops out of sight in the lazzi
and love-making scenes of most of the first the
hypocrite tells Pantalone that he will help him keep\
order in his house and prevent Isabella, the old
man's young wife, from disgracing her husband. A
little later there is a comic scene between the peda-
gog and his pupil Fabio, "pedantic rimes made by
Fidentio, master of all pedants", and then a solilo-
quy in which Cataldo muses on his skill in cover-
ing "under the mantle of dissimulation and moral
pretensions" all his rascality. The speech pre-
ludes a conversation between him and Isabella; he
accuses her of flirting with the Captain, she weeps,
acknowledging her fault, and Cataldo with great
dexterity insinuates she would do better to bestow
her love on someone nearer home, namely, himself;
"Cited by Graf, Nuova Antologia, Ser. Ill, Vol. V, 412, from
Aretino, Ragionamenti, Part I, Gior. II.
50 Scala, Teatro, etc., Gior. XXXI.
For the influence of others of Scala 's scenarios in Prance cf . Toldo,
Etudes sur le theatre de Eegnard, Eevue d 'hist. lit. de la France, X, I.
12
162 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
she consents on condition that he pacify her angry
husband.
After more love scenes between the children of
Pantalone and Gratiano, Cataldo tells his patron
that Isabella is "the most honest woman in the
world", calls her out and insists on peace and an
exchange of kisses. In the third act Isabella in-
forms her husband of Cataldo 's treason just at the
moment when Pantalone is congratulating himself
on having such a faithful friend. The old man will
hardly believe her, repeating that he is sure the
pedant is a "tremendously good man", but he at
last consents to the plan his wife outlines, in order
to discover the truth. He accordingly begs Cataldo
to take charge of his house for a few days during
his absence, an invitation immediately accepted with
"many fine little words of praise for everyone."
No sooner has Pantalone turned his back than
Cataldo tells Isabella he dies for love of her, and
she "to catch him with fair promises" bids him go
to her room and wait for her. She then tells the
two Zanni of her victim's helplessness in the house
and they go in to execute a barbarous punishment.
After yells from within, the unfortunate is brought
out in his shirt, "bound with good cord"; he kneels
to confess his scoundrelism and to beg for mercy,
and the Captain recommends that he be let off with
a sound beating and exile from the city. He is
therefore flogged "very well" with three large clubs
and driven off as "an infamous man and most hurt-
ful, an example to all other pedants." Moliere
adopts this "moral" conclusion rather than the
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 163
more cynical one of Aretino, in which the hypocrite
goes entirely unpunished.
Moliere never quite emancipated himself from the
prevailing Italianate fashions, although only in one
other play did he take an Italian plot entire and
adapt it to French taste in his own manner. Don
Garde de Navarre follows quite closely the outline of
Cicognini's Gelosie fortunate del prencipe Roderigo,
itself probably from a Spanish source. 51 The in-
trigues of L'ecole des femmes and L'avare are in-
deed of the Italian classical type but are so freshened
and changed by the powerful characterization of the
principal figures that they deserve to be called
original in every respect. 52 On the other hand Les
fourberies de Scapin, with its plot influenced by a
scenario based on Groto's Emilia, shows that as
late as 1671 Moliere found it easy to slip back into
the imitative habits of his youth. 53
Moreover all the comedies in which Sganarelle
takes a leading part, either as servant or rustic,
husband, father or tutor, contain decided reminis-
cences of the Italian style. The intrigue of Le cocu
imaginaire, 54 the absurd lazzi in L'ecole des maris,
61 Moland, edition of Moliere, Oeumes, II, and Kigal, Moliere, I, 127.
Cf. Toldo, Alcuni scenari, 481.
The French ft opera eroica" reminds one now and again of the
last nine extravaganzas in Scala's book, except that it is in far better
form than they and more homogeneous in tone.
62 The plot of L 'ecole des femmes is found in a Neapolitan scenario,
L 'astute semplicitd di Angiola, cf. Toldo, Alcuni scenari, etc., 469.
It is uncertain whether the scenario is prior to the play or is based
on it.
C3 Bartoli, Scenari ined. } lix f. There is a chance that here too the
Italian scenario is from Moliere 's play.
M Moland, Moliere et la comedie ital., 255, cites the scenario II
164 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
the choruses in L' amour medecin and the doctor's
lingo in Le medecin malgre lui to mention but a
few of many Italianate motifs prove how power-
fully in small details Moliere was influenced by the
dramatic tastes of his popular neighbors. But there
is no need to point out many analogies of this kind,
and certainly none to say anything about the in-
debtedness of ballets like that in Le bourgeois gentil-
Jiomme or Le malade imaginaire to Italian example,
the corn-media dell'arte has little part in this rela-
tion. Neither is it necessary to examine in further
detail Moliere 's burlesque doctors, his old men, his
comic servants or his lovers, who owe much to the
Masks but who are yet so individual. Anyone fa-
miliar with Scala's and Bartoli's scenarios will note
here and there as he reads Le malade imaginaire or
another comedy, an old Italian joke skilfully re-
furbished, a hackneyed situation vivified, or will
catch a likeness to Gratiano or Pantalone or Arlec-
chino as Argan or Monsieur Jourdain or Sganarelle
gesticulates or turns a grinning face to the audience.
Such occasional suggestions of tricks and comic
peculiarities of character, probably semi-consciously
noted and later used to good purpose, seem to sum
up Moliere 's indebtedness to the commedia dell'
arte, aside from the plots he drew from scenarios.
Looking back into the seventeenth century it is
apparent that in no other country of Europe did
the Italians find so apt and illustrious a disciple
ritratto ovvero Arlecchino cornuto per opinione as a doubtful source
of Le cocu imaginaire; the scenario as we have it seems of later date
than the play. Cf. Toldo, Alcuni scenari, 481, for another scenario
of a similar character.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 165
as Holier e. Their adventures in Germany and
Austria after 1560 seem to have left little trace
except in their patrons ' expense accounts and occa-
sional letters. The musicians who got up the im-
provised play for the wedding of the County Pala-
tine in 1568 had no company with them and do not
seem to have stirred any German dramatist to imita-
tion. 55 The small troupe led by Jacopo of Venice
which gave La Calandra at Munich in 1569, perhaps
the first organized company in Germany, 58 pointed
the way to many followers, 57 yet as has been said,
beyond their pictures on the walls of Schloss Traus-
nitz, they left no permanent memorial behind. Gio-
vanni Tabarin, Antonio Soldino and others whom
we meet often in France, were in Vienna in 1568
and after some of them got as far as Dresden in
1600 58 but there was no Teutonic genius to take
lessons from them and evolve masterpieces out of
their skeleton plots. They doubtless helped to
spread Italian culture, 59 theatrical devices and cus-
toms, though even in this their example worked
more slowly here than elsewhere; for instance it is
not until 1654 60 that we hear of a performance on
a German stage, at Basle, by a "well-practiced com-
68 Orlando di Lasso did however leave some marks on German music ;
cf. Bohn, Orlandus di Lassus als Komponist weltlicher deutscher
Lieder, Jahrbuch f. Miin. Geschichte, I, 184 f.
M Trautmann, Ital. Schauspieler, 2234:.
87 Cf. the records listed in Trautmann, op. cit., passim, and in
Meissner, Die engl. Komodianten, etc., 190-1, and elsewhere.
"'Schlager, Wiener Sitzungsber., VI, 147 f., and Trautmann, op.
cit., 292 f.
69 Keinhardtstoettner, Jahrbuch f. Miin. Geschichte, I, 93 f.
60 Cohn, Shakespeare in Germany, cii-ciii and note I.
166 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
pany" who boasted "repeated changes of expensive
costumes, a theater decorated in the Italian manner "
and " skilful women" in the cast.
Spain received the Italians more sympathetically,
probably because dramatic conditions and the status
of actors in the two countries were very similar.
Cervantes' description of the strollers of his own
time and nation is equally true of Italian players
in the Cinquecento: "In the sweat of their brows
they gain their bread by insupportable toil, learning
constantly by heart, leading a gypsy life from place
to place and from inn to tavern, staying awake to
please others. . . . With their calling they deceive
nobody, for continually they bring out their wares
on the public square, submitting them to the judg-
ment and inspection of everyone. ' ' 61 There was the
same difference between well-paid private and un-
certain public performances, the same alternation
between prosperity and misery, for these playthings
of a fickle world; the same Difficulties with the
authorities, questions about the morality of come-
dies, doubts as to the advisability of letting women
take part in a public representation, condemnation
of dances and farces, limitation of the hours and
days of performance, regulation of the prices to be
charged. 62 Yet in spite of all opposition, probably
all the more sturdily because of it, the Spanish
drama grew and throve, and welcomed the visiting
61 Written c. 1565. Cited Kennert, Spanish Stage, 160. Of course
conditions all over Europe were much alike at this time (cf. Rigal,
Theatre frangais, etc., passim) but Italy and Spain offer particularly
close resemblances.
83 Eennert, Spanish Stage, passim.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 167
actors who gave so much to it and in turn learned
much from it. 63
Ganassa 's repertory in Madrid, 1574, 64 was, ac-
cording to a contemporary, ' * comedias mimicas . . .
y bufonescas," "trivial and popular," containing
"the persons of Arlecchino, Pantalone, the Doctor,"
improvised pieces undoubtedly. 65 The next year
Ganassa lent money toward building a public theater
in Seville where he engaged to give sixty perform-
ances; whether because he was involved in this
financial venture or because he found Spain a lucra-
tive field for his efforts, he returned several times
with his company and seems always to have found a
ready welcome. Others of his countrymen followed
him to Madrid, an Italian acrobat with his
tumblers in 1582, "the new Italians" later in the
same year, 66 and in 1587-8 the brothers, Tristano
and Drusiano Martinelli, with Madonna Angelica,
wife of the latter. 67 Martinelli 's company was quite
63 Spanish and Italian actors played side by side in other countries
as well as in Spain, cf. Trautmann, op. tit., 250 and 305. Such con-
tacts help to explain the influence of the romantic Spanish drama on
the commedia dell'arte, shown in Scala's extravaganzas.
04 Ganassa is the first Italian actor-manager in Spain of whom much
is known; that he was not the first there, is shown by the record of
a troupe which gave a comedy by Ariosto at Valladolid in 1548. Cf.
Creizenach, Gesch. des neueren Dramas, III, 167.
^Baschet, Comediens italiens, 49, note 1, and 50. Cf. Eennert,
Spanish Stage, 28 f.
66 Kennert, Spanish Stage, 44, noting this company conjectures they
were I Cortesi; I should be inclined to identify them with I Comici
Nuovi, formed at Mantua early in 1580 with Drusiano and Angelica
at their head. (Solerti, Ferrara, etc., xcix f.) There is little proof
for either identification.
87 Ancona, Origini, II, 478 f ., gives many letters from and about the
Martinelli; cf. Easi, I, under Martinelli and Jarro, L'epistolario, etc.
168 THE COMMEDIA DELL J ABTB
certainly the Confident!, then favorites of the Duke
of Mantua, a prince whom with his son Angelica
numbered among her lovers. 68 This lady humorously
enough was licensed to play in Spain not on account
of her beauty and talent, but because she was a
married woman and in the protection of her hus-
band. The authorities seem to have blinked the fact
that it was never to Drusiano his wife looked for
protection. 69
All these companies pretty certainly played
written as well as improvised comedies, yet since
they spoke Italian they probably in Spain as else-
where reserved their liveliest pieces, where gesture
largely supplied speech, for the public theaters ; the
uncultured rabble could enjoy lazzi, songs and
dances and catch the easy drift of a simple plot
without knowing the language. " Learned " plays,
pastorals and interludes were more appropriate for
the court and for noblemen's halls. In 1556 Lope de
Eueda translated one of the best known academic
comedies of the Cinquecento, Gl'ingannati which
Estienne had put into French as early as 1543 and
Solerti, Ferrara, etc., xcix, note 4, quotes a letter of 1582 describing
how much in love with Angelica the Duke of Mantua was at that time.
88 Kennert, op. cit., 45-6. Cf . Ancona, Origini, II, 523, a letter of
1598, from a certain captain who complains to the Duke of Mantua
that he has supported Angelica and their son for years with the
connivance of Drusiano, and that the husband now claims the child as
his own, and abuses his wife, forcing her to go about begging "over
di aprir bottega publica. "
69 The Confident! had petitioned to be allowed to act with the women
in their band there were three because they were " helpless " with-
out them, and it was in answer to this request that the authorities
modified their prohibition of women's acting, in favor of married
women.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 169
throughout his life he seems to have been influenced
by both Italian theory and practice. 70 Lope de
Vega, from his youth a frequenter of Italian plays,
began his artistic career by the imitation of an
Italian pastoral, Jacinta; his comedies show that he
had taken lessons in the same school as Lope de
Eueda, for like the commedia dell' art e they have
three acts though unlike them they are written and
in verse his lovers are often called Fulvio, Valerio,
Ottavio, Isabella, Lucinda, and his clown has traits
of the Zanni we know. With C alder on the influence
worked the other way; Biancolelli took his scenario
of L'impegno del caso from Calderon, a plot that
was in turn borrowed by Thomas Corneille for his
Engagements du hazard. 11 Such are a few exam-
ples of an interrelationship that awaits further in-
vestigation in the future.
70 V. de Amicis, L'imitazione latina, etc., 5-6.
"Moland, Moliere et la comedie italienne, 369.
Cf. also Brouwer, Ancora una raccolta, etc., 395, note 1, for another
scenario from Calderon.
CHAPTEE VI.
If owing to lack of published records traces of the
commedia dell' art e in Spain are hard to find, the
difficulty in England is rather that there is there
too great wealth of accessible material and con-
sequently a danger of seeing too many connections.
Yet if we resolve to confine our notes on this small
part of the Italian stream to unmistakable evidences
of the Masks and other peculiarities of the im-
provised plays, there will be no excuse for straying
too far along seductive by-paths of analogy ; nor on
the other hand will such a limitation prevent recog-
nition of the undoubtedly clpse connection between
Italian and Elizabethan drama.
The relation that existed between the stages of the
two countries is, as in France, here explicable
mainly, I think, through direct contact between
actors rather than through printed texts. 1 N^f only
were Italian actors often in England, playing both
at court and in the city, but they acted almost side
by side with English companies on the continent, in
Vienna frequently and in Paris and Spain at times.
1 The only studies I know of the commedia dell 'arte in England
seem to me to have erred from taking the problem too broadly.
Scherillo (La vita italiana, 338' f.) suggests Italian parallels for some
of Shakespeare's characters and high-flown concetti which are prob-
ably due to a general Eenaissance fashion, far wider than the com-
media dell'arte. Schiicking (Stoffl. Beziehungen, etc.) is ready to
see commedia dell'arte influence frequently when there is nothing to
justify him.
170
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 171
On September 18, 1604, an English troupe gave a
tragedy before the Dauphin the Gelosi and the
Fedeli were then in Paris also 2 and according to
Thomas Heywood such royal favor to British
players was not uncommon. "The French king (he
says) allows certain companies in Paris and Orleans,
besides other cities; so doth the king of Spain in
Civill, Madrill, and other provinces. ' ' 3 Nash, who
was perhaps a member of one of these favored
bands, tells of a meeting he had with a well-known
Italian Zanni while he was on his travels: "Coming
from Venice the last summer, and taking Bergamo
in my ways homeward to England, it was my happe,
sojourning there four or fiue days, to light in felow-
ship with that famous Francatrip' Harlicken, who
perceiuing me to be an Englishman by my habit and
speech asked me many particulars of the order and
manner of our playes which he termed by the name
of representations : amongst other talke he inquired
of me if I knew any such Parabolano here as Signer
Ciarlatano Kempio. Very well (quoth I). ... He
hearing me say so, began to embrace me anew, and
offered me all the courtesie he colde for his sake,
saying that altho ' he knew him not, yet for the report
he had heard of his plesance, he colde not but bee
in love with his perfections being absent. ' ' 4
2 Kigal, Theatre frangais avant la periode classique, 50, note.
3 Apology for Actors (Shakespeare Soc., 1841), 58. Cf. Cohn,
Shakespeare in Germany, cxxxiv f . ; Meissner, Die engl. Komodianten,
etc., passim; Baschet, Comediens italiens, 100 f.; Mezieres, Predeces-
seurs de ShaJcespeare, 35; Collier's edition of Memoir of A. Munday
(Shak. Soc., 1851), xxxv.
*An Almond for a Parrat (1590), ed. McKerrow, Nash's Works,
III, 342. Easi notes no real Francatrippa ; the Zanni mask was often
called by that name however.
172 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
As we know in general the repertories and the
habits of the Italians who rubbed elbows with Eng-
lishmen in all these foreign towns, as we recall how
lively and amusing or how beautiful and impressive
their plays could be and as, further, we take into ac-
count the then universal custom of pirating plays
from hearing them instead of copying them from
printed versions, nothing seems simpler than that
the English actors should learn directly from their
rivals. But before dogmatizing on this point it may
be well to deduce in more detail the reasons for such
an hypothesis.
Italian musicians have already been mentioned as
visiting England in the first half of the sixteenth
century; in the latter half there is much clearer
evidence of regular companies of actors at court,
though unfortunately as in other countries the
records here are unsatisfactorily incomplete, the
foreigners being alluded to only by their first names
or even more vaguely, and very little information
being vouchsafed as to what they played. In 1550
the Privy Council ordered one hundred pounds to be
paid to "Alberto, Franciso, Ambrosio, Vincentio
and Marck Antonio, the Kinges Majesties violen
players, by way of his Hignes reward, ' ' for how long
a term of service or for what kind of performances
we are not told. 5
'Acts of the Privy Council, II, 88. The man last named may quite
possibly be the same * ' Mareantonio, veneto," who with a neapolitan
and a bolognese companion recited comedies with ' ' music, singing
and dancing" at Mantua, 1567; cf. Ancona, Origini, II, 477. For
the others I have found no probable identification unless Franciso
may be the same who in 1569 played at the imperial court; cf.
THE COMMEDIA
173
Other payments are made to other Italians by the
Privy Council from this time on, and the Bevels Ac-
counts also refer occasionally to the representations
by "the Italian players." Between February and
November, 1573, 6 "Ffor the Progresse to Beading
and Lykewise ffor the Ayringes, Bepayryngs, Trans-
latinges, preparing, ffytting, ffurnishing, Garnish-
ing, Attending, and setting foorth, of sundry kyndes
of apparell propertyes and ffurnyture for the
Italyan players that followed the progresse and
made pastyme fyrst at Wynsor and afterwardes at
Beading," various payments are made; a list of
"Implementes and Expences" for these same actors
includes i ' a plank of ffyrr and other pieces of sawen
wood. Golde lether for cronetes. Thred and
sheperdes hookes. Lamskynnes for Shepperds.
Horstayles for the wilde mannes garment. Arrowes
for Nymphes. Lightes and Shepperdes staves.
Hoopes for Garlandes. Baye Leaves and flowers.
. . . The hyer of a Syth for saturne." Another
entry about the same occasion under the caption,
' ' hyer of Apparell, " is : " iij devells cotes and heades
and one olde mannes fries cote for the Italian
prayers (sic) at Wynsor." Leone de Sommi could
not but have approved the elaborateness of a piece
in which nymphs, shepherds, wild man and Saturn
were so appropriately equipped ! Probably so much
Meissner, Engl. Komodianten, etc., 190. Meissner mistakenly identi-
fies "Francesco Ysabell" of the Viennese record with the Andreini
(who were not acting as early as 1560) and their company with the
Gelosi.
Teuillerat, Documents relating to the Office of the Bevels, etc.,
225 f.
174 THE COMMEDIA DELL^ABTE
preparation was for a written pastoral, not merely
for an improvised play. 7
Other companies followed close upon. "Alfonso
Ferrabolle and the rest of the Italian players ' ' were
rewarded on February 27, 1576, 8 for some kind of an
exhibition at court, and Laneham in his lively style
has given us an idea of what such a performance
may in part have been. 9 He says at the Kenilworth
festivities in 1576 :
6 ' Noow within allso . . . waz thear showed before
her Highness by an Italian, such feats of agilitie,
in goinges, turninges, tumblinges, castinges, hops,
jumps, leaps, skips, springs, gambauds, soomersaults,
caprettiez and flights ; forward, backward, sydewize,
a downward, upward, and with sundry windings,
gyrings and circumflexions ; allso lightly and with
such easiness, as by me in feaw words it is not
expressible by pen or speech. ... I bleast me by
my faith to behold him, and began to doout whither
a waz a man or a spirite. . . . Az for thiz fellow I
cannot tell what to make of him, save that I may
gesse his back be metalld like a lamprey, that haz no
bones but a line like a lute-string."
On January 13, 1577, the Privy Council directed
7 Wild men were favorite characters in the allegorical mascTierate
and intermedj of Italy; in a typical Florentine entertainment of
1543 they are made to sing a song as they conduct Reason to the city.
Cf. Tutti i trionfi, I, 533. There was also a tradition in England in
favor of wild men and their appearance in court masques; cf.
Chambers, Med. Stage, I, 185, note 2, also A. H. Thorndike, Moil.
Lang. Notes, XIV, No. 4.
8 E. K. Chambers, Mod. Lang. Review, II, 5.
9 Laneham 's Letter, in Nichols, Progresses, etc., of Q. Elizabeth, I,
440-1.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 175
"the Lord Mayor of London to geve order that one
Dronsiano, an Italian, a commediante and his com-
pany e, may playe within the Cittie and the liberties
of the same betweene this and the firste weeke of
Lent." 10 Although the name is spelt with an n
instead of a u in the first syllable there is no doubt
that the manager referred to is Drusiano Martinelli,
who was in Spain with his wife and brother in 1587-8
and perhaps in 1582. It was in 1577-8 that the
Gelosi were in Paris they were in Blois in January,
it will be remembered and there seems no improb-
ability in Drusiano 's having come from Italy with
this company to which his brother later belonged,
and in his having taken some of the players across
the Channel; there was however another company
in Lyons in November, 1576, and it may be that this
was Drusiano 's band. 11
Whoever they were these people with Martinelli
must certainly have presented commedie dell' art e;
not only was their leader, like his brother, a well-
known Arlecchino, but they played in the city of
London, and as has been suggested, the public per-
formances of the Italians were more likely to be
the readily-understood improvised pieces than the
written ones comprehensible to a courtly audience. 12
They may very possibly have performed at court
10 Acts, etc., X, 144. The identification of Dronsiano with Drusiano,
first made by Collier (Hist, of Eng. Dram. Poetry, 1826, III, 398,
note), has been accepted by all Italian authorities without attempt
to prove it from unpublished documents.
"Basehet, Comediens italiens, 71 f.
"For Drusiano as head of the Duke of Mantua's men (1595), cf.
Ancona, Origini, II, 518 f.
176 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
too, perhaps in pastorals and interludes, like the
troupe for whom the speeches in a Masque of Ama-
zons and Knights were translated into Italian in
1579. 13 They may also have occasionally given in
the city a written academic comedy like the Inganni
compared by Manningham to Twelfth Night. 14
By all their repertory the foreigners probably
scandalized the staid part of their London audiences,
and that in more ways than one. Performances by
women on the stage, a custom which Coryat had
heard "hath been sometimes used in London, " were
unknown to the native British theater and even had
the women acted only in the most moral tragedies,
they would have met with little favor. 15 Since their
repertory consisted of "rather jigs than plays "
with no emphasis on " teaching " and a great deal
on "delightfulness" it is small wonder that the cock-
neys took in reference to such antics a tone of repro-
bation or contempt. Hear Nash for one speak of
the "players beyond the sea "as "a sort of squirting
baudie comedians that have whores to play womens'
parts and forbeare no immodest speech or unchast
action that may procure laughter," and, proudly,
"but our Sceane is more stately furnisht than euer
18 Fleay, Chronicle History, etc., I, 26. In view of all these Italian
performances it is not strange that as M. Feuillerat says, * ' entre 1578-
85 on a 1 'impression d'assister, probablement sous 1 'influence de
1 'Italic, a un brusque e"panouissement du genre" (i. e., the pastoral).
14 Manningham 's Diary, Feb. 2, 1601/2.
The play has been identified with Gl'ingannati, by a member of
the Intronati.
18 Women did not appear on the English stage regularly till after the
Eestoration. Cf. Toldo, in Eev. d'hist. lit. de la France, April, 1896,
260 f.
d
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 177
it was in the Time of Boscius, our representations
honorable and full of gallant resolution, not consist-
ing like theirs, of a Pantaloun, a Whore, and a Zanie,
but of Emperours, Kings and Princes. m7 The un-
flattering judgment is echoed by Whetstone in the
dedication to Promos and Cassandra: "At this daye
the Italian is so lascivious in his comedies that
honest hearers are greeved at his actions, " and
Gosson blames foreign example for the taint in
English plays, "Baudie comedies in Latin, French,
Italian and Spanish have been thoroughly ransact
to furnish the playhouses of London. m8 Indeed it
is only an occasional aristocratic academician like
Gascoigne or Sidney who can be found to admit that
"Italian toyes are full of pleasant sporte" 19 and
that the abuse of the unities, so common in English
drama, is something which "at this day the ordi-
nary players in Italy will not err in." 20 Thomas
Heywood in similar strain speaks of "all the doc-
tors, zawnyes, pantaloons, harlakenes, in which the
French, but especially the Italians have been excel-
lent" and considers, like the Italian critical theo-
11 Nash, Pierce Penilesse (1592), ed. Grosart, 92. Nash knew more
than a little of Italian written plays, especially of Aretino's. Cf.
Summer's Last Witt and Testament, ed. Grosart, 146, 11. 1520-1;
Strange News, 182, and Lenten Stuff e, 234, the last an allusion to
Aretino's Puttana, Errante.
14 Gosson, Plays confuted in five actions (1582).
"Prolog to the Glasse of Government. Cf. Stele Glas,
These interludes, these newe Italian sportes
And every gawde that glads the mind of man.
Marlowe also alludes to Italianate courtly intermedj, Edward II, 1, 1.
30 Sidney, Defense, 48. " Ordinary players " as contrasted with
dilettanti academicians, of course.
13
178 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
rists, that comedy should have in derision "foolish
innamorates" and "Pantaloons that have unthrifty
sons." 21
Other specific allusions to the Masks are numerous
enough. Shakespeare more than once uses "the old
Pantaloon," the "lean and slippered Pantaloon,"
"the old Magnifico," 22 as terms of contempt for
some exemplar of old age 's folly. Harvey in one of
his letters refers to "a sorry Magnifico," 23 and
Middleton's Doctor in the Changeling (I, 2) hopes
to improve the state of his idiot patient though
hardly to stretch him up "to the wit of a Magnif-
ico" surely no great advance beyond imbecility!
Later dramatists seem to have been just as severe
toward "under-hearted, dull-blooded Pantaloon," 24
who is portrayed as Pantaloni at his ugliest and
silliest in Brome's Novella.
The Zany, as the Elizabethans agreed to call the
Italian servant-clown, frequently served to point a
comparison in an English comedy. Biron speaks of
Some carry-tale, some pleaseman, some slight zany,
Some mumble-news, some trencher-knight, some Dick
That smiles his cheek in years and knows the trick
To make my lady laugh when she 's disposed. 25
Malvolio mentions the "fool's zanies" in the sense
of foolish servants to the fool, 26 while Jonson more
21 Apology for Actors, 43 and 54.
22 Taming of the Shrew, III, 1, line 37. As Ton LiTce It, II, 7, 158.
Othello, I, 2, 12.
28 Foure Letters, ed. Collier, second letter.
"Brome, City Wit, V, I.
28 Love's Labor's Lost, V, 2, 463.
28 Twelfth, Night, I, 5, 96. The critics have usually preferred to
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 179
definitely alludes to the Italian mountebank's attend-
ant, "He's like a zany to a tumbler that tries tricks
after him to make men laugh," and again, "The
other gallant is his zany and doth most of these
tricks after him." 27 Marston in the Malcontent
(1604) refers to "the French Harlekene," quite
(^xi>ossibly Tristano Martinelli who was making a name
for himself in Paris during the early years of the
century. Day also had evidently seen some Zanni
act, for a page in his lie of Gulls (II, 3) says, "I,
like Harlakene in an Italian comedy, stand making
faces at both their follies." Whether Bottom's
Bergamask dance has anything to do with an Italian-
ate conception of the rustic's role is rather doubtful
since Bottom was not a rustic but a "rude mechani-
cal, ' ' nor has he any traits in common with the Zanni
from Bergamo, one of whose specialties was awk-
ward dancing. 28
Such general references and they might be multi-
plied show plainly enough that the Italian actors
were even more familiar to Englishmen than the
scattering notices in official records would lead us
interpret Zany as "an inferior buffoon" without regard to the func-
tion of the clown in Italian improvised comedies. Cf. Furness Vari-
orum edition of Twelfth Night on this passage, for a summary of
the chief definitions of the term. Florio's, from the Worlde of
Wordes (1598) is the best, for he as an Italian knew what he was
talking about: "Zane: Name of John, Also a sillie John, a gull or
noddle. Used also for a simple vice, clowne, foole, or simple fellow
in a playe or comedie. "
27 Every Man in his Humour, IV, 1. Cynthia's Eevels, II, 1. Cf.
Day, Law Tricks, I, 10.
29 Midsummer Night's Dream, V. Tiraboschi >s Vocabolario dei
dialetti bergamaschi defines Bergamasca as "sorta di ballo rusticale. "
180 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
to suppose. The numerous translations or adapta-
tions of Italian plays offer another kind of proof of
the same act. Some of these versions, like Gas-
coigne's Supposes, set the fashion for many imita-
tions and are doubtless in that way responsible for
some of the Italianate features of Elizabethan
drama. 29 There is not wanting still more direct
evidence of Englishmen's intimate acquaintance
with the commedia dell'arte in particular. Whet-
stone refers to the practice of improvisation in say-
ing that the "Comedians of Bavenna" were "not
tied to any written discourse" but had "certain
grounds or principles of their own" on which to
work. 30 A clearer allusion is that in the Spanish
Tragedy (IV, 1) :
The Italian tragedians were so sharp of wit
That in one hour's meditation
They would perform anything in action.
Lorenzo admits the possibility of this kind of
playing,
. . . for I have seen the like
In Paris Amongst the French tragedians.
Hieronimo: In Paris? mass! and well-remembered!
There's one more thing that rests for us to
do ...
Each one of us
Must act his part in unknown languages,
That it may breed the more variety ;
As you, my lord, in Latin, I in Greek,
29 Cf . J. W. Cunliff e 'a edition of the Supposes, also his articles on
Italian-Elizabethan connections, Pub. Mod. Lang. Association, noted
below, bibliography. Cf. below, App. B.
30 Heptameron of Civil Discourses, 1582.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 181
You in Italian, and for because I know
That Bellimperia hath practised the French,
In courtly French shall all her phrases be.
Bellimperia had been urged to take a part, for
"What's a play without a woman in it!" Again a
typical Italian suggestion is Balthazar's,
It shall be played by princes and courtiers,
Such as can tell how to speak ;
If, as it is our country manner,
You will but let us know the argument.
So the tragedy is played from a scenario, though the
poet condescends to set it down "in English more
largely for the easier understanding of every public
reader. " 31
Another description of an improvised play is
found in a much later comedy, Middleton and Row-
ley's Spanish Gypsy, acted at court in 1623 or 1624.
Eoderigo asserts (III, 1),
. . . the scenical school
Has been my tutor long in Italy,
and in Act IV, scene 2, Fernando precisely explains
the method of that scenical school:
. . . There is a way
Which the Italians and the Frenchmen use,
31 Act IV, sc. 4. That the piece was supposed to be played from a
scenario is evident from the quoted passages, and still more from the
spectator king's, "Here comes Lorenzo: look upon the plot, And tell
me, brother, what part plays he?" It has occurred to me that perhaps
the arguments prefixed to Scala's plays may have been printed and
distributed to the audience, as was done here in the Spanish Tragedy,
and later at performances in the Com6die Italienne and the Foires in
Paris. Cf. below, Chap. VII.
182 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
That is, on a word given, or some slight plot,
The actors will extempore fashion out
Scenes neat and witty.
Boles are then apportioned as in the Spanish
Tragedy, Fernando directing the assignment as he
glances over the plot:
Let this father be a Don
Of a brave spirit, . . .
Play him up high ; not like a pantaloon,
But hotly, nobly, checking this his son,
Whom make a very rake-hell, a deboshed fellow
Sancho demands "one of the foolish knaves " for his
part, and in the next scene where the play begins he
acts very much like a Zanni. In fact the whole of
this play-within-a-play is much more nearly in the
Italian manner than the tragedy plotted by Hiero-
nimo, although the names and perhaps some of the
conceits here are of Spanish inspiration.
Whether Cleopatra's forecast of how "the quick
comedians extemporally shall stage us" refers to
the Italian practice, is doubtful, 32 yet there is one
more unmistakable allusion to it in Brome's City
Wit (1632) : "In that lies the nobility of the device;
it should be done after the fashion of Italy, by our-
selves, only the plot premeditated to what our .aim
must tend; marry, the speeches must be extempore. "
A much disputed phrase in Hamlet can, I think,
only point to this same Italian custom of improvisa-
tion on a plot. Polonius praises the traveling actors
in terms very suitable to the wandering comici
(II, 2); for them "Seneca is not too heavy nor
82 Antony and Cleopatra, V, 2.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 183
Plautus too light/' they were the only men in the
world "for the law of writ and the liberty." Surely
Collier's common-sense interpretation of "the law
of writ and the liberty " as written and improvised
plays is more probable than the explanations of re-
cent critics who would have the expression refer to
1 i regular and romantic plays. ' 9 The modern distinc-
tion would certainly not have occurred to Shake-
speare whereas the difference in the two methods of
acting fell within his own experience. 33
It has often been questioned whether or not the
English themselves ever learned to improvise in the
Italian way from a scenario. The stage "plats"
discovered by Malone among Alleyn's property are
in form somewhat similar to scenarios though they
give much more meager directions. One of them is
a synopsis of a fully written play, the Battle of
Alcazar, and it is quite possible that they all like
this one may represent abstracts for use in rehear-
sal, on the order of those described by De Sommi as
aids to his company. All the plats were at one time
in the possession of Alleyn's troupe and date from
1592 to 1600. 34 They are little more than lists of
entrances and exits with very few suggestions for
the action, such as the scenarios give often quite in
detail. The only one that bears any resemblance to
an Italian improvised comedy is the Dead Man's
Fortune, a fantastic intrigue with a prolog and mu-
sical interludes in the Italian style, in which Panta-
loon and his man "pesscode" take a prominent part.
83 Cf . Furness Variorum edition of Hamlet for notes on this passage.
"These fragments are printed by Greg, Henslowe Papers, 129 f.
184 THE COMMEDIA DEL1/ABTE
If any of the pieces be from a commedia dell' art e it
is this one, but as the outline will make sufficiently
apparent, the difficulties in the way of identifying the
source are very considerable : 35
The plotte of the deade mans fortune/
Enter the prologue/
Enter laertes Eschines and vrganda
Enter pesscode to him his father
Enter Tesephon allgeryus laertes w th .
atendantes : Darlow :lee : b.samme :to
them allcyane and statyra
Enter validore & asspida at severall dores
to them the panteloun
mus
ique
Enter carynus and prlior to them
statyra and allcyane
Enter vrganda laertes E chines : Exit
Eschines and Enter Bell veile
Enter panteloun & his man to them his wife
Asspida to hir validore
j r Enter Tesephoun allgerius alcyane & statyra
sam w th^ attendantes to them carynus &
prelyor to them laertes & bell veile
Enter valydore & asspida cuttynge of
ruffes to them the maide
Enter panteloun whiles he speakes
validore passeth ore the stage disguisde
/ then Enter pesscode to them asspida to
t/ them the maide w th . pesscodds apparell
musi
quo
Enter carynus and prlyor = here the
laydes speakes in prysoun
"Greg, op. cit., 133 f.
THE COMMEDIA DEU/ARTE 185
Enter laertes & Bell veile to them the
Jayler to them the laydes
Enter Tesephon allgerius at severall dores
disguised w th . meate to them the jayler
Enter panteloun & pesscode = enter asspida
to hir validore & his man.b. samme to
them the panteloun & pescode w th . spectakles
. musi
que
Enter tesephon allgerius w th . attendantes Dar
& others to them Burbage a messenger
to them Euphrodore = Robart lee & b samme & j
Enter carynus & prior to them vrganda
w th . a lookinge glasse acompaned w th . satires
plainge on ther Instruments
Enter carynus madde to him prelyor
(d) madde
Enter asspida & (validore) pescodde to hir
Enters rose
Enters panteloun & pescodde
Enter aspida & validore disguised like rose w th .
a flasket of clothes to them rose w th . a
nother flasket of clothes to them the pan-
teloun to them (to them) pescodde
musique
Enter kmge Egeron allgeryus tesephon Enter
w th . lordes the (x) executioner w th . (is) his ISt*
sworde & blocke & officers w th . holberds ISter*
to them carynus and prlyor then after that iJSines
the musicke plaies & ther Enters 3 an w^out
tique f aires dancynge on after a nother
the first takes the sword from the ex
ecutioner and sends him a waye the other
186 THE COMMEDIA DELL^AETE
caryes a waie the blocke & the third sends
a waie(s) the offyeers & vnbindes allgeryus
& tesephon & as they entered so they departe
Enter to them vrganda laertes and
Eschines leadinge ther laides hand in hand
Enter the(n) panteloun & pescode
Enter validore (and assipida)
Enter asspida to hir rose
Enter the panteloun & causeth the
cheste or truneke to be broughte forth
finis 36
Since this play was probably acted before 1593 it
can have no connection with the only scenario in
which Urganda figures, an eighteenth century parody
of the lyric tragedy Amadis. 37 Moreover the plot is
not definite enough to be traced to a particular
source. It is hard to see how so slight an outline
could have been developed even by actors used to
improvisation, much less by those who never regu-
larly practiced the art. Tarlton indeed was noted
for his "piperly extemporising" in his clown's
role 38 and for the ease with which he made a jest off
hand on matters of contemporary interest, 39 and
Wilson and Kemp were probably as expert, yet Eng-
36 Cf . Cteizenach, Geschichte des neueren Dramas, IV, 335-<>.
w Parf aict, Diet, des theatres, I, 178.
88 Harvey, Foure Letters, 1592, second letter.
89 Nash, Pierce Penilesse, 66-7, speaks of a "ridiculous Asse," an
astrologer, on whom "Tarlton at the Theatre made jests. " Baker,
Theatrum Eedivivium (1662), 27, pays a tribute to the clown's ex-
tempore songs and (p. 34) to his powers in pantomine. Cf. Halli-
well, introd. to Tarlton 1 's Jests, xxviii, and Meres, Palladis Tamia, on
"our witty Wilson. "
THE COMMEDIA DELL/AKTE 187
lish actors as a class seem never to have worked out
the flexible method of their foreign rivals. Nash's
complaint that the players finished off his Isle of
Dogs^ must mean that they wrote up the acts he
left incomplete, not that they supplied the dialog on
the stage, for the play as published is fully written.
Jonson with his delightful explicitness asserts that
English plays are not like the Italian ' l extemporaP '
but all "premeditated things. " 41 There is also
Hamlet's invective against the clowns' abuses of
their privileges, to prove that the best Elizabethan
opinion was unfavorable to the lax Italian custom.
This fact of stage history ought, I think, to be
decisive for differentiating the English plats from
scenarios and for labeling them abstracts of written
plays for use in rehearsal. 42
Among many Italianate plots, many disguise and
lazzi scenes that in Elizabethan plays may possibly
be echoes of commedie dell' art e, 43 I have found but
one that can with any probability be referred to a
40 Lenten Stuff e, ed. Grosart, 200, note. Nash says that he had him-
self only finished the "induction and first act" of this piece, "the
other five acts, without my consent or the least guessse of my drift or
scope by the players were supplied."
41 Case is Altered, II, 4. It ought to be added that Jonson refers to
England as Utopia; perhaps a case could be made out on the basis of
this to prove that improvisation was common in England and that
Jonson looked to Utopia for better conditions. But this seems too
far-fetched.
42 There was occasionally some improvisation in Elizabethan plays ;
cf. Greene's James IV, I, 3, and similar passages in Marlowe's, Dr.
Faustus, in the comic scenes.
Greene's Groatsworth of Wit (1596), 23, speaks of the extempore
rimes of the puppet showmen.
43 Cf . App. B.
188 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
scenario source, the mountebank performance in
Volpone.* 4 It will be remembered that the villain-
hero of the comedy disguises himself as a charlatan
in order to prosecute his design on Celia, the virtu-
ous wife of Corvino. Jonson appropriately chooses
a retired corner of St. Mark's Place, Venice, for this
bit of action, probably because some traveler had
told him that here the mountebanks were wont to
assemble. 45 Mosca and Nano, Volpone's parasite
and dwarf disguised, build a stage under Corvino 's
window in the hope that Celia may be drawn out to
witness the show. While the platform is being set
up Peregrine and Sir Politick argue about these
fellows :
1 1
Per. Who be these, sir? ...
Sir. P. Fellows, to mount a bank. Did your instructor
In the dear tongues, never discourse to you
Of the Italian mountebanks ? . . .
Here you shall see one.
Per. They are quacksalvers,
Fellows that live by vending oils and drugs. . . .
Sir. P. They are the only knowing men of Europe !
Great general scholars, excellent physicians, . . .
The only languaged men of all the world !
44 II, 1. Koeppel, Quellen-Studien, etc., says nothing of this scene
nor so far as I know does any other editor notice it particularly.
a Although Jonson knew Coryat well he could not have built this
scene on the description in the Crudities, for Volpone was played in
1605 and Coryat was not in Venice till 1608. Italian mountebanks
probably performed in London as early as this, though the only specific
reference I have found is that in Chalmers ' Supplemental Apology,
209, note, a quotation from a warrant granted in 1630 to F. Nicolini
and his company, "to dance on the ropes, to use interludes and
masques, and to sell his powders and balsams. ' ' Evidently the
"masques" belong to the "interludes," which latter must have been
commedie dell'arte.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 189
Per. And I have heard, they are most lewd impostors ;
Made all of terms and shreds, no less beliers
Of great men's favors than their own vile
med 'cines ;
Which they will utter upon monstrous oaths ;
Selling that drug for twopence, ere they part,
Which they have valued at twelve crowns before.
Sir. P. Sir, calumnies are answered best with silence.
Yourself shall judge. Who is it mounts, my
friends ?
Mosca. Scoto of Mantua, sir. 46
Sir. P. Is 'the? Nay, then,
I'll proudly promise, sir, you shall behold
Another man than has been phant 'sied to you.
Here he comes.
(Enter Volpone, disguised as a mountebank Doctor, and
followed by a crowd of people.)
Vol. Mount, zany. (To Nano),
Most noble gentlemen and my worthy patrons ! It may
seem strange that I, your Scoto Mantuano, who was
ever wont to fix my bank in the face of the public
Piazza . . . should now, after eight months' absence
from this illustrious city of Venice, humbly retire my-
self into an obscure nook of the Piazza ... to tell you
true I cannot endure to see the rabble of these ground
ciarlatani that spread their cloaks on the pavement
as if they meant to do feats of activity, and then come
in lamely, with their mouldy tales, out of Boccaccio,
40 Seoto was a real person, an Italian juggler who was in England
about this time, as Gifford notes, ed. of Volpone, 204, note 3. Cf.
James I, Daemonologie ( Workes, etc., London, 1616, Bk. 1, 105) . "He
will learn them manie juglarie trickes at Gardes, dice, and such like,
to deceiue men's senses thereby: and such innumerable false prac-
ticques; which are prouen by ouer-manie in this age: as they who
are acquainted with that Italian called Scoto, yet living, can report. ' ;
190 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
like stale Tabarine, the fabulist: 47 some of them dis-
coursing of their travels, and of their tedious captivity
in the Turk's galleys, 48 when indeed were the truth
known, they were Christian's galleys, where very tem-
perately they eat bread and drunk water, as a whole-
some penance . . . for base pilferies. . . . Well let
them go. ... I have nothing to sell, little or nothing
to sell. ... I protest, I and my six servants are not
able to make of this precious liquor, so fast as it is
fetched away from my lodging by gentlemen of your
city, . . . blessed unguento, this rare extraction, that
hath only power to disperse all malignant humours,
that proceed either of hot, cold, moist, or windy causes.
. . . Twill cost you eight crowns. And Zan Fritada,
prithee sing a verse extempore in honour of it. ' ' 49
47 G'ifford assumes this Tabarin to have been the French charlatan
of the Pont-Neuf who flourished in Paris some time between 1619-26,
playing in farces which were accessory to selling his wares. Cf. Four-
nier, Theatre frangais, etc., I, 498 f. As Volpone was acted in 1605
this identification of Gifford's seems improbable. I rather think that
the man alluded to in the text was that other and earlier Italian actor,
Giovanni Tabarin, who had certainly been known to English troupes
in Vienna and Paris, c. 1572. Cf. Easi, Comici italiani, II, 555 f.
48 Cf. Easi, op. cit., I, under P. Andreini, for an account of the
adventure of this Capitano among the Turks; he spent several years
in slavery to the Moslem. Andreini was also one of the most notable
"languaged men" among the comici.
48 Garzoni, Piazza universale, mentions Zan Fritada more than once.
I quote one passage in Symonds' translation (Mem. of Count C. Gozzi,
I, 76). "You will see our swaggering Fortunate and his boon com-
panion Fritata . . . keeping the whole populace agape into the night
with stories, songs, improvisations," etc.
Zan Fritata was as much an historical person as Scoto. He is
mentioned not only by Garzoni but in the Capitolo in morte di Simone
da Bologna:
Fritada ch'in virtu te generos
De canta e sona col Fortunat
E sovra al bane a te vitorios. .
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 191
After Nano's uninspired song, Volpone continues :
" Gentlemen if I had but time to discourse to you the
miraculous effects of this my oil, surnamed Oglio del
Scoto; with the countless catalogue of those I have
cured of the aforesaid and many more diseases; the
patents and privileges of all the princes and common-
wealths of Christendom! . . . For myself I always
from my youth have endeavored to get the rarest
secrets, and book them in exchange or for money: I
spared nor cost nor labour, where anything was worthy
to be learned. ... I will undertake by virtue of chem-
ical art, out of the honourable hat that covers your
head, to extract the four elements; that is to say, the
fire, air, water and earth, and return you your felt
without burn or stain. . . .
You all know I never valued this ampulla or vial at
less than eight crowns ; but for this time I am content
to be deprived of it for six ; six crowns is the price, . . .
I ask you not the value of the thing for then I should
demand of you a thousand crowns, so that the Cardi-
nals Montalto, Fernese, the great Duke of Tuscany, my
gossip, 50 with divers other princes, have given me ; but
Cf. Carrara 's reprint of ed. of 1585, p. 17. Carrara notes several
poems by Fritata.
It is interesting to compare Volpone 'a praises of his drug to another
paragraph from Garzoni (550 f.) in which is given an idea of the
Italian charlatans' speeches on a similar subject. f( Charlatans sell
powders for indigestion . . . tapers for perpetual lights; the philoso-
pher's oil, the fifth essence, to make you rich; oil of tosso 'bar'bosso
for chills; an ungent to give you a good memory; . . . lime paste to
kill rats; . . . burning glasses to light fires from the sun; . . . spec-
tacles to make you see in the dark."
60 Gossip, Comare or compare, was a very common term of address
between the best of the comici and their patrons, because princes,
dukes and even kings and queens, stood sponsor to the children of
their proteges. Cf. Jarro, L'epistolario, passim.
192 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
I despise money. ... I have neglected the messages
of these princes, mine own officers, framed my journey
hither, only to present you with the fruits of my
travels. Tune your voices once more to the touch of
your instruments, and give this honourable assembly
some delightful recreation.
Per. What monstrous and most painful circumstance
Is here, to get some three or four gazettes, 51
Some threepence in the whole! for that 'twill
come to."
Nano's song is more like a Zanni's than the first he
sang:
1 i You that would last long, list to my song,
Make no more coil but buy of this oil, ' ' etc.,
just the kind of jingle that could most easily be
improvised.
Volpone next, like the men he is imitating, comes
down again in his demands :
' ' Well, I am in a humour at this time to make a present of
the small quantity my coffer contains: to the rich in
courtesy, and to the poor for God's sake. . . . There-
fore, now, toss your handkerchiefs, cheerfully, cheer-
fully ; and be advertised that the first heroic spirit that
deigns to grace me with a handkerchief, I will give it a
little remembrance of something. . . .
(Celia, at a window above, throws down her hand-
kerchief.) Lady, I kiss your bounty, and for this
timely grace you have done your poor Scoto of Mantua,
61 Jonson 's local color is as usual exact ; a gazette is a small Vene-
tian coin, mentioned by Garzoni as the object of the charlatans'
efforts. This correspondence between Jonson and Garzoni, like several
others, makes the hypothesis that the scene in Volpone was suggested
by the Piazza universale, not improbable. Garzoni had not been trans-
lated into English, but Jonson of course read Italian.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 193
I will return you, over and above my oil, a secret of
that high and inestimable nature, shall make you for
ever enamoured on that minute, wherein your eye first
descended on so mean, yet not altogether to be de-
spised, an object. Here is a powder concealed in this
paper, that made Venus a goddess (given her by
Apollo) , that kept her perpetually young, cleared her
wrinkles, firmed her gums, filled her skin, coloured her
hair; from her derived to Helen, and at the sack of
Troy unfortunately lost; till now in this our age, it
was happily recovered. . . . The rest of this present,
remains to me, extracted to a quintessence, so that
wherever it but touches in youth it perpetually pre-
serves, in age restores the complexion, seats your teeth,
. . . makes them white as ivory, that were black as
Corvino. Spite o ' the devil, and my shame ! come down here ;
Come down No house but mine to make your
scene ?
Signer Flaminio, will you down, sir ? down ?
What, is my wife your Franciscina, sir?
No windows on the whole Piazza, here,
To make your properties, but mine ? but mine ?
(Beats away Yolpone, Nano, etc.)
Heart ! ere to-morrow I shall be new christened,
And called the Pantalone di Bisognosi, 52
About the town."
If it were not for the concluding hurly-burly one
n Gifford 's note on Pantalone is inadequate, ' * i. e. the Zany, or fool
of the beggars. Such at least is the vulgar import of the words, but
Jonson probably affixed a more opprobrious sense to them." H. B.
Wilkins, editor of a critical edition of Volpone, does not understand
any better than Gifford the allusions to Fritata, Pantalone, etc.
Franceschina was of course the servetta in Scala's scenarios and per-
haps from them was adopted by Marston for the name of his Dutch
Curtisan; the connotation of the name was the opposite of maidenly or
wifely virtue. Cf. the Franceschina of Chapman's May Day (1601).
14
194 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
could rest content in the assumption that Jonson was
only describing from life a street performance he
had witnessed, or perhaps that he vivified a trav-
eler's tale to add color to his comedy. But the clos-
ing action, the lady in the balcony, the lover dis-
guised, the jealous husband, the beatings, above
all the names, Pantalone de 'Bisognosi, Flaminio,
Franceschina, suggest that Jonson had heard and
was here reproducing part of an improvised farce.
A scene from the first act of Scala's Fortuna di
Flavio (Gior. II) furnishes a somewhat similar out-
line and might easily have been given in London by
some of the Italians who were there in Jonson 's life-
time; it was certainly acted in Paris by the Gelosi,
whose character names Jonson puts into Corvino's
mouth :
"Arlecchino the charlatan (he is really the com-
panion to Gratiano, chief charlatan) has the bench
arranged for mounting to sell his wares; then the
servants put on it a seat and a valise, then call the
companions; Gratiano and Turchetto (the latter a
girl disguised as a page) come out of the Inn, all
mount the bench and Turchetto begins to sing and
play; Flaminia stands at the window to see the
charlatans; Burattino comes to listen; then Fran-
ceschina comes, stops to look on; then Pantalone
arrives, salutes Orazio and all stay to watch. Gra-
tiano praises his goods, Arlecchino does the same;
Turchetto plays and sings. The Captain seeing
Flaminia at the window suddenly salutes her, Fran-
ceschina salutes the slave-boy. The Captain ob-
serves Arlecchino, recognizes him as the man who
THE COMMEDIA DELL/ARTE 195
holds in governance his lady, and pulls him down off
the bench. Pantalone tells Orazio that the Captain is
his enemy; Gratiano raises his hand against the
Captain, the Captain the same to him; Arlecchino
flees, Captain follows, and in the bustle the bench is
overturned and everyone runs into his own house."
The parallel is not close enough to press very far.
The scene in the scenario is merely one of a kind
extremely common in the commedia dell' art e, a kind
that Jonson must have seen if he knew any impro-
vised plays and he could hardly escape at least a
few in the theatrical world of his day. It is natural
to him to minimize the rough-and-tumble action,
which was the chief attraction of Scala's farce, and
to increase the satirical color by Volpone's monologs
and the comments of the bystanders.
Jonson was not entirely individual however in
disapproving and satirizing the mountebanks; the
Elizabethans in general seem to have had no very
good opinion of Italian charlatans. Nash speaks
of "a tedious mountebank's oration . . . when in
the whole there is nothing praiseworthy, ' > 53 and
elsewhere mentions the "legerdemaine of these
juggling mountebanks." 54 The author of Muce-
dorus (I, 1) remarks on an "obscure servile habil-
lament" as appropriate to "a Florentine or a
mountebancke, " and Chapman makes Monsieur tell
Bussy that he is "more vainglorious than any
mountebank." 55
63 Pierce Penilesse, ed. Grosart, 6.
IUd., 108.
85 Bussy d'Ambois, III, 1.
196 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
About 1617 a ridiculous Antimask of Mountebanks
was given at Gray's Inn, 56 merely a conglomera-
tion of speeches and songs, "musicall charmes,
familiar receipts, " entirely unlike an improvised
play though quite on the order of the Italian street
performances that contributed so much to the corn-
media dell' art e. The second song is a jingle that
rings as thin as Nano's extempore rime.
From all diseases that arise
From ill-disposed crudityes
From too much study, too much paine,
From lasines, or from a straine,
From any humours doing harme
Be it dry, or moist, or colde or wanne,
I come to cure whatere you feele
Within, without, from head to heele.
After four songs of this kind a mountebank in a
"fantasticke" habit recites some of the "familiar
receiptes," of which the most quotable is an "ap-
proved medicine against melancolicke feminine' ':
"If any lady be sicke of the sullens she knows not
where, let her take a handfull of scimples I know
not what, and use them I know not how, applying
them to the party greeved I know not who, and she
shalbe well I know not when. ' ' 57
Arlecchino might have jested in just such terms as
66 Nichols, Progresses, etc., of Q. Elizabeth, III, 332.
67 Some of the horrid compounds listed by Wittipol among ' ' Spanish
fucuses" (Devil is an Ass, IV, 1) remind one of Grarzoni's account of
the Italian charlatan 's pharmacopia ; in this case as elsewhere how-
ever, it is not safe to stress the international analogy. English medi-
cine was quite as magical and superstitious as Italian. Cf . F. Gren-
don, Anglo-Saxon Charms.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 197
these at the inanities of popular medical ignorance
and its lingo, but so might a French or an English
clown on his own impulse; the expression of such
satire is as universal as the social phenomenon it
ridicules and there is, I think, no need for assuming
a definite and particular Italian model here any
more than in many of the situations and lazzi which
recall commedie dell'arte in Elizabethan comedies.
Drayton indeed says severely that his countrymen
are the "very apes and zanies ... of everything
that they doe heare and see," 58 but I feel sure that
while there was a distinct influence of the Italian on
the English drama it was, as with Moliere, more
general than special, and that there is little to be
gained from forcing into the same category things
essentially so different. 59 Anyone who will take the
trouble to turn to Bartoli's Onorata fuga di Lucinda
and compare it to the Two Gentlemen of Verona,
or who will read Peacock's abstract of Gl'ingannati
with an eye to Twelfth Night, can see for himself
certain likenesses of motivation and plot, even
broadly of character, but still more strongly, as has
been said about Tar tuffe and II Pedant e, he must be
struck by vast differences in tone, technic and detail.
So anyone who chooses may set Shakespeare's
Holofernes beside Gratiano and may discover that
they are both tiresome pedants who speak a would-
be learned dialect of their own and make love
absurdly; so Scala's Pantalone may be likened to
158 Poets and Poesie, 1627.
59 Cf. Feuillerat's admirable discrimination of the spirit of the
Italian pastoral from that of Lyly's pastoral plays, John Lyly, Part
II, 321 f.
198 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
numerous old fathers on the English stage, but in
order to do this, every individual trait must be
peeled from the English characters, Pantalone and
Gratiano are of course to begin with little more than
skeletons.
If the commedia dell' art e is understood at all it
must certainly be regarded as a repository of ancient
themes and motifs some of which, like Latrocino's
tooth-pulling, 60 are often to be found in the English
theater, whether they came thither from the Italian
stage or from native tradition. But as the scenarios
already quoted have shown, the commedia dell'arte
was little else than this literary and popular rag-
bag, a kind of Harlequin's suit in itself; it was not
interested in ideas except very much at second-hand,
nor in fine discriminations of character, while the
Elizabethan drama at its best cared exceedingly for
both. Moreover the Italians were never, as were
the Elizabethans even at their worst, bent upon
maintaining more than the merest pretence of de-
cency and morality. Such wide divergencies in the
way of attitude toward the material treated warn
us not to give to the commedia dell'arte too promi-
60 In Middleton's Widow, IV, 2.
Another Elizabethan lazzo that resembles Zanni's tricks are Bion-
dello's impudence to Vincentio (Taming of the Shrew, IV, 4), cf.
Scala 's Gior. XIII, II Dr. disperato, Act I. In the same Italian play
Pantalone is refused admittance to his own house, as is Antipholus of
Ephesus, Comedy of Errors, III, 1. In Scala 'a Travagliata Isabella,
Act III (Gior. XV), the two old men, Dottore and Pantalone, talk of
a "buona roba" much in the style of Justice Shallow, 8 Henry IV,
III, 2.
Such instances might be multiplied almost indefinitely if they were
significant of anything but common Eenaissance fashion.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 199
nent a place among the influences forming the Eng-
lish drama.
On the other hand it will not do to discount en-
tirely the importance of the improvised plays in
London. They formed only a small part of the
repertory of the actors who presented them and who
introduced foreign audiences to many kinds of
elaborate entertainments, but in themselves they
were so lively and so clever that they would
naturally give a great stimulus to students of
theatrical technic, enough has been quoted of defi-
nite allusion to show the impression they made en
English spectators. As models for imitation they
could however offer something less satisfactory
than the written plays, because they were in per-
formance so fluid, so changing from day to day in
matters of detail. For these reasons it is hard to
trace English scenes to Italian; even comedies like
Field's which in preponderance of incident, in cut-
and-dried characterization and in commonplace ex-
pression approximate nearest in effect to filled-out
scenarios even in these there is a difference in
spirit between an English hack-writer and an Italian
actor. The improvised plays went a step, several
steps, beyond such wretched farces in the direction
toward which they tend, toward horse-play and
boisterous license. It was not until the Eestoration
had brought a different tone into the English drama
that the commedia dell' art e was freely and openly
imitated and of that change I shall have something
to say in a moment.
CHAPTER VII.
It is all very well to be conservatively judicious in
estimating the influence of the puppetlike Masks on
foreign stages and cautiously sceptical in refusing
to attribute great vogue to any one scenario, yet on
the whole there is no denying that Arlecchino, Pnl-
\ cinella and their comrades did not dance and jest
* their way into European popularity without pro-
.Voking a host of envious imitators. After the first
quarter of the seventeenth century the machinery of
the commedia dell' art e was constantly worked by all
sorts of actors; its masked characters, broad jokes
and improvised fun were introduced into scenes of
written plays, into melodrammi and comic operas,
and, most usually, into pantomimes and marionette
shows where such farcical doings legitimately be-
long. As the public became over-familiar with this
kind of thing and cloyed by it, the professional
players met the demand for novelty as many of
them do to-day, by foisting onto their traditional
repertory inventions suggested by their immediate
audience and by the special abilities of their troupes.
In Italy commedie dell' 'art e proper persisted side
by side with the newer spectacular and musical
entertainments; the old-fashioned improvised plays
were, however, varied by introducing into their
ancient plots a quantity of minor Masks, while in
the comic operas emphasis gradually shifted entirely
away from plot and lazzi to music and scenery.
200
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 201
France soon tired of the regulation commedie
dell' art e the best jokes pall in a foreign tongue
and demanded of the Italians something that made
a more direct appeal; accordingly about 1625 Gio-
van-Battista Andreini's example was followed very
generally in Paris and spectacular pieces became
the most prominent on the Italian stage there.
Parody and satire crept in as the result of much
competition between rival companies, until with the
invention of the pantomime the irregular troupes
marked their greatest triumph. Finally from Paris
Italian and French amusements made their way to
England, there the Christmas pantomime still pre-
serves at least three of the old Masks. Some de-
scription of these last resorts of Pantalone and his
family must necessarily round out this history and
it will be given here in summary fashion for the
sake of completeness, not with any idea of tracing
a direct line of evolution between the commedia
dell' art e and products so unlike itself.
It was only in Italy and chiefly on the popular
stages that the improvised pieces held their own
until the strife between two Venetian theaters
brought about important reforms at the close of the
eighteenth century. In Italy the improvised jokes
of the Masks were understood; what cared the pit
how often it saw a familiar intrigue if only the time-
worn incidents were shuffled into a combination that
seemed fresh and then were painted over with some
gay local color? Old men therefore might always
be represented as infatuated with pert serving-
maids, lovers might eternally plot to abuse their
202
elders, faithless youths be tirelessly pursued by the
sweetheart they have abandoned, knavish lads per-
petually plan the discomfiture of some overconfident
enemy, all the ancient round of action might go on
by the ancient methods. So in fact it did. Tricks,
practical jokes, disguises, pretended madness and
death were however given force by repetition and
reduplication; where one "pretended lunatic" to a
scenario sufficed Scala, the eighteenth century de-
manded four at least ; where Isabella Andreini chose
one disguise and found it enough throughout one
play, Grherardi's Colombine must needs keep her
audience awake by tormenting Arlequin in a con-
stantly changing personality, now as doctor, now
as lawyer or peddler. 1
Duplication of plot interest was not the only way
of stimulating interest in the old repertory. A
second and rather more inspired method was by
freshly studied satire on this or that locally noto-
rious individual or class, of course the most natural
development of the practices of the earlier actors,
those first presenters of Pantalone as Venetian
Magnifico and Arlecchino and Pedrolino as Berga-
mask peasants. Niccolo Barbieri crystallized the
prosperous rustic of the country near Milan in his
creation of Beltrame. 2 The famous Mask of Sten-
torello originated in Luigi del Buono 's not unkindly
caricature of lower class Florentines and rapidly
1 Gherardi, Theatre italien, Colombine avocat pour et contre, I,
291 f.
2 Barbieri was at the head of a company in Paris, 1625-8, and played
in Italy also. Cf. Bartoli, Seen, ined., cxliii, and for Beltrame, the
scenario published by Toldo, Gior. Stor., XL VI, 128 f.
THE COMMEDIA DELL/ARTE 203
became typical of these cheerful good-for-naughts. 3
Another north Italian personage was the weari-
somely prolix Desevedo de Mai Albergo of Parma,
a modification of Dottor Gratiano, whose suggestive
name derives from the Latin Desapidus. 4
The southern provinces were even more fertile in
comic characters than was the north of Italy.
Scaramuccia, one of the most notable of this group,
" dressed all in black, his sword on his thigh, " was
like most of the Masks born in Naples, "a cowardly
bully." 5 Among his friends are Giangurgolo, a
large-nosed, gluttonous Calabrian ne'er-do-well; 6
Guappo, or Yappo, a popular Neapolitan parody of
the medieval knight ; 7 Eogantino, a cowardly Eoman
brute, and his more courageous and cheerful cousin,
Meo Patacca. 8
* Jarro, Maschera di Stentorello, describes the character (p. 48) as
"lepido, non scurrile; allegro, non cinico e salace . . . raffigurare
il popolano fiorentino della piu infime . . . classe. ' '
* Bartoli, Scenari ined., clxxxii-iii. Desevedo appears in one of the
scenarios in the same volume, La bellissima commedia in tre persone.
Cf . also Biccoboni, Hist, du theatre italien, 56.
5 Oroce, Teatri di Napoli, 128. The Neapolitan Mask Croce defines
as "a person who spoke a coarse dialect full of awkward provincial-
isms, and who sometimes appeared as a 'gentiluomo di seggio,' was
more often confused with the Captain, sometimes practiced other
trades " (Pulcinella, 94). Scaramuccia was the creation of Tiberio
Fiorillo who made a great name for himself in France in the seven-
teenth century; cf. Kasi, Comici italiani, I, under Fiorillo.
6 The name may be translated Jack-the-Glutton. Cf . Scherillo,
Comm. dell'arte, 108, note 2; Croee, Pulcinella, 102, and Teatri di
Napoli, passim; Senigaglia, Cap. Spavento, 166 f. Kiccoboni gives
a picture of Giangurgolo and he appears in two of Bartoli 's scenarios,
I quattro pazzi and I tappeti ovvero Colafronio geloso.
T The name is from the Spanish for ' ' elegant " ; cf . Senigaglia, Cap.
Spavento, 173 f. and 178 f.
8 The connection of comic types with different localities cannot be
204 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
Pulcinella, one of the oldest southern Masks, be-
came one of the most widely famous and was one
of the longest lived. In his later days he has often
been noticed by visitors to Italy; Baretti says of
him severely, " there is not a single good trait in
him; his cunning is very low, he is always outdone
when he meets with a person of sense, so that in the
end he is generally discovered, imprisoned, whipped
and hanged. " 9 Goethe, speaking to Eckermann of
the Pulcinella he saw in his youth in Naples, gives
him a better character and reports some of his doings
a little in detail: "One of the chief jokes of this hero
of low comedy . . . consisted in seeming sometimes
to forget his part as an actor. He pretended to have
returned home, talked familiarly with his family,
told them about the piece in which he acted and of
another in which he was about to act. 'But, my
dear husband/ his wife would exclaim, 'you appear
to forget the august company in whose presence you
are. ' ' E vero ! E vero ! ' returned Pulcinella ; recol-
lecting himself, he returned to his former part. The
theatre of Pulcinella is in such repute that no one in
good society boasts of having been there. Ladies
. . . never go at all; it is only frequented by men.
quite denied, yet there is no need to go as far as Mercey; he said
that " every province" of Italy had its comie Mask, "the personi-
fication of the ridiculous elements and moral habits of its people."
(Eev. des deux mondes, 15 avril, 1840, 196 f.) There was too much
variety in the various presentations of the same Masks to permit call-
ing them the invariable personifications of local traits. Mereey is
always the disciple of Schlegel; here he leaves too much out of
account the influence of each actor in the creation of the Masks, and
emphasizes too much the influence of climate.
9 Italy and the Italians, Chap. I, cited Collier, Punch and Judy, 58.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 205
Pulcinella is, in fact, a sort of living newspaper.
Everything that has happened in Naples during the
day may be heard from him in the evening. How-
ever these local allusions, combined with his low
popular dialect, make it almost impossible for for-
eigners to understand him." 10
Evidently the Mask and his name simply gave a
kind of external unity to the performances of a
versatile entertainer who probably wove his topical
allusions into a threadbare plot, much as the Pul
cinella of to-day still does in Naples, 1 x in the manner
of innumerable humble wits in other European
theatres de quartier. Most of the characters in
these modern pieces are not masked, many of the
plays themselves are partly written, yet since a good
part of the dialog and songs has to do with matters
of recent occurrence and there is therefore need for
much improvisation, it is here that the last real com-
medie dell' art e are to be sought.
Here and in the marionette theater the Masks sur-
vive because they furnish a convenient machinery,
not because they are made to resemble very closely
their predecessors on the Cinquecento stage. Col-
lier's ingenious history of Mr. Punch assumes that
his hero derives in a direct line from a Eoman
Mime through Pulcinella, but never was analogy
10 Conversations of Goethe with Eckermann, Bohn's edition, 440,
under date of Feb. 14, 1830.
u Lyonnet, Pulcinella et compagnie, gives an interesting account
of the modern theater where the present Pulcinella amuses his audi-
ence nightly as his predecessor did in Goethe's experience, with
topical allusions and low farce.
Cf. Mercey, Rev. des deux mondes, XXI and XXII.
206
harder pressed to the violation of probability.
Every age and country of the world, from China
centuries ago to Elizabethan England and beyond,
has had its own puppet-plays and has put into them
old stories of its own. Most of the Italian burattini
act out, quite seriously, chivalric legends of Charle-
magne and his peers ; many others present scenes of
everyday life in a broadly farcical manner. The
particular English play of Punch and Judy recorded
in Cruikshank's comic pictures owes something to
many sources, chiefly to popular tales and songs,
and little or nothing to the commedia dell'arte. 12
Bather may its ancestry be vaguely traced perhaps
to those " motions" and "puppetry and pied ridicu-
lous antics " inveighed against by Chapman and
Johnson in more than one jealous outburst. 13
The kind of stale or coarse wit, that has now been
driven to the lowest genre theaters and to the most
farcical marionette booths, prevailed till the mid-
eighteenth century on many stages of a better class.
12 Collier asserts, p. 62, that the puppet-play he reproduces is from
the repertory of an Italian showman, but aside from the appearance of
Scaramouch there is nothing peculiarly Italian in the piece.
13 Magnin's Hist, des marionettes (1862) still remains of value for
the number of facts from various sources it contains. Cf . the more
modern studies of Creizenach, GescJi. des neu. Dramas, and Warsage,
Au royaume des marionettes. For the Elizabethan "motion," Bar-
tholomew Fair, V, 1 and 3. For the modern Italian puppets, Pitre,
Studj di poesia popolare, 11 f., and Toldo, Gior. Stor., LI. 1 f.
The generic name burattini for the small wooden actors has been
assumed to be derived from the Zanni Mask, Burattino; there exists
a play of 1628, Le disgrazie di Burattino. It seems quite as likely
that the Mask may have got his name and some part of his stupid
knavish character from the puppet.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 207
Goldoni in his youth, enemy though he was to the
improvised plays, certifies that commedie dell'arte
were given everywhere and especially in Bologna by
"people of merit," and excellently given with ap-
plause. 14 He further witnesses to the practice of
gentlemen who so loved comedy that they maintained
a troupe at their own expense, although the actors
had nothing to play but old repertory. The last
statement was hardly true even for comedy, and of
new tragedies and musical plays there were more
than enough yet such comedies as pretended to be
new were probably written, either fully or in epitome,
after traditional patterns. 15 Goldoni himself fol-
lowed the line of least resistance in his earliest work,
and indeed never quite ceased to compose scenarios
or to call some of his characters by type names. He
was moreover so bound by the old academic con-
ceptions of the nature and technic of the drama and
so hampered by the habits of the actors for whom
he wrote that it is marvellous his plays remain as
fresh and lively as they do. Though tradition and
convention held him down he nevertheless pointed
the way for theatrical progress and through his own
efforts effected a real reform.
He began by criticizing with a keenness born of
ardent love the theaters and actors of his Venice.
He found " dirty and scandalous intrigues," in-
terpreted by actors who evaded their responsibilities
of expression by hiding behind masks, and for a
"Memorie (1788), II, 185.
Memorie, I, 206-7. Of. I, 142, where Goldoni states Ms wish to
see a real comedy "non amando io le arlecchinate. "
208 . THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
poet's words substituted the mechanical repetition
of a few hackneyed conceits and the easy common-
places of daily talk. Very few like Sacchi, the Vene-
tian Arlecchino of the day, worked hard to give
variety and snap to their dialog, imitating their
illustrious predecessors of the Eenaissance in the
study of " poets, orators, philosophers, Seneca,
Cicero, Montaigne," and turning all appropriately
to folly; 16 To relieve their general poverty of ideas
Goldoni early in his career set himself definitely to
the task of suppressing the four best known Masks,
and substituting for their tedious stupidities his own
humorous and realistic comedy of character. 17 So
radical a change, he fortunately told himself, must
be slowly entered upon; actors must be handled with
gloves, the public must be stimulated to an interest
that would make it more attentive, more willing to
follow the intricacies of a new plot and the subtleties
of delicate character-drawing than to guffaw from
habit over stale, hackneyed scenes. ^N
At first therefore the reformer wrote scenarios in
which he himself took a part, by example stimulating
others to take the pains he took. His next step was
to outline plots with all but one role left to im-
provisation and that one, the principal, written out
in full. 18 Later he introduced the Masks by their
"Memorie, I, 304-6.
a Memorie, II, 185 f. "La mia reforme tendeva alia soppressione
delle quattro maschere della commedia italiana," i. e., Pantalone, Dr.
Gratiano, Brighella and Arlecchino.
He, Gior. Stor., LVIII, 167 f., shows in detail how much Goldoni
learned from the popular Venetian theater of his day.
"Memorie, I, 297. Cf. II, 207 f. Goldoni (/&., II, Chap. 2) men-
tions the many hundreds of concetti he wrote for insertion in im-
provised plays.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 209
old names into written plays, adapting their func-
tions more or less flexibly to the general conception
of their roles. Luckily for Goldoni his ideas were
not too far in advance of his times to be immediately
successful; he firmly believed in the academic shib-
boleths, that comedy should observe the unities,
should deal with middle and low-class life, and
should aim chiefly at the correction of public morals
by "delightful teaching. " 19 All these preposses-
sions together with his careful study of public taste
and anxious conciliation of the actors for whom he
wrote made the children of his brain seem not too
unfamiliar to be welcome. 20
Nevertheless he and his work had at first to en-
counter bitter opposition. The old Masks did not
die without a struggle. Eepresented by a rival
theater and a satiric playwright they made a last
stand for their lives, or rather for their position in
respectable society, and for a moment they were
again as popular as at the height of their fame.
Carlo Gozzi, the mouthpiece of the conservatives,
gave himself to the battle with all the force of his
bizarre genius and of his personal dislike for Goldoni
and for the actors of the new pieces. This man gives
out, he says of his rival, ' t that he wishes to do away
with the four worthy and amusing Masks of the old
19 Cf . prolog to Terenzio and Memorie, I, 199 f . and II passim.
20 Goldoni 's account of how lie rearranged the plot of Kichardson 's
Pamela when he dramatized it, shows the care with which he observed
the prejudices of his public; because a Venetian would never under-
stand a noble lord's making a marriage with a serving-maid, Goldoni
has Pamela's father represent himself as a Jacobite earl in disguise,
and Pamela therefore becomes a proper match for " Milord B."
15
210
Italian theater and with the harmless material of
the professional improvised comedy, treating it,
wrongly and shamefully, as foolish, immodest and
hurtful"; he then goes on with blind injustice to
accuse Goldoni's plays of being "one hundred times
more suggestive, more immodest and more perni-
cious to the public' ' than the scenarios. 21 Vitupera-
tion alone however was too feeble to combat the
popularity of this " pernicious " innovation and
Gozzi was driven to innovate on his own account.
He wrote for certain actor friends of his own a series
of curious extravaganzas which he called Fiabe
Fables is an inadequate translation for which he
gathered material everywhere. His idea was to use
the old Masks in new plots combining the intrigue of
some well-known fairy tale with pungent satire on
contemporary events, and not least on Goldoni and
his co-workers. Pantalone, Brighella, Tartaglia,
Arlecchino, Truffaldino and his wife Smeraldina,
were allowed to improvise large portions of their
roles, introducing lazzi, puns and folk-songs as they
chose, but the serious persons in the plots Kings,
Queens, ministers and lovers had most of their
speeches written for them by the author of the
scenarios, and written often in mock-majestic verse
parodying some utterance of the enemy. Spectacle,
music and gorgeous costume helped the ingenious
invention and Gozzi was rewarded' by a momentary
21 Gozzi, Memorie, I, 34. I pass hurriedly over this eighteenth cen-
tury struggle because it has been well treated in English by Symonds,
Mem. of Count C. Gozzi, introduction, and by Vernon Lee in her
Studies of the Eighteenth Century in Italy. Cf . also Magrini, I tempi,
la vita e gli scritti di C. Gozzi, and Masi's edition of the Fiabe.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 211
popularity as great as his rival's. Goethe remarks
to Eckermann on Gozzi's troupe, "The effect pro-
duced by these people was extraordinary. ' >22
The world looked, wondered and laughed and
fancied it was applauding a resurrection of the
"ancient Italian comedy. " Yet what it saw was
really one more proof that the Masks were being
driven into alien territory. Gozzi's Fiabe depended
for their popularity much more on music, machinery
and premeditated, very local satire than on the im-
provised jokes and lazzi of their clowns, and in so
far they resembled many of the half-written pieces
at the Comedie Italienne in Paris during the seven-
teenth and eighteenth centuries. Scala's extrava-
ganzas, his Enchanted Tree, his Orseida, his Inno-
cent Persian Maid, his Eosalba the Witch, had
ministered in their day to the aristocratic craving for
elaborate scenic complications of all sorts, and
Giovan-Battista Andreini with his theatrical ma-
chinists had brought similar magnificence within
reach of the populace.
Loret writes in 1658 of the marvels of the Italian
stage :
La grande troupe italienne . . .
Font voir de telles raretes
Par le moyen de la machine,
Que de Paris jusqu'a la Chine
On ne pent rien voir maintenant
Si pompeux ni si surprenant.
Des ballets au nombre de quatre,
Douze changements de theatre,
Des hydres, dragons et demons,
22 Goethe, Conversations, etc., 437 and 439.
212 THE COMMEDIA DELL ? ARTE
Des mers, des forets et des monts,
Des decorations brillantes,
Des musiques plus que charmantes,
De superbes habillements. . . .
Ne font que le quart des merveilles. 23
So much energy seems to have gone into these scenic
inventions that there was little left for the creation
of new plots. In fact the Fedeli and their suc-
cessors preserved as repertory many of the old
scenarios once given by the Gelosi, and this passing
down of actual scenarios together with the training
of young actors by their elders, explains the preser-
vation of ancient plots, lazzi and Masks and makes
certain changes in method and product all the more
worth noting. 24
As to the necessity for these changes Du Bos
speaks emphatically: "We have had within these
fourscore years two different companies of Italian
comedians established at Paris. These comedians
have been obliged to speak French, since it is the
language of those that pay them, but as the Italian
pieces which are not composed in our own manners
are incapable of amusing the public, the comedians
have found it also necessary to act such pieces as
are written in the French manner." He adds that
the French require "more probability, regularity
23 Cited Despois, Theatre frangais sous Louis XIV, 58, note.
24 The Comedie Italienne was established by royal privilege on a
footing of legal equality with the Comedie Franchise in the seven-
teenth century ; the Italians were allowed to play at the Petit-Bourbon
in 1658, at the Hotel Guenegaud in 1673, after 1680 at the Hotel de
Bourgogne. Cf. Despois, op. cit., 57-63.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 213
and dignity in dramatic poems than is commonly
insisted upon on the other side of the Alps." 25
Probability and dignity are certainly about the
last characteristics that would occur to a reader
of the scenes from the Italian repertory published
by Gherardi in 1700. Most of his plays are pri-
marily musical comedies with vaudeville features,
songs and choruses, dances and "turns," suited to
the trick-performances and rope-walkers who com-
posed the majority of the Italian troupe. 26 A large
number of his scenes were written, some in Italian,
most in French with a dash of Italian it is the
latter that Gherardi published and into them is
worked a deal of satire on contemporary vices and
follies. The Masks did their best to ridicule by
parody the serious operas and plays of their rivals
at the Opera and the Comedie Franchise. 27 Colom-
bine as Venus, Arlequin as Vulcan, Pierrot as Mer-
cury, singing their way through long stanzas of
doggerel, 28 must have been absurd enough, and even
23 Du Bos, Critical Reflections, I, 140.
28 Cf. the melodrammi giocosi so popular in Italy at this time and
later, many of which are printed by Solerti, Albori, etc., passim, by
Arteaga, Rivoluzioni, etc., and in the Raccolta di melodrammi giocosi,
etc., passim.
27 Bartoli, Seen, ined., xcii f ., and Ademollo, Una famiglia, etc.,
introd. For Gherardi cf. Kasi, Comici italiani and Parfaict, Hist, du
theatre italien, 121. His plays have been studied by Guillemot, Rev.
contemporaine, 2e serie, LI, 92 f., and by Toldo, Alcuni scenari, etc.,
461 f., and in Rassegna nationale, 16 aprile, 1897.
28 Les adieux des officiers, ou Venus justifiee, IV, 295 f .
The vogue of parody was started on the French stage by L. du
Peschier's Comedie des comedies, c. 1629, a piece purporting to be
from the Italian but probably original. Printed Fournier, Theatre
frangais, etc., I, 519 f.
214 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
more absurd Colombine as Apollo and Arlequin as
Thalia, exchanging repartee and lazzi over a donkey
named Pegasus, 29 or Arlequin-Phaeton in an elabo-
rate burlesque of Quinault's mythological opera of
that name. Arlequin Protee makes fun of Berenice,
and in Le tombeau de Maistre Andre there is not a
little mockery of the high-sounding passions of Le
Cid.
Parody of serious dramatic art was not the only
form of satire that Gherardi and his company per-
mitted themselves. Castigat ridendo mores was
their motto and they justified it by their wholesale
exposure of social rottenness. The vanity and fri-
volity of women, the money basis beneath pretences
of love, the hollowness of professions of honor, the
corruption of public officials, the charlatanry of the
so-called learned classes and the pedantry of the
Academy, all are unsparingly revealed with a cool
cynicism that is perhaps the best witness to the
truth of the portrayal. Everything in Gherardi '.s
theater is "to laugh' '; we cannot imagine one of his
old men weeping "for tenderness " like Scala's
Pantalone when his lost daughter is restored, or one
of his young lovers like Scala's Flavio, nobly rescu-
ing at the dictates of honor the friend who has be-
trayed him. Every mention of love and honor is
greeted on this later stage with a sarcastic grin;
if a lover is faithful he must be a fool is the assump-
"Les Chinois, IV, 199 f.
80 Sometimes the satire was very personal; cf. Arlequin lingere du
Palais, in which a prominent actress at the Francois is ridiculed under
the name of Chimene. A number of plots were taken by Grherardi
from Moliere, cf. Toldo, Moliere en Italic.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 215
tion, he ought therefore to be thwarted and duped
in his attempts to gain back his love. The explana-
tion of this scepticism is perhaps that public interest
was beginning to shift away from the individual
problems that make Scala's themes now look so
narrow and his satire so hackneyed, and that the
growing consciousness of larger social relationships
was stammeringly coming to expression in many
places of which this vaudeville theater was one.
At the end of the seventeenth century unfortu-
nately there was no chance for anything like free
speech. In 1697 the Comedie Italienne was closed by
the police for some reason not yet quite clear, pos-
sibly because, as St. Simon says, their comedy La
fausse prude had offended Mme. de Maintenon,
quite as probably on account of some more subtle
criticism of the corrupt authorities. 31 The actors
scattered, some to Italy, some to the irregular
French companies who gave more or less illegal
performances at the Foires. In 1716 many of them
were recalled and reestablished in the Palais-Eoyal
as the "Begent's Company " giving as their opening
piece an ancient scenario, La finta pazza, probably
the same that Scala had printed more than a hun-
dred years before. 32
Under the ambitious leadership of Luigi Eicco-
boni this Italian company went through various
vicissitudes whose history is only pertinent here in
31 There is a general tendency to accept St.-Simon's statement,
although no proof of it in the shape of the offensive comedy or of
other documents has come to light. Cf. Despois, Theatre frangais,
69-70, and Parfaict, Diet, des Theatres, VI, 455.
M Parfaict, Diet, des Theatres, II, 607-8.
216 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
its bearings on the commedia dell'arte. Eiccoboni
had already attempted in Italy to forestall Goldoni's
reforms by substituting literary comedy for impro-
vised farces and so doing away with the Masks ; he
had translated and played successfully several of
Moliere's masterpieces and had studied dramatic
theory and technic and the history of the theater so
thoroughly that he was able to write two treatises,
one in prose and the other in verse, praising his pro-
fession and his country's stage. 33 In one of these
little books he characterizes Scala's scenarios as
"tres-scandaleux" and points out the great improve-
ments later actors have made both in written and in
improvised plays ; impromptu dialog, he goes on to
say, may be very delightful when given by a lively
and well-trained troupe, must be tedious and
wretched when even one member of the band is
mediocre. 34 It is probably he who in a prolog to one
of the plays given by his company in Paris, 1725,
defines his art in terms that Goldoni might have
used: "A comedy . . . should have one aim, to
amuse the mind, but by enlightening it; to win the
heart, while purifying it; if it does not satisfy
83 Cf. Basi, Comici italiani, II, under Eiccoboni; Ademollo, Una
famiglia, passim; Albert, Theatres de la Foire, 94 f., and T.oldo,
Moliere en Italie, 69.
"Hist, du theatre italien, 61 f. Cf. Gherardi's Avertissement to
his first volume: "Qui dit bon come"dien italien dit un homme qui a
du fond, qui joue plus de 1 'imagination que de memoire; qui compose
en jouant, tout ce qu'il dit; qui scait seconder celuy avec qui il se
trouve sur le theatre; c'est a dire qu'il se marie si bien ses paroles
& ses actions avec eelles de son camarade, qu'il entre sur le champ
dans tout le jeu & dans tous les mouvemens que Pautre luy demande.""
THE COMMEDIA DEU/ARTE 217
morality and feeling, it is no comedy but a miserable
farce. " 35
With all his learning and good intentions Eic-
coboni unluckily was without the genius that gave
success to Goldoni's not dissimilar theories. Most of
the productions at the Italiens on which he spent so
much thought were too dull to compete with the
Opera and the Frangais. The Italian company
therefore in 1721 installed itself at the Foire St.-
Laurent, gave up all pretence at high art and frankly
catered to the paying multitude, who only demanded
"new lazzi by Arlequin." 36 Their repertory of
farces, parodies and musical vaudeville was a con-
tinuation of that played by Grherardi's troupe and
differed from it rather by its new and up-to-date
satire and its somewhat more ridiculous exaggera-
tions than by any vast improvement in method,
such as the manager claimed. 37 The Masks lived
on, at least the more important did, and carried over
their names and some of their peculiarities of cos-
tume into the exceedingly popular entertainments
of the Foires. By 1751 a critic can say that the
Italians have been obliged to give up most of their
absurdities, such as the mixture of dialects, and to
eke out their poor acting by ballets. He goes
further : i l The Italian comedy can never be thought
anything but foreign to our manners and imper-
36 Quoted by Albert, Theatres de la Foire, 117. This is of course the
old academic definition of comedy, inherited from sixteenth century
classicists.
36 Albert, op. cit., 116 f ., and Lanson, Eommes et Livres, 267-9.
3T Les parodies du nouveau theatre italien, 4 volumes. Cf. Lanson,
op. cit., 261 f.
218 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
fectly played by actors of different provinces of
Italy; it should be viewed critically, for it is very
undisciplined; it should indeed only be regarded as
a kind of supplement to a more useful and better
constructed drama." 38 Such a supplement French
playwrights like Marivaux and Eegnard and Beau-
marchais might be said to have made of it; they
took certain ideas of. plot and lazzi from the Italian
stage, and in their Arlequin and Figaro created
characters that have often been compared to the
Masks, 39 unconvincingliy, for such individual, fully
written comedies, whether sentimental or farcical,
are very unlike commedie dell'arte. 40
Wheri^Goldoni reached Paris shortly after the
middle of the century he found the actors for whom
he had come to work quite divided in their wishes ;
most were accustomed to improvising some of their
scenes and nearly all were used to vaudeville and
averse to mastering the difficulties of interpretation
offered by good comedy. He was accordingly
hampered in his activity as he had been in Venice,
and neither his scenarios nor his written plays were
at first successful. 41 Even as late as 1772 Grimm
found that the Italian company gave one of Goldoni's
comedies wretchedly "because they are not in the
habit of learning their roles by heart, still less of
38 Maillet-Duclairon, Essai sur la connoissance des theatres fran-
gais, 31.
39 Cf . Toldo, Figaro et ses origines, and Lanson, op. cit., 241 f .
40 The very high-minded and sentimental hero of Marivaux ' Arlequin
poll par amour, for example, is absolutely different from Scala's
Arlecchino.
^Goldoni, Memorie, III, passim, especially Chap. III.
THE COMMEDIA DEIoI/ARTE 219
learning verse, ' ' moreover because they have forgot
their own language for French. 42 Although Gol-
doni's efforts were still further hindered by the
union of the Opera Comique with the Comedie
Italienne in 1762, a combination which increased the
vogue of miscellaneous musical extravaganzas, 43 he
nevertheless did slowly progress toward apprecia-
tion and toward his goal, the reform of the stage.
The French liked his plays, his example influenced
French taste and by 1780 the commedia dell 'art e
had gone as completely out of fashion in Paris as
in Italy. 44
Meanwhile in the booths of the great Fairs of St.-
Germain and St.-Laurent had been worked up
through force of circumstance a new kind of
amusement, the pantomime, in which the Masks
continued to show their agility. This style of
entertainment did not originate among the Ital-
ians but was the answer of lively brains among
the so-called Forains (actors at the Foires),
to pertinaceous attempts made by the privileged
theaters to suppress them. Beginning in a modest
way about 1660 or earlier as mere tricksters in side-
shows, these humble actors had become in a short
time popular enough to draw large crowds. 45 They
"Grimm in a letter of 22 Oct., 1772; cited Ademollo, Una famiglia,
etc., L, note.
43 Memorie, III, 9-10, and Ademollo, op. tit., xlviii and notea.
Cf. Albert, op. tit., 252.
44 Easi, Comiti italiani, II, 643-4.
^Campardon gives 1595 as the earliest date for the establishment
of the Foires, but theatrical performances did not begin there till
c. 1660.
220 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
gave outdoors on their long, narrow balconies simple
little pieces requiring at most three or four speakers,
farces, called Parades, which like the early Italian
contrasti, made no pretence to elaborate plot or to
refined wit ; they show superlatively well the tendency
of true popular entertainment to revert to quarrel-
some horse-play and to the coarsest indecency. 46
The dialog in French was partly improvised and
partly learned by characters who bore stock names
and dressed in a stereotyped manner. Among the
performers, especially after the closure of the
Comedie Italienne in 1697, were a few Italians, and
to their influence was due the appearance of Scara-
mouche, Trivelin, Arlequin and Isabelle in the
Parades. 47
Such brief pieces made no painful demands on the
attention, the acting was of the liveliest, and conse-
quently the public flocked in such numbers to the
Foires that the dignified Comedie Franchise and
the Italiens before its suppression, suffered a serious
falling-off of patronage. The privileged theaters
were powerful enough to obtain injunctions against
their rivals, prohibiting one after another dialogs,
parodies, monologs, songs and ballets. The Forains
answered each decree by the most ingenious eva-
48 Cf. the collection of Parades published in 1756, Theatre des
Boulevards, etc. The editor describes the pieces as "farces de tete
sur des plans qu'ils (i. e. the actors) en avoient conserves par tradi-
tion, ou qu'ils avoient eux-memes composes.'' In manner of compo-
sition therefore, as well as in style of wit, the Parades resemble simple
commedie dell'arte.
4T The two best studies of these very interesting irregular theatres
are Campardon 's Les spectacles de la Foire, and Albert 's Les theatres
de la Foire.
THE COMMEDIA DELJL/ARTE 221
sions of its spirit in pieces that never failed to keep
the letter of the law. When all speech was forbidden
them they went on acting silently, enlightening the
audience the while as to the progress of the fable by
ecriteaux scrolls of explanatory verses let down
from the ceiling of the stage. When this in turn was
forbidden they passed about among the spectators
a printed outline of the plot with the songs fully
written out, and when the orchestra played the air
the house was encouraged to sing the gay words on
the programs. 48 So through one curious innovation
and another the buoyant Forains maintained their
popularity to such a degree that their respectable
competitors saw the folly of trying to repress
natural instincts by legislation and ceased to prose-
cute brains too clever and individuals too courageous
to be intimidated.
Meanwhile the pantomime had come to stay. It
was found a convenient form for the representation
of extravaganzas even after the immediate neces-
sity for doing without speech had passed away.
The favorite personages introduced into it from the
Italian stage were the Pantaloon sometimes under
other names Arlequin, Scaramouche and Colom-
bine. Yet it is chiefly by their names, their agile
dances and their comic lazzi that they resemble the
Italian types. Arlequin did indeed retain a costume
of many colors and a black half -mask like those of
ancient days, but the others were modishly tricked
out in the fashion of the hour, and moreover had
"For a fuller description of these devices with illustrative cuts,
cf. Albert, op. cit., 44 f.
222
their wits as much bettered as their garb by the
Parisian atmosphere.
Early in the eighteenth century, as I have already
said, the pantomime crossed the Channel and be-
came very popular in London. The way had been
prepared for it by a tolerably long process of
familiarizing the English public with the Italian
stage, a process begun perhaps by Drusiano in
1577-8. In 1658 was printed by Sir Aston Cokayn,
Trappolin supposed a Prince, which according to
the author's account seems possibly to have been
from an improvised original :
Gallants, be 't known, as yet we cannot say,
To whom we are beholding for this play :
But this our poet hath licensed us to tell,
Ingenious Italy hath liked it well.
Yet it is no translation ; for he ne 'er
But twice in Venice did it ever hear. 49
In 1661 was published a versified piece of satire in
which Mounsier Pantaloon took a part 50 an indi-
cation that English acquaintance with the Masks
was carried on after the Jacobean expressions of it
referred to in the last chapter.
80 A Dialogue between two other Giants, Mounsier Pantaloon and
Signor Sancho: with a cue of Jack PhanaticTc concerning the late
conflict between them on Tower Hill.
49 Cf. Scott, Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc., XI, 442-3. Miss Scott calls
the play ' l an adaptation of an Italian tragi-comedy in prose and verse
entitled Trappolino creduto principe, as the Prologue explains."
There was an old scenario among those in Biancolelli 's collection
(mid-seventeenth century) called Arlecchino creduto principe, played
in Paris 1716 and 1740 (Parfaiet, Diet., etc., I, 222) which may have
had something to do with Sir Aston 's play. The theme is a favorite
in the commedia dell'arte, cf. Brouwer, Ancora una raccolta, 396, for
an account of a seventeenth century scenario, II creduto principe.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 223
Evidently Eymer a little later considered Italian
example familiar enough to be dangerous to the
solidity of British taste, for in his essay on the
Tragedies of the Last Age (1678) he criticizes the
quarrel of Melantius and Amintor in the Maid's
Tragedy thus : "Harlequin and Scaramouttio might
do these things. Tragedy suffers 'em not; here is
no place for cowards, nor for giddy fellows & Bullies
with their squabbles. " 51 The same serious-minded
critic in another essay calls the great scene in Othello
effective because of the "Mops & the Mows, the
Grimaces, the Grins & Gesticulations. ' ' Such scenes
as this (he adds) "have made all the World run
after Harlequin & Scaramouche. " 52 Probably
Eymer had seen the Italians act, perhaps when a
company of them visited London in 1673, the same
described in one of Dryden's prologs:
The Harlequin merry-andrews took their place,
And quite debauched the stage with lewd grimace ;
Instead of wit & humours, your delight
Was there to see two hobby-horses fight ;
Stout Scaramouche with rush lance rode in
And rode a tilt at Centaur Arlequin." 53
If Harlequin and Scaramouche were disapproved
by literary censors there is evidence of their popu-
larity with the uncritical multitude. The public
taste for parody and rude fun, whetted by such
exhibitions as Dryden contemns, demanded from
n Spingarn, Critical Essays of the Seventeenth Century, II, 204.
52 A Short View of Tragedy (1693), ed. Spingarn, op. cit., II, 239.
03 Prolog to the Silent Woman, 1673. From the allusion to Centaur
Arlequin I infer that the play was one of Gherardi's collection, prob-
ably going back to G.-B. Andreini's Centaura.
224 THE COMMEDIA DEU/ARTE
this time on increasing recognition and satisfaction
in the theater. Perhaps it was the Italians who
spurred John Wright to parody a version of
Seneca's Thyestes in English heroic couplets, by a
Mock Thyestes, "A Farce in Burlesque Verse,"
performed with applause the same year as its
model. 54 Certainly it is Italian example that ac-
counts for Mr. Mountford's Life and Death of Dr.
Faustus made into a farce. . . . With the Humours
of Harlequin and Scaramouche* 5 a piece full of
commedia deWarte reminiscences. Scaramouche
takes the role of Wagner very blasphemously too
and Harlequin is brought in chiefly for the sake
of his lazzi and to fight with Scaramouche. He de-
scribes himself, this shade of Arlecchino, as "poor
Harlequin : by the Learned I am called Zane, by the
Vulgar Jack Pudding. I was late fool to a Mounte-
bank ; last night in the mistaking the Pipkin I eat up
a Pot of Bolus instead of Hasty Pudding; and
devoured three yards of Diaculum Plaister instead
of Pancake, for which my Master has turned me out
of Doors instead of Wages." In farcical scenes
the two clowns bind themselves to the devil, try to
conjure out of a primer and are frightened by
various enchantments which disappear whenever in
"In 1674. Cf. Langbaine, Account of the Drama, 514.
65 The original was printed in London, 1697 ; it has been republished
by Francke, 1886. Cf. Dieblers, Faust-und-Wagner pantomimen in
England, Anglia, VII. There are of course reminiscences of Marlowe
quite as patent as of the commedia dell'arte.
Cf. Kavenscrof t 's Scaramouche a Philosopher, Harlequin a School-
boy, Bravo, Merchant # Magician, a comedy after the Italian manner
(London, 1677), a farce based in part on Moliere's Fourberies de
Scapin, and through that going back to an Italian original.
THE COMMEDIA DEU/ARTE 225
their swearing they mention the name of God. Such
nonsense apparently was just what the British audi-
ence liked, for the play had a tolerably long run and
set the fashion for other farces, one of which at least
was directly modeled on it 56 and others taken from
Gherardi 's collection.
In 1718 a French company presented at Lincoln 's-
Inn-Fields The Two Harlequins, "A Farce of Three
Acts, written by Mr. Noble and Acted by the King's
Italian Comedians at Paris, " according to the title-
page of the French and English edition published
in London the same year. A comparison with Les
deux Arlequins in Gherardi 's third volume 57 shows
it to be identical with the French text printed on
alternate pages of the English book ; the translation
is literal, even stupidly so, for the author reproduces
an entirely irrelevant note of "Mr. Noble V on
Baron, "the never-too-much regretted French come-
dian, ' ' who had had a part in the original production
of the play. The comedy is one of the few that
Gherardi prints almost in full; there are but two
improvised scenes, the first and second of the second
act. These bits of extemporized fun are thus
described in the English version :
"In this Italian Scene, which begins the second
Act, Harlequin appears as pursued by Marinetta,
58 This was a Drury Lane pantomime, Harlequin Dr. Faustus, by J.
Thurmond.
87 Les deux Arlequins, comedie en trois actes mise au theatre par M*
Noble, # representee pour la premiere fois, . . . le 26 de Septembre,
1691. Gherardi, Theatre italien, III, 311-380.
Another translation from Gherardi was E. B. 's Foire at St.-Germain,
London (1718?), from Theatre italien, VI, 203 f., Kegnard's La
Foire St.-Germain, pi. 1695.
16
226 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
whose Love and Passion he had slighted. This
Scene contains what she says to him to endeavor to
raise his Love ; he scornfully refuses, and gives her
to understand he loves only Colombine, which dec-
laration inspires Marinetta with Sentiments of Eage
and Jealousy, and Harlequin goes off rallying and
laughing at her." In the next scene "Marinetta
transported with Kage and Jealousy, swears to be
reveng'd of Harlequin, threatens to kill him, and at
the Time she is in the Height of her Passion and
taking for the other, says these words with a great
deal of warmth . . ." and there follows a written
speech beginning "Perfidious, ungrateful Traitor,
too hateful object, ..." But the details of Mari-
netta 's tragical mirth need concern us here no more
than the intricacies of the tedious brief plot, an
intrigue of the Menaechmi type. Lazzi abound,
with all the mistakes, the disguises, the falls and the
beatings that could be desired; one scene (II, 10)
contains a parody on Le Cid; at the close of the
play "the Bottom of the Stage opens with grotesque
Musicke, and four little Harlequins dance with
Scaramouche. . . . Between the Musicke and the
Dance a Voice sings two Couplets in Praise of old
Age. ' ' In short the farce is an excellent example of
an old scenario expanded to suit the taste of a later
age.
About the time this was being played in London
Addison saw Arlecchino in Italy and was pleased
with him: "Harlequin's part is made up of blunders
and absurdities ; he is to mistake one person for an-
other, to stumble over queens and to run his head
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 227
against every post that comes in his way. This is
all attended with something so comical in the voice
and gestures, that a man . . . can hardly forbear
being pleased with it." 58 It is hardly conceivable
that if Dryden and Eymer had seen Arlecchino in
his own Italian environment they would have given
so mildly apologetic a portrait of him, and yet had
they lived a little longer both the old critics might
have modified their judgments though probably
toward greater severity after seeing frequent per-
formances of Italian comedies in London by their
proper actors.
The French troupe which gave to English audi-
ences The Two Harlequins was followed across the
Channel in 1724 by an Italian company, perhaps by
more than one, a few of whose plays have left
printed records, text and translation having been
apparently popular enough to warrant publication.
The title of one reads, Arlecchino Principe in sogno
... or Harlequin Prince in a Dream, German
baron, flying phisitian, & pretty Marget; a comedy
(or pantomime in five acts) as it was acted . . . in
the Haymarket by the Company of Italian Come-
dians. 59 The rage for pantomimes seems to have
been in full swing 60 and in the way to be satisfied by
68 Bemarlcs on Italy, ed. of 1718, 77.
58 Printed London, 1724. The piece seems to be a compound of
Arlecchino finto principe, an old scenario played in Paris, 1716
(Parfaict, Diet., I, 222), II medico volante, and either Arl. Baron
allemand, ou le Triomphe de la Folie (played in Paris, 1712) or Arl.
~barone tedesco, probably the same as the above except that it was in
Italian, played in Paris, 1716 (Parfaict, Diet., I, 203 and 241). Of
course other plot elements entered into the composite.
60 John Rich, who became the English Harlequin, had much to do
228 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
the most ridiculously conglomerate entertainments,
made up often from half a dozen old scenarios, as
this is.
Three plays from the repertory of these visiting
Italians are all that the British Museum preserves ; 61
how many others may have been printed and lost,
or have been given and not thought worth keeping,
must be a matter of conjecture. That Riccoboni was
in London in 1727 with a troupe and that he pub-
lished two of his treatises there 62 proves the liveli-
ness of British interest in the strangers and their
work. Even more convincing as to the vogue of the
farces and of their influence on the English theater
is the vast amount of imitative material that sur-
vives. To-day it is hardly possible to think of a
Drury Lane pantomime without Harlequin and
Colombine, their burlesque love affairs and their
with setting the fashion; one of his earliest pantomimes was built on
an Italian French plot, The Cheats of Scapin or the Tavern-Bilkers,
"an entertainment of dancing, action and motion only," 1702. Cf.
Wyndham, Annals of Covent-Garden, I, 12.
61 Le disgratie d' Arlecchino , viz. Harlequin's misfortunes; or his
marriage interrupted by Brighella's cunning, perhaps identical with
the Disgratie d' Arlecchino, played in Paris, 1716 (Bartoli, Seen,
ined., xli), or with the opera comique of the same name, sung at the
Foire St. -Germain in 1721 and characterized by Parfaict as "du
dernier miserable." (Diet., II, 319; the abstract makes this piece
appear a poor copy of Les deux Arlequins.)
Le furbarie per vendetta or Brighella's revenge . . . with Harle-
quin's transformation, etc., possibly a version of the ever-popular
Fourberies de Scapin, or perhaps an enlarged and pantomimic render-
ing of the Fourberies d'Arlequin, given in Paris, 1722 (Parfaict,
Diet., II, 634), which the editor calls "& tissue of scenes from the
ancient Italian theater."
62 Ademollo, Una famiglia, etc., 22. Kiccoboni's poem, Dell'arte
rappresentativa, was dedicated to Lord Chesterfield.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 229
fantastic ill-luck, yet in the early years of the eigh-
teenth century imitation of the Italians was not
confined to giving free versions of the Masks ; there
were many allegorical-mythological pantomimes,
forerunners of certain operas that we know. 63 Our
concern is not with these last but with the Harle-
quinades proper, those gay absurdities for which
the general formula is an elopement and a pursuit.
Harlequin or Scaramouche is nearly always the
hero of the piece, Colombine the heroine; they may
in the first acts be dressed and disguised in any
number of ways, just as they were for some of the
Franco-Italian performances in Paris; 64 they may
belong to any country and to any rank of life from
imperial to peasant, but they are always faithful
lovers persecuted by a cruel father, who rush away
from his tyranny into dangers they have not fore-
seen and who are forced to assume disguises beneath
their dignity. At the end they are sure to be happily
reconciled to their parent in the time-honored
manner and to pose for the audience in their typical
costumes and names. The reason for this almost
63 Such as the Mars and Venus presented at Drury Lane, 1717.
Wyndham, Annals, etc., I, 12.
64 Of the musical and pantomimic pieces listed by Parfaiet of
which Arlequin was the hero and of their settings, a few titles will
show the variety. Arl. dans le Chateau enchante (I, 222) ; dans les
iles, triomplie ameriquain (Jb.) dans I'Ue de Ceylon (I, 222-4); Em-
pereur dans la lune, from one of Gherardi's comedies (I, 229) ; Arl.
Endymion (I, 230) ; Arl. et Scapin magiciens par ~hazard (I, 232) ;
Arl. finto astrologo, bambino, statua e perrequetto (I, 240) ; Arl.
Grand-Mogul (I, 247) ; Arl. forme par magie et domestique par in-
trigue (Ib.). All these and many more as extraordinary were played
in the first half of the eighteenth century.
230 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
unvarying plot outline is that it furnishes an admir-
able pretext for the rapid transformations and
spectacular changes of scene which gave its true
charm to the pantomime.
A " prospectus " of one of these extravaganzas is
like the scenario of a commedia dell'arte except that
it gives more detailed directions as to comic busi-
ness and that it reproduces in full the songs and
choruses. Occasionally there is some versified
dialog printed but ordinarily such speech as is
allowed is in prose. As to the details of style and
incident it is useless to generalize; each outline
mixes in varying proportions, instrumental and
vocal music, dances of different kinds, gesture and
brief monologs or conversations. The most start-
lingly various elements in the spectacle were the
transformations either in an individual actor or in
the whole scene. One of Bich's successes was
Harlequin Sorcerer, in which the protagonist is
hatched from an egg by the heat of the sun, and an
eye-witness says, "from the first chirping in the egg,
his receiving motion, his feeling of the ground,
standing upright, to his quick trip around the empty
shell, through the whole progression, every limb
had its own tongue and every motion a voice." 66
Nearly a century later the very elaborate panto-
mime of The Silver Arrow or Harlequin and the
Fairy Pari Banon shows the hero in a more normal
65 A dramatick entertainment call'd Harlequin a Sorcerer; with the
Loves of Pluto and Proserpine. (One act in verse, by L. Theobald,
London, 1729.)
66 Quoted by Wyndham, Annals, etc., I, 6, from Jackson 's Hist, of
the Scottish Stage.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
231
role, while it is his environment that changes with
lightning rapidity from "a terrific representation
of the Fire-King's abode/' to "a rich Persian
Chamber " and that again to "a Eange of Bed-
Booms in the King's Arms," an old-fashioned Eng-
lish Inn. 67 Into this last scene is introduced a lazzo
as unconnected with the plot as much of the comic
business in the commedia dell'arte: "At the opening
of the scene," the prospectus tells us, "a numerous
group of various characters are ushered into their
sleeping-rooms. Harlequin appears and determines
on having some fun, to which end he knocks at all the
doors, producing a ludicrous effect, the different
characters appearing half undressed ; others in their
Night-Gowns, &c. ; this furnishes the Clown with an
idea; no sooner do the characters return than he
dresses the warming-pan grotesquely and then
alarms the Inn. A dreadful bustle then takes
place." Harlequin's " ideas" are after all not his
own but merely slight variations on ancient ways of
appealing to simple wits by surprise, awkwardness
and indecorum. 68
Perhaps the best general conception of the panto-
mime in its first flush of success is to be gained from
a satiric poem, Harlequin-Horace, or the Art of
6T Airs, Choruses $ Business ...ma new pantomime of the Silver
Arrow; or Harlequin # the Fairy Pari Banon . . . Theatre Royal,
Drury Lane. (London, 1819.)
68 The English pantomime is worthy of a volume to itself. Such
titles as I have collected will be found in App. B; here my purpose
is only to suggest a few possible analogies between the pantomime
and the commedia dell'arte. Cf. further, Wyndham, Annals, etc.,
I, a-10.
232 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
Modern Poetry, a virulent assault on the British
stage of 1731 and on John Eich in particular as
responsible for the prevalent "joint-mixture of
Trick and Buffoonery." 69 Like the moralists of the
sixteenth century the clerical author, Mr. James
Miller, accuses Harlequin of having by a single wave
of his hand conjured "the whole Town every Night
into your Circle; where like a true Cunning-Man,
you amuse 'em with a few Puppy's Tricks while you
juggle 'em of their pelf"; the women in the audi-
ence, he adds, "are now (thanks to your Instruc-
tions, Sir) as impenetrable Proof to anything that
tends to put them out of Countenance ... as ...
yourself. ' ' In the poem the means to these ends are
described with some minuteness :
.... 'tis Aegri Somnia now must please,
Things without Head, or Tail, or Form, or Grace,
A wild, forc'd, glaring, unconnected Mass. . . . 70
In one Scene make your Hero cant and whine,
Then roar out Liberty in every Line;
Vary one Thing a thousand pleasant Ways,
Shew Whales in Woods and Dragons in the Seas. . . . 71
Begin with Bluster and with Bawdry end. . . , 72
The Feats of Faustus and the Pranks of Jove
Chang 'd to a Bull to carry off his Love;
The swimming Monster and the flying Steed,
Medusa's Cavern and her Serpent Breed,
Domes voluntary rising from the Ground,
69 Printed anonymously, London, 1731, but since ascribed to the Eev.
James Miller; dedicated in a heavily abusive letter to "J..n E. .h,
Esq./* of course John Eich.
70 Harlequin Horace, p. 2.
"76., p. 6.
"76., p. 8.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 233
And Yahoo Rich transformed into a Hound,
All acted with a Show of Truth deceive
Which if related we should ne'er believe. . . .
The number of your Acts we never mind,
For modern Poets scorn to be confin'd. . . .
Be sure to introduce a Ghost or God,
Make Monsters, Fiends, Heav'n, Hell, at once engage,
For all are pleas 'd to see a well- filled Stage;
The antient Chorus justly 's laid aside,
And all its office by a Song supply 'd. . . . 73
The reason for such lawless doings is once more, as
of old, laid at the door of the multitude, undiscrimi-
nating and coarse :
Long labour 'd Rich, by Tragick Verse to gain
The Town's Applause but labour 'd long in vain ;
At length he wisely to his Aid call'd in,
The active Mime and checker 'd Harlequin.
Nor ruled by Reason, nor by Law restrain 'd,
In all his Shows, Smut and Prophaneness reign 'd. 7 *
Alas for the Eeverend Mr. James Miller and his
f ulminations ! In 1814 a better-natured satire wit-
nesses how popular during all these years had been
the pantomime, how delightful it still was. This
piece is itself a farce, Harlequin Hoax, 75 and an ex-
cellent example of the very absurdities it ridicules.
The plot " proposed " for the pantomime the little
78 16., p. 25 f.
"16., p. 30 f.
75 Or a Pantomime Proposed, by T. Dibdin, played at the Theatre
Koyal, Lyceum, and printed in London, 1814. Two other satires of
the same general character are The British Stage; or the Exploits of
Harlequin, a farce, . . . London, 1724, and Harlequin Student; or the
Fall of Pantomime, with the "Restoration of the Drama, . . . London,
1741.
234 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
farce deals with a set of theatrical people planning
a new entertainment is thus outlined: "Harlequin
is carried up on the tail of a kite, and when at the
top of the theater, drops through a trap at the
bottom, and returns enveloped in flames, as if shot
from the crater of a volcano; then thrown into a
cascade of real water with sufficient force to let the
splash he makes convince the audience that the ele-
ment is genuine. ... To meet Columbine at the
street-door Harlequin throws himself out of a three
pair of stairs window, and is caught with his head
in a lamp-iron; the lamp-lighter pours a gallon of
oil down his throat . . . and sticks a lighted wick in
his month and a set of drunken bucks, having no
better business on earth than to break lamps, knock
his nob to shivers and all go to the watch-house
together." Among the directions for Harlequin's
lazzi are, "Cut a mug at the clown, come the sly,
queer the old one and brush off with a roley-poley, "
obligingly interpreted by Harlequin's running
around the stage, making faces at Liston, giving him
a hard slap, pulling away Eaymond's chair just as
he is about to sit down, falling, jumping up and
running off. 76 A spectacular conclusion, a Temple
of Concord with fireworks rounds out the perform-
ance in the conventional manner and must have
served to blunt yet further the already dull points of
the satiric dialog.
This lively production was hardly of course ex-
pected to stop the vogue for pantomime in England
and certainly had not that effect. Harlequin, Co-
76 Earl. Hoax, p. 10.
THE COMMEDIA DELL/ARTE 235
lumbine and Pantaloon danced and stumbled and
joked on, as in fact they still do in London at Christ-
mas time, keeping only their names and a hint in
their costumes to remind the audience of their
Italian forebears. The names indeed as in the case
of so many traditional titles, soon began to have
a kind of significant personality of their own; each
came to stand for some leading trait of the character
that bore it. Eobert Harley, Earl of Oxford, was
satirized in 1705 as "Harlequin le Grand, m7 and in
1750 the Wesleyan preachers were ridiculed in the
guise of Harlequins dressed as old women. 78
Pantaloon and Harlequin are the favorites among
(the Masks when it comes to using their names as
convenient proverbial tags ; if Gratiano, Brighella
and the rest figure in the same useful way, it is
only in Italy where they were best known. 79
Occasionally into modern experience comes some
further reminder of the commedia dell'arte. Bri-
ghella has a part in Wagner's youthful opera, Lie-
17 A Dialogue between Louis le Petite (sic) and Harlequin le Grand
. . . (London, 1705?). Of. Harl. Hydaspes, or the Greshamite . . .
(London, 1719), and The Harlequins, A Comedy after the manner of
the Theatre Italien (a political satire on affairs in Ireland), London,
1753. There is nothing Italianate about this last but the names of
two or three characters.
78 Harlequin Methodist. To the tune of An Old Woman cloathed
in Gray . . . (London, 1750?).
19 Alexander VIII for instance was popularly christened Papa Panta-
lone, 1690; cf. Ademollo, Teatri di Eoma, 173 and 184. Of. above,
chap. V, for earlier examples of the satirical use of the Mask names.
In Italy there were many political songs like Pantalon f Amigo de la
Verita. Canzonetta sopra la Guerra seguia (sic) nel Cremonese
I' Anno 1647 e 48 . . . (Milano, 1650?). The British Museum con-
tains several Dutch Harlequinades which seem to prove that the
custom of such satire spread to Holland.
236
besverbot, 80 another Zanni in Lothar's ArleccMno
He, a band of traveling actors in Ganne's Saltim-
banchi and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. M. Moland
was so impressed with the dramatic quality of
Scala's plots that he translated and amplified several
of them into short stories. 81 Maurice Sand with
the aid of several clever friends tried successfully
to practice the art of improvising dialog on his
private stage at Nohant. 82 Later another French
enthusiast published an earnest plea for reviving the
ancient Italian custom in a new Parisian theater. 83
Beside all these artificial and more or less senti-
mental attempts to revivify the commedia dell'arte,
there remain those actual relics of its habits and
its types on the popular Italian stages already
described.
Whether or not improvised comedy will ever live
again as a serious art such as it undoubtedly was
in the sixteenth century, might be debated at some
length, though for the most part inconclusively and
on the rather unsteady ground of theory. Looking
back into the Cinquecento and recalling how the
custom of improvising dialog from a scenario grew
up in response to a particular situation too compli-
cated ever to recur again, it seems as though the
peculiar union of individual initiative and coopera-
tion required for such extempore art, would not be
80 Wagner was influenced by Gozzi in his two early operas Die Feen
and Liebesverbot. Cf. his autobiography, My Life (N. Y., 1911), I,
87 and 140.
81 Moland, Les meprises, comedies de la Renaissance racontees.
82 Sand, Masques et Bouffons, introduction.
83 Marazin, Le theatre des Boulevards et la comedie improvisee.
THE COMMEDIA DEIJL'ARTE 237
possible in different circumstances. On the other
hand the blase and unthinking public to which the
commedia dell'arte all through its history has chiefly
appealed, is always with us, ever ready to regale its
bourgeois taste by laughing, as its kind laughed three
centuries ago, at progressive ideas and at the
victims of the social majority the weak, the stupid,
the deformed, the aged by watching physical dis-
tortions and by listening to tawdry music and to
vulgar innuendo. Our cheaper theaters by cheaper
I do not mean necessarily low-priced still present
ad nauseam the stale old devices that the Italians
made so effective in regular plots. According to a
rough classificaiton all the kinds of material that
went into the commedia dell'arte are still flourish-
ing among us, and are likely to flourish for as long
as human nature finds amusement in old stories,
blows and quarrels, indecorum, surprises and the
sight of the " biter bit."
This sort of entertainment exists frankly for mer-
cenary purposes, of which the least disreputable is
to give the multitude what they like. It has nothing
to say, no "problem" interests ever get into it
except as matter for ridicule; the suffragette, for
example, is appearing at this moment on numerous
vaudeville stages, tricked out and shouting like the
absurdest strong-minded female who ever loomed
large and threatening in an old-fashioned imagina-
tion. Just so the Ibsenesque new woman was pil-
loried a generation ago in travesties that now seem
tame as well as meaningless; just in this spirit the
commedia dell'arte in its prime "took off" the intel-
238 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
lectual problems of the sixteenth century, those
earnestly debated questions of individual relation-
ships that if not to-day supplanted have been at
least freshly restated in the light of more complex
social analyses. Farce of this kind always ex-
presses the habitual reactions of the plain man to
situations that the serious dramatist regards as offer-
ing food for painful attention and opportunity for
reconstruction. The finer issues that absorb keen,
observant, far-sighted leaders, touch the common-
place majority of course, only to a vaguely uncom-
fortable fear and distrust that must relieve itself in ,
boisterous laughter until it grows so alarmingly /
conscious that it calls for organization and perhaps
opposing warfare.
If this point of view is justifiable the commedia
dell'arte will be seen to belong to the class of drama
that has contributed nothing to the spiritual advance
of mankind. Gherardi and his collaborators indeed
now and then glimpsed an interesting fresh idea
and tried to make something telling of it, but in
general the machinery of the improvised plays
crushed the individual innovator. If one member
of a troupe were more critical, more intellectually
alive than the others, he was much more likely to
be drawn into the easy mass judgments and habits
of his fellows than he was to raise his comrades to
his level. So the professional comedy moved along,
well in the rear of progress, scattering amusement
more or less questionable on its way, and remarkable
chiefly for the brilliance of its technic.
What its perfect execution must have done to im-
THE COMMEDIA DEU/ARTE 239
prove dramatic methods is easier to imagine than to
estimate very exactly. The spontaneous dialog,
even though it was interrupted by set speeches, may
well have helped to break up, by force of example,
the ponderous tedium of rhetorical academic at-
tempts at play-writing. The need for padding thin
plots must have stimulated the invention of stage
machinery, ballets and variety features. Still more
the necessity of the most flexible adaptability among
the actors must inevitably have brought about an
improvement in theatrical training. In such ways
as these the professional comedies in their best
period attained to a delightfulness that covered
their poverty with splendid show, that spurred on
Moliere's genius and left not even Shakespeare
untouched.
APPENDIX A.
SCENAKIOS.
The following is a list of the chief printed and
manuscript collections of scenarios and the principal
plays that have been published singly so far as I
have been able to trace them. The oldest known
scenario that can be certainly dated is the one I
quote at length above, Chapter IV, republished by
Stoppato from:
Un discorso degli trionfi, Giostre, Apparati, e delle
cose piu notabile nelle sontuose Nozze dell'Illustris-
simo et Eccellentissimo Signor Duca Guglielmo,
Primo Genito del Generosissimo Alberto Quinto,
Conte Palatino del Reno e Duca di Baviera alia e
bassa nell'anno 1568, a 22 de Febraro, ecc., ecc., di
Massimo Trojano da Napoli, Musico dell'Illus. ed
Ecc. Signor Duca di Baviera. In Monaco . . .
MDLXVIII.
Alessandro Piccolomini who died in 1578 is said
to have written thirteen scenarios, work which Eossi
conjectures would belong to his youth; 1 this would
put the recognition of the improvised comedy before
1568. Still, as the scenarios of Piccolomini have
not survived if they ever existed, the play at the
Bavarian court must stand as the first of its kind.
The most important collection of outline plots, the
oldest and one of the largest, is that of fifty pieces
1 Eossi, Lettere di M. A. Calmo, Ixxx, note I.
240
THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE 241
made by Fla^gMa_^alg^ from which several
examples are given above, Chapter IV. It undoubt-
edly contains a number of plots many years older
than the date of publication of the book, for the
Gelosi, Scala 's troupe, began to play at least as early
as 1570; moreover no capocomico of those days
would print outlines of pieces that were new and
might be stolen by rival companies.
It is impossible to date exactly the other scenarios
in collections that have survived. A. Bartoli has
printed a volume made up of twenty-two outlines
from a MS. in the Magliabecchiana, written in the
eighteenth century but containing older pieces. 3
There are eighteen comedies, one tragedy, one
" opera tragica," one tragi-comedy and one "opera
mista. ' ' At least one of the comedies is taken from
a large collection made by Domenico Biancolelli
which exists in manuscript in Paris. 4 Another
large manuscript collection (one hundred and three
pieces) is that of Basilio Locatelli, to be found
to-day in the Casanatense in Eome and in an abbre-
viated form in the Corsiniana. 5 The latter has been
2 II teatro delle favole rappresentative overo la ricreatione comica,
'boscareccia e tragica, divisa in cinquanta giornate composte da Fla-
minio Scala detto Flavio, comico del serenissimo signer duca di Man-
tova. In Venetia . . . 1611.
*A. Bartoli, Scenari inediti della commedia dell'arte . . . (Firenze,
1880), a volume of the Eaccolta di opere inedite o rare di ogni secolo
della letteratura italiana.
* The titles of Scala 's, Biancolelli 'a and Locatelli 's scenarios, as well
as those of later date scattered in various records of the stage are
printed by Bartoli, Seen, inediti, xxviii f.
5 Valeri, Gli scenari inediti di Basilio Locatelli (Roma, 1894), has
shown that the two volumes in the Casanatense are the originals from
which the Cardinal Maurice of Savoy had the two volumes in the Cor-
17
242 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
described as a handsome manuscript of the seven-
teenth century in two volumes, containing the out-
lines of sixty-six comedies, ten tragi-comedies, ten
pastorals, two "opere turchesche, ' ' one " opera
reale" (La gran pazzia d' Orlando) and one tragedy.
Brouwer has shown that Locatelli's scenarios were
not all his own, for the two examples this modern
scholar prints, La Turchetta and La Tavernaria,
nearly resemble Port a 's comedies. La Turca and La
Tabernia. The Masks in the collection, this editor
points out, are similar to those in Scala's plays and
in the plots published by Bartoli, except that Pulci-
nellla does not appear in them at all.
Pulcinella is however a leading figure in the large
Neapolitan collection rediscovered in recent years
by Croce. 6 These two thick manuscript volumes
belong to the end of the Seicento and contain in all
one hundred and eighty-three scenarios. The first
volume is entitled : Gibaldone di Soggetti da recitare
all'impronto. Alcuni proprij, e gl'altri da diversi.
Eaccolti di D. Annibale Sersale Conte di Casamar-
ciano. It is a quarto of 479 pages. The second
volume is called! Gibaldone comico di varij suggetti
di Commedie e % d opere BellisSime copiate da me
Antonio Passante detto Oratio il Calabrese, per com-
mando dell'Ecc. mo signor Conte di Casamarciano.
siniana compiled. For a description of the shorter collection cf.
F. de Simone Brouwer, Due scenari inediti del secolo XVII, Gior.
Stor., XVIII (1891), 277 f. Cf. also Croce >s review of Valerias book,
Gior. Stor., XXIX, 21|.
6 B. Croce, Una nuova raccolta di scenari, Gior. Stor., XXIX (1897),
211 f. P. Toldo, Di alcuni scenari inediti della commedia dell'arte,
etc., E. Accademia di scienze, Atti XLII (1907, 460 f.) examines
in detail several pieces from this collection, dating them c. 1676-1700.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 243
1700. The titles given by Croce show nothing start-
lingly different from those of other collections
except that as I have said Pulcinella takes a very
prominent place in them; he seems to be the sub-
stitute for Arlecchino and appears in the titles as
' l burlat o, " " innamorato, ' ' i ' pazzo per f orza, ' '
"dama gelosa," etc. One play, I quattro Pulcinelli,
must be a reductio ad absurdum of the Menaechmi
theme.
Two more collections in manuscript that await
further investigation are those discovered respec-
tively by De Simone Brouwer in the Casanatense in
Eome (forty-eight scenarios), and by V. Eossi in the
Correr Museum at Venice (fifty-one pieces), of
which the discoverer has printed a description and
two examples. 7
A number of eighteenth century volumes published
in Paris are important for the later history of the
commedia dell' art e, of which the chief are the Dic-
tionaire des theatres de Paris and the Histoire de
7 a. F. De Simone Brouwer, Ancora una raccolta di scenari, in Rendi-
conto della reale accademia dei Lincei, elasse di scienze morali,
storiehe e filologiche, Ser. V, vol. X (Roma, 1901), 391 f.
This collection belongs to the end of the seventeenth century,
though a number of the titles of the separate plays listed seem to go
back as far as 1642; of these the most interesting is a version of
Calderon's Medego de su honra. There is also a version of La regina
d'lngMlterra, for which cf. above, Chap. IV.
fe. V. Rossi, I Suppositi dell'Ariosto ridotto a scenario di commedia
improvvisa (Bergamo, per nozze Flamini-Fanelli, 1895). This sce-
nario is from the same seventeenth century collection as the one pub-
lished by Rossi in G. B. della Porta ed un nuovo scenario, L 'astrologo,
in Rend, del reale istit. lombardo (1896), Ser II, vol. XXIX, 14 f.
Rossi thinks Porta himself was not the author of this scenario of his
play.
244 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
I'ancien theatre italien depuis son origine en France
jusqu'd sa suppression en I'annee 1697, by the
brothers Parfaict. 8 The two Italian actors who
were most prominent in the role of Arlequin in
France at this period each got out a collection of
plans on the order of commedie dell' art e, P. F. Bian-
colelli, "dit Dominique," Le nouveau theatre italien
(Anvers, 1713), and E. Gherardi, Le theatre italien
de Gherardi (Paris, 1700 and after). The six
volumes of the latter contain only the French and
French- and-Italian written scenes of the partly im-
provised plays of all sorts given by Gherardi and his
Italian company.
A number of single scenarios have been published
in recent years of which I note those that I have
been able to examine myself.
BROUWER, F. DE SIMONE, Due scenari inediti del
secolo XVII, Gior. Stor., XVIII (1891), 277.
CORBONI, P., Cristoforo Colombo nel teatro (Milano,
1892), 196 f., a scenario on Columbus played at
Genoa, 1708.
Gozzi, C., II contralto rotto, an eighteenth century
scenario, in his Opere, IV, 35.
MADDALENA, E., Uno scenario inedito, from the Bibl.
Palatina in Vienna ; pub. in Sitzungsberichte der
kaisl. Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien,
phil.-hist. Klasse, CXLIII (1901), part 16, 1 f.
MARTUCCI, G., Uno scenario inedito delta commedia
deWarte; Flaminio disperato, from an early
8 Cf. bibliography for full titles of these books. Bartoli lists the
most important titles of scenarios from these sources, Seen, ined.,
xxvii f .
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 245
seventeenth century MS.; pub. in Nuova An-
tologia, Ser. II, vol. LI (1885), 219 f.
NERI, A., Una commedia dell' art e, a description of a
comedy written up from an improvised play, ap-
parently the source of Moliere's Medecin
volant; the Italian play is dated Milano 1673.
Gior. Stor., I (1883), 75 f. Of. Toldo, Alcuni
scenari, etc., 462, for a discussion of this
scenario.
BE, E., Scenari modenesi, from the Bibl. Estense in
Modena, two scenarios apparently of the six-
teenth century, showing some resemblances to
Scala's plays. Gior. Stor., LV (1910), 325 f.
SCHERILLO, M., La commedia dell'arte in Italia
(Torino, 1884), chap. VI, Un scenario di G. B.
della Porta: La Trapolaria.
STOPPATO, L., La commedia popolare in Italia
(Padova, 1887), chap. VI, Uno scenario inedito,
from the Museo Correr in Venice, a seventeenth
century MS. Also the scenario cited above ;
Trojano's.
TOLDO, P., Un scenario inedito della commedia
dell'arte, of the seventeenth century, apparently
an influence on Moliere's M. de Pourceaugnac.
Gior. Stor., XLVI, 128.
BARTOLOMEI, G., Didascalia, doe dottrina comica
(Firenze, 1658), contains six scenarios or
sketches of the commedia di mezzo which the
author wished to, introduce to the attention of
academies. They were a kind of compromise
between the professional and literary plays.
APPENDIX B.
THE INFLUENCE OF ITALIAN COMEDY IN ENGLAND.
I wish to call attention here to a triple influence of
Italian on English drama ; first, to the known trans-
lations and adaptations of Italian plays into Eng-
lish ; second, to possible traces of Italianate taste in
English comedies ; third, to the vogue of the Italian-
French pantomime in England.
I. Italian models have been traced for the follow-
ing plays :
BUGBEAKS, c. 1561 ; from A.-F. Grazzini, La spiritata.
Cf. Archiv fur das Studium der neueren
Sprachen, XCVIII, 1897, XCIX, C.
CHAPMAN, G., May Day, pr. 1611; from A. Pic-
colomini, Alessandro. Cf. Stiefel in Shake-
speare Jahrbuch, XXXV, 1899, 180 f.
CHEEKE, H., A certayne Tragedie written first in
Italian ~by F. N. B., entituled Freewyl . . . pr.
c. 1589; from F. Negri Bassanese, Libro Arbi-
trio. Cf. M. A. Scott, Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc.,
XI, 1896, 435.
DYMOCK, C., II Pastor Fido, or the Faithfull Shep-
heard, 1607; from B. Guarini, II pastor fido.
Cf. Scott, loc. cit.
GASCOIGNE, G., The Supposes, 1566, from L. Ariosto,
I suppositi. Ed. J. W. Cunliffe (Boston, 1906).
Gismond of Salerne, 1567/8; from L. Dolce, Dido
(and other sources). Cf. J. W. Cunliffe, Pub.
Mod. Lang. Assoc., XXI, 1906.
246
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 247
JONSON, B., Alchemist, 1610, largely influenced by
Bruno, II candelaio. Cf. paper before the Mod.
Lang. Assoc. of America by C. G. Child, 1905.
KINWELWEKSH, F., and GASCOIGNE, G., Jocasta, 1566,
from L. Dolce, Giocasta. Ed. J. W. Cunliffe
(Boston, 1906).
Laelia, a Latin university play, 1590, a translation
of Gl'ingannati, by a member of the academy of
the Intronati at Siena. Schelling, Elizabethan
Drama, I, 196-7, erroneously attributes Gl'in-
gannati to G. B. della Porta ; the authorship has
been much disputed, but the probable authors
have been narrowed to two, A. Piccolomini and
L. Castelvetro; cf. G. Cawazzuti, Gior. Stor.,
XL, 1902, 343 f. Schelling, op. cit., I, 196 f.,
and II, 77-8, lists a number of other Italian
plays translated into Latin at the English uni-
versities. One of these, Euggle's Ignoramus,
taken from Porta's La Trapolaria (pi. 1615),
was translated into English by Coddington and
printed in 1662.
MAKSTOIT, J., What You Will, pr. 1607, is a free ver-
sion of Sforza degli Oddi's I morti vivi; cf. Holt-
hausen's examination of the relation in Shake-
speare Jahrbuch, XLI, 1905, 186 f .
MUNDAY, A., Fidele and Fortunio, the deceiptes in
love Discoursed in a Commedie of ij Italyan
Gent(lemen) ... by A. M. ... 1584. Cf. the
Malone Society reprint, 1909. From L. Pasqua-
ligo's II Fedele, a comedy translated into
French by Larivey in 1611. An English Latin
version of II fedele also exists, Victoria.
248 THE COMMEDIA DELL 'ARTS
[?BEYNOLDS, H.] Tasso's Aminta, 1628. Of. Scott,
loc. cit.
SHAKESPEAKE, W., Twelfth Night, c. 1600, a very free
adaptation of Gl'ingannati. The Italian play
in an abbreviated translation is given in the ap-
pendix to the Variorum edition of Twelfth
Night, ed. H. H. Fnrness, from T. L. Peacock's
Works (London, 1875), 276 f. Cf. W. W. Greg,
Mod. Lang. Eev., 1900, 189.
TOMKIS, Albumazar, 1615; from Porta, L'astrologo.
Cf. W. Konig, Shakespeare Jahrbuch, IX, 1874,
209.
In addition to these satisfactory attributions I
note a few suggestions which are interesting though
inadequately proved.
CREIZENACH, W. M. A., Geschichte des neueren
Dramas, IV, 247, remarks on parellels between
Jonson's Epicoene and Aretino's Marescalco.
Ibid., a suggestion of the Italianate character
of The Wit of a Woman (pr. 1604) and of Mid-
dleton's No Wit, No Help like a Woman's.
KLEIN, J. L., Geschichte des Dramas, IV, 548 f ., com-
pares Shakespeare's All's Well that Ends Well
to B. Accolti's Verginia, a connection that a
careful reading of the two plays does not con-
firm.
Ibid., IV, 786 f., likens the Two Gentlemen of
Verona to Parabosco's II viluppo and Twelfth
Night to N. Secchi's Gl'inganni, as well as to
Gl'ingannati. Cf. Ulrici's criticism, Shake-
speare Jahrbuch, VI, 1871, 351.
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE 249
Ibid., V, 385 f., compares Othello to Dolce ? s Marl-
anna and Romeo and Juliet to Groto's Hadriana,
not convincingly.
WABD, A. W. A., Hist, of English Dramatic Litera-
ture, 1899, I, 247, compares Heywood's Play of
Love (c. 1530) to an Italian frottola, but with-
out suggesting a definite Italian origin for it.
II. A few of the minor plays of the period which
seem to me most decidedly Italianate in tone and
theme are:
ANON.: Fair Em, pi. c. 1593, has a hero "innamo-
rato per fama," a theme of love versus friend-
ship, disguises, a pretence on the part of the
heroine that she is blind and deaf. The last
comic device is similar to Isabella's frequent
pretence of madness in Scala's scenarios.
Misognus, c. 1570?, may possibly be of Italian
derivation; the kind of plot and characters
suggest such an origin.
Mucedorus, pr. 1598, is a romantic extravaganza
with a hero "innamorato per fama," like
Scala's Trineo. Cf. L'Orseida, above, Chap.
IY. The tone of Mucedorus is however on the
whole that of medieval romance and Italian
court pastoral rather than that of the usual
commedia deWarte.
The Rare Triumphs of Love and Fortune, pi. c.
1582, is a characteristic court entertainment
suitable for acting by either Italian or English
players.
CHAPMAN'S comedies are all similar to Italian plays
250 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ABTE
but only one has been traced to a definite source
(cf. above). All Fools contains a particularly
good example of the Pantaloonlike old father
in Gostanzo (cf. especially IV, 1) of the Gra-
tiano in Dr. Pock (cf. Ill, 1), and the deceiv-
ing young lovers and their servants, much as
they appear in the commedia dell' art e. The
sub-plot is moreover built on jealousy and
centers in a group of low-class characters, like
the Brighella or Burattino sub-plots of some
of Scala's scenarios.
DAY, J., Humor out of Breath, pr. 1608, is an in-
trigue comedy of the Italianate order.
Law Tricks, pr. 1608, is one of several plays in-
debted to How a Man may choose a Good Wife
from a Bad, and through that may possibly go
back to a novella of Cintio (cf. Baskerville, Pub.
Mod. Lang. Assoc., XXIV, 1909, 726) or it may
be based on an Italian comedy derived from
Cintio.
LYLY, J., Mother Bombie, pr. 1594, has a duplicate
plot interest, which makes me think it may be
from an Italian original rather than from a
play by Terence. Cf. however Bond, ed. of
Lyly's Works, II, 473, note on the Italian Influ-
ence on Lyly, and Feuillerat, John Lyly, 320 f .
FIELD, N., A Woman is a Weathercock, pi. 1609, and
Amends for Ladies, c. 1612, are especially full
of the hackneyed commedia dell'arte tricks, dis-
guises, concetti, etc.
MAKSTON, J., Parisitaster, pr. 1606, has been traced
to the Decameron, III, 3, but may be from an
THE COMMEDIA DELL/AKTE 251
Italian comedy on the same novella. For the
connection with Boccaccio, cf. Koeppel, Quellen-
Studien, 27.
MIDDLETON, J., The Widow, c. 1608-9, is a play that
has been accounted for from the Decameron,
III, 3, and II, 2; cf. Baumann, Middleton's
Lustspiel The Widow u. Boccaccio's II Decam-
eron, etc. (Halle, 1904). The disguises in this
play, together with the window flirtations and
the charlatanlike performances of Latrocino
(IV, 2), are commedia deWarte features. So
too are the scenes in which Martia in a shirt is
mistaken for a lad.
III. The following titles of typical farces and
pantomimes show a commedia dell'arte influence
after the Eestoration :
A Collection of the most esteemed Farces and Enter-
tainments performed on the British Stage.
. . . Edinburgh, n. d. (mid-eighteenth cen-
tury?).
Harlequin Hydaspes; or the Greshamite, a mock
opera (in prose and verse). London, 1719.
The British Stage ; or the Exploits of Harlequin, a
farce (a satire on the public taste for panto-
mime). London, 1724.
A dramatick entertainment call'd Harlequin a
Sorcerer ; with the Loves of Pluto and Proser-
pine. London, 1725.
Harlequin Student ; or the Fall of Pantomime, with
the Eestoration of the Drama, an entertain-
ment, etc. London, 1741.
252 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
Harlequin Incendiary or Colombine Cameron. A
musical pantomime. London, 1746.
Harlequin Mungo; or a Peep into the Tower; a
new pantomimical entertainment. . . . London
(1750?).
Harlequin Premier; a farce. . . . (Brentford) 1769.
The Witches ; or Harlequin's Trip to Naples (verses
illustrated by a series of plates cut to form
different combinations). London, 1772.
The Choice of Harlequin; or the Indian Chief; a
pantomimical entertainment, in two parts.
London, 1782.
An exact account of the favorite pantomime called
Harlequin's Chaplet. London, 1790.
The History and comical adventures of Harlequin
and his pleasing companion Columbine. Hoi-
born (1790?).
Sketch of the Story, etc., with the songs and recita-
tives in the . . . Entertainment of the Talis-
man; or Harlequin made happy, etc. . . .
(London) 1792.
The Savages; or Harlequin Wanderer. An Enter-
tainment of song, dance and comic spectacle,
etc. (London) 1792.
A correct account of the celebrated pantomime
entertainment of Harlequin's Museum or
Mother Shipton Triumphant, etc. London,
1793.
The Witch of the Lakes; or Harlequin in the He-
brides, as performed at Sadler's Wells. (Lon-
don) 1797.
Airs, duets and choruses in a new pantomime called
THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE 253
Harlequin and Quixote; or the Magic Arm.
(By J. C. Cross.) London, 1797.
Sketch of the Mountain of Miseries; or Harlequin
Tormentor, a comic entertainment. . . . (Lon-
don) 1797.
Songs, Choruses, etc., in the new pantomime of
Harlequin's Tour, or the Dominion of Fancy,
as performed at the Theatre-Eoyal, Covent-
Eoyal, etc. London, 1800.
Harlequin's Amulet, or the Magick of Mona. The
songs, choruses, etc., with a description of the
pantomime. London (1801?).
Dibdin, T., Harlequin Hoax; or a Pantomime Pro-
posed. A comic extravaganza. . . . London,
1814.
Songs, Duets, Choruses, etc., in the new grand
pantomime called Harlequin Whittington, or
Lord Mayor of London. . . . The Whole ar-
ranged by Mr. Farley. London . . . 1814.
The new pantomime of Harlequin and Fortunio ; or
the Shing-Moo and Thum-Ton, with a sketch
of the story, etc. London, 1815.
Airs, choruses and business with a description of
the scenery in the new pantomime of Harlequin
and the Dandy-Club; or 1818. (London) 1818.
Choruses, recitative and Dialogue with a short
description of the Business of each Scene of the
new pantomime called Harlequin Munchausen
or the Fountain of Love, in which those real
facts recorded by that Caleb Traveller, Baron
Munchausen, have been varied and expanded
according to the admitted privilege of Panto-
mime. . London . , 1818.
254 THE COMMEDIA DELI/AKTE
Airs, Choruses and Business ... in a new panto-
mime of the Silver Arrow; or Harlequin and
the Fairy Pari Banon. . . . (London) 1819.
Harlequin and O'Donoghue, or the White Horse
of Killarney. An . . . equestrian . . . panto-
mime. . . . (1850.)
Good-night, Signor Pantaloon. A comic opera in
one act. Adapted from the French. . . .
(1850?)
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
I list here the principal works that I have used
exclusive of the scenarios and English and Italian
plays catalogued in Appendices A and B. I give
the titles, place and date of publication in each case,
but sometimes, especially in the case of old books,
abbreviate a little by the omission of inessentials.
ACCOLTI, B. : Verginia, comedia . . . recitata nelle
solenne noze del magnifico Antonio Spannochi
nella inclyta cipta di Siena. Firenze, . . .
1513.
ADEMOLLO, A. : Alessandro VI, Giulio II e Leone X
nel Carnevale di Roma. Documenti inediti.
(1499-1520.) Firenze, 1886.
Una famiglia di comici italiani nel secolo decim-
ottavo. Firenze, 1885.
Intorno al teatro drammatico italiano dal 1550 in
poi. Nuova Antologia, I marzo, 1881, 50 f .
Teatri di Roma nel secolo decimosettimo. Roma,
1888.
ALBEET, M. : Les theatres de la Foire. (1660-1789.)
Paris, 1900. Illustrated.
ALLACCI, L. : Drammaturgia . . . accresciuta. . . .
Venezia, . . . 1755.
ALLEN, P. S.: The Medieval Mimus, Modern Phi-
lology, VIII, Jan. and July, 1910.
AMICIS, V. DE: La commedia popolare latina e la
commedia dell'arte. Napoli, 1882.
255
256 THE COMMEDIA DELI/ARTE
L 'imitazione latina nella commedia italiana del
secolo XVI. Firenze, 1897.
ANCONA, A. D' : Due farse del secolo XVI. Bologna,
1882. (Scelta di curiosita letterarie, No. 187.)
I dodici mesi dell 'anno nella tradizione popolare.
Archivio per lo studio delle tradizioni popolari,
II, 1883, 239 f .
Lettere di comici italiani del secolo XVII. Per
le nozze Martini-Benzoni. Pisa, 1893.
Origini del teatro italiano; libri tre; con due
appendici sulla rappresentazione drammatica
del contado toscano e sul teatro mantovano nel
secolo XVI. Torino, 1891, 2d ed., 2 vols.
La poesia popolare italiano. . . . Livorno, 1878.
Sacre Eappresentazioni dei secoli XIV, XV e
XVI. Firenze, 1872, 3 vols.
Studj sulla letteratura italiana dei primi secoli.
Ancona, 1884.
Varieta storiche e letterarie. Milano, 1885. 2
vols.
E COMPAEETTI, D. (ed.) : Canti e racconti del popolo
italiano. Torino, 1870-1891. 9 vols.
ANDREINI, F. : Le bravure del Capitano Spavento,
divise in molte ragionamenti in forma di Dia-
logo di F. A. da Pistoia Comico geloso. . . .
Venetia, 1615. (First ed., 1607.)
Nuova aggiunta alle Bravure del Capitano Spa-
vento, di Francesco Andreini. . . . Venetia,
1614.
ANDEEINI, GL B. : Lo Specchio, composizione sacra e
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INDEX.
Academies, 17, 19, 52, 78, 81, 98, Aminta, 148, 248.
247.
Academy, French, 214.
Accesi, 152-3.
Accolti, B., 248.
Actors, Italian, importance in re-
lation to the commedia dell'-
arte, 18 f., 21, 28; early con-
nection with mystery plays,
27 f . ; with mountebanks, 29 f . ;
with courts, 28, 50 f., 100, 119,
137, 141 f., 1471, 191; dilet-
tanti, 57, 69, 103; education,
79 f., 97 f., 100. f.; formation
of companies, 28, 50 f., 82 f.;
number in troupes, 58^-9; pay-
ment of, 149; association with
foreigners, 158, 166 f., 212 f.,
223 f., 227.
Addison, J., 226 f.
Adieux des officiers, Les, 213.
Adriano, 150.
Albumazar, 248.
Alchemist, The, 246.
Alessandro, 246.
Alexander VIII, 235.
Alichino, 10.
All Fools, 250.
Allen, P. S., 26.
Alleyn, E., 183.
All's Well that Ends Well, 15,
248.
Alvida, L', 119.
Amadis, 186.
Ambrosio, 172.
Amends for Ladies, 250.
Amour medecin, L', 164.
Anconitana, L', 54.
Andre, Maitre, 142.
Andreini, F., 47, 92 f., 99, 151.
Andreini, G.-B., 153, 201, 211.
Andreini, Isabella, 80 f., 85, 87,
112, 152, 202.
Andria, N., 142.
Angela, 48-9.
Angelica, L', 138, 159.
Angeloni, F., 62.
Aniello, S., 91, 136.
AntimasTc of Mountebanks, 196.
Antony and Cleopatra, 182.
Aretino, P. di, 160, 248.
Ariosto, L., 57, 94, 167, 246.
Aristotle, influence of, 67, 83,
136.
Arlecchino, 5, 39, 41, Chap. IV
passim, 171, 224 ; origin, 10 f . ;
in pantomime, 221 f . ; in sat-
ire, 235.
Arlecchino creduto principe, 222.
Arlecchino lingere du Palais, 214.
Arlecchino Phaeton, 214.
Arlecchino poli par amour, 218.
Arlecchino Protee, 214.
Arlecchino re, 236.
Arlequin, cf. Arlecchino.
Armani, V., 81 f .
Astrologo, L', 248.
Astute semplicita d'Angiola, L',,
163.
As You Like It, 178.
Atellanae, cf. Mime, Koman.
280
INDEX
281
Austria, 165.
Barbieri, N., 138, 159, 202.
Baretti, 204.
Bartholomew Fair, 206.
Basilisco di Bernagasso, 160.
Basle, 165.
Battle of Alcazar, The, 183.
Bavaria, Ferdinand, Duke of, 64,
103, 151.
Beaumarchais, 218.
Bellay, J. du, 43.
Beolco, A. (II Euzzante), 52 f.,
69.
Beltrame, 202.
Bergamo, 42, 171.
Bergamask, 179.
Bianchi, L. de', 36.
Biancolelli, N., 169, 241.
Biancolelli, P. F. (Dominique),
244.
Bibbiena, cf. Dovizj.
Biron, 178.
Blois, 149, 175.
Boccaccio, G., 85, 189.
Bologna, 77, 207.
Borromeo, C., 61, 151.
Bos, Abb6 Du, 23, 212.
Bottom, 179.
Bourgeois gentilhomme, Le, 160.
Brantome, 141.
Bravo, 8, 83.
Brighella, 12, 210, 235.
Brome, B., 178, 182.
Brouwer, De S., 243, 244.
Bruni, D., 89, 136-7.
Bruno, 246.
Bruscello, 2.
Bucco, 25.
Buckhurst, Lord, 144 f.
Bugbears, 246.
Buono, L. del, 202.
Burattini, cf. marionettes.
Burattino, 35, 39, 206.
Burbage, E., 183 f .
Burchiella, II, cf. Molino.
Calandra, La, 116, 143, 165.
Calderon, 169, 243.
Calmo, A., 69, 80, 86.
Camilla, 104 f.
Candelaio, 11, 246.
Canto di Zanni e di Magnifichi,
Un, 43 f.
Capitaine Fracasse, Le, 9.
Capitano, 5, 8, 41 ; origin, 46 f . ;
connection with bravo, 47;
with military mercenaries, 47;
with Miles Gloriosus in Eoman
and academic comedy, 92 f .
Capitano, II, 83.
Capitano Spavento, 92; Chap. IV
passim; Bravure, 93 f.
Carnival festivals, 28, 50 f.;
songs, 43 f . ; plays, 37 f .
Castelvetro, L., 247.
Cataldo, 161 f.
Cava, 22.
Cecchini, P. M., 51, 87.
Celia, 82, 90.
Censorship of the theater, 61,
151, 166, 220 f.
Centaura, La, 223.
Cervantes, 166.
Changeling, The, 178.
Chapman, G., 15, 69, 195, 246,
249.
Charivari, 10.
Charlatans, cf. mountebanks.
Charlemagne, 206.
Chatelet, 152.
Cheats of Scapin, The, 228.
Cheeke, H., 246.
Chiusette, 37.
282
INDEX
Cicero, 23.
Cicognini, 163.
Cid, Le, 214.
City Wit, The, 178, 182.
Classics, influence on comedy,
Chap. Ill, passim, 120.
Clizia, La, 77.
Cocu imaginaire, Le, 163-4.
Cokayn, A., 222.
Cola, 12, 38, 130 f .
Collier, J. P., 183.
Colombina, 5, 11.
Colombine, 202.
Comedie des comedies, La, 213.
Comedie italienne in Paris, 201,
211, 215, 219 f.
Comedy, compared to farce, 216
7, 237 f.
Comedy of Errors, The, 15, 69,
198.
Comici, cf. actors.
Commedia dell 'arte, defined, 2 f . ;
themes, 15 f.; origin, 18 f.,
21 f., 28 f., 99, 102; popular
influences on, 65 f., 110 f.;
classical influences on, 97 f .,
110 f . ; reasons for popularity,
101, 147; decline in popu-
larity, 139; influence abroad,
154 f.; contributions to other
forms of drama, 172, 198,
200 f., 212, 217, 219; analogies
to other forms of drama, 201,
222, 234 f .
Commedia erudita, 67 f.; distinc-
tion from commedia dell 'arte,
84, 115, 134 f., 137; influence
abroad, 157, 168, 180 f .
Concetti, 4f., 13, 36, 80, 85,
87 f., 95, 137, 155, 208.
Confident!, 150, 153, 168, 212.
Confre"rie de la Passion, 149, 152,
153.
Contrasts, defined, 53, 59, 220.
Cf. folk plays.
Contratti rotti, I, 244.
Convitato di pietra, II, 160.
Corneille, T., 169.
Coryat, T., 30 f ., 60 f ., 67 f ., 176.
Costumes, 63 f., 173 f., 221.
Courtesans, in comedy 105 f.,
lllf.; Venetian, 30, 60 f.
Courts, influence on comedy, cf.
actors.
Coviello, 95.
Criticism, academic, 17, 67 f.;
responsible for the theory of
the Roman origin of the com-
media dell'arte, 21 f.; influ-
ence on the practice of the
Italian actors, 17, 70 f., 122,
125, 177 f ., 207, 209, 212, 216 f .
Cruikshank, G., 206.
Cueva, G. della, 61.
Cymbeline, 16.
Cynthia's Bevels, 179.
Dante, 94.
Day, J., 250.
Dead Man's Fortune, The, 183 f.
Decameron, The, 15, 85, 250.
Depit amoureux, Le, 159.
Desevedo di Mai Albergo, 203.
Desiosi, 62, 82.
Deux Arlequins, Les, 225.
Devil is an Ass, The, 196.
Devils as comic characters, 27.
Dialect in comedy, 6, 55, 66, 205.
Dido, 246.
Disgratie di Burattino, Le, 206.
Disguise in comedy, 11, 16, 49,
55, 61, 98, 106 f., 124, 128-9,
133.
Doctor Mask, 5, 7, 35 f ., 40 f .
Doctor Faustus, 187.
Dolce, L., 246, 247, 248.
INDEX
283
Dominique, cf. Biancolelli.
Don Giovanni, 1, 160.
Don Garde de Navarre, 163.
Dorsennus, 24-5.
Dovizj, Card. B. Dovizj da Bib-
biena, 57, 116.
Drayton, M., 197.
Dresden, 223.
Drury Lane Theater, 228.
Drusiano, cf. Martinelli.
Due simili, I, 153.
Duplication of characters in
comedy, 202.
Dutch Cortizan, The, 193.
Dymock, C., 246.
Eckermann, J. P., 204, 211.
Ecole des femmes, L', 163.
Eoole des maris, L', 163.
Elizabeth, Queen, 129 f., 144,
174.
Emilia, L', 139.
Enchanted Tree, The, 119, 123 f .,
211.
Engagements du hazard, Les,
169.
England, Chap. VI passim, 201.
Epicoene, 248.
Este, house of, 58, 148, 151.
Este, Ercole d', 56.
Este, Isabella d', 51.
Este, Lucrezia d', 145.
Estienne, C., 168.
Essex, Earl of, 129 f.
Etourdi, L', 159.
Every Man in his Humour, 179.
Extravaganzas, 99, 120 f., 139,
219 f., 221 f.
Fabio, 35.
Fair Em, 249.
Farce, nature of, 109 f., 237 f.
Farces, cf. folk plays.
Farsa, 2, 136.
Parse cavaiole, 104.
Fausse prude, La, 215.
Fedele, II, 247.
Fedeli, 82, 153, 171, 212.
Ferrara, 56, 65, 146, 148, 151.
Ferrabolle, A., 174.
Festin de pierre, Le, 159.
Fidbe, 210 f.
Fidele and Fortunio, 247.
Field, N., 6, 250.
Figaro, 218.
Finta pazza, La, 215.
Fiorilli, T., 203; relation to Mol-
iere, 158.
Fiorillo, S., 11.
Fiorina, La, 54.
Flaminia, 64, 73, 82, Chap. IV
passim.
Flaminio, Chap. IV passim, 193.
Flavio, Chap. IV passim, 214.
Cf . Scala.
Florence, 112.
Foires, St. Germain and St.-
Laurent, 215 f ., 217, 219.
Folk plays, 26, 28, 37, 42, 53 f.,
122 f.
Folk songs, 36, 37, 210.
Folk tales, 37.
Fornaris, F. de, 138.
Forsennata principessa, La, 118.
Fortuna di Flavio, La, 194-5.
Fortunio, 34.
Fourberies de Scapin, Les, 163,
224, 228.
Fracasso, 9.
Francatrippa, 22, 171.
France, 145 f., 157, 201.
Franceschina, 5, 48, 49, Chap.
IV passim, 193.
Franciso, 172.
Francolino, Gratiano da, 84.
284
INDEX
Frangipani, 149.
Freewyl, 246.
Fritellino, 51.
Frottola, 38.
Furberie di Scappino, Le, 139.
Gabriele da Bologna, 35.
Gabriele delle Haste, 150.
GaUrie du Palais, La, 156.
Ganassa, A., 96, 145-6, 148, 167.
Ganne, 236.
Garzoni, T., 30, 34 f., 49 f., 180.
Gaseoigne, G., 69, 177, 246, 247.
Gautier, T., 9.
Gelosi, 61, 82, 95, 99, 111, 171,
175, 194; history of, 147 f.,
241.
Gelosia, La, 57, 98, 112, 118, 135.
Gelosie fortunate del principe
Eoderigo, Le, 163.
Genericci, cf. concetti.
Genoa, 148.
Germany, 165.
Gherardi, E., 213 f., 225, 238,
244.
Ghosts in comedy, 12.
Giangurgolo, 203.
Gianni, cf. Zanni.
Gilles, 1.
Gismond of Salerne, 246.
Goethe, J. W. von, 204, 211.
Goldoni, C., 207 f ., 216, 218 f .
Gonzaga, C., 78.
Gonzaga, G., 51.
Gonzaga, house of, 151.
Gonzaga, L., 145.
Gosson, S., 177.
Gozzi, C., 209 f ., 244.
Gracioso, 155, 169.
Gran' pazzia d'Orlando, La, 242.
Gratiano, 5, 7, 49, 84, Chap. IV
passim, 197, 203, 210; crea-
tion of, 7; connection with
charlatan, 35 f., 138; aca-
demic influence on, 84 f. Con-
clusioni di, 36 f.
Graziani, 65.
Gray's Inn, 196.
Grazzini, A.-F. (II Lasca), 43,
246; his carnival songs, 43 f.
Cf. 82.
Greco, G., 53.
Grimm, W., 218.
Groto, L., 139, 248.
Guappo, 9, 203.
Guarini, B., 246.
Hadriana, 248.
Hamlet, 3, 17, 182, 187.
Hardy, A., 154.
Harlequin, cf. Arlecchino.
Harlequin Hoax, 223 f .
Harlequin Horace, 231.
Harlequin Prince in a Dream,
227.
Harlequin Sorcerer, 230.
Harley, A. de, 10.
Hellequin, 10.
Henri II, 116.
Henri III, 65, 149.
Henri IV, 146.
Henry IV (2), 198.
Henry V, 6.
Henry VIII, 142.
Herculaneum, 22.
Herodas, 25.
Heywood, J., 249.
Heywood, T., 171, 177.
Holofernes, 84, 197.
Homer, 75.
Horace, critical theories of, 18,
68.
Hotel de Bourbon, 150.
Hotel de Bourgogne, 152, 212.
INDEX
285
Hotel Guenegaud, 212.
How a Man May Choose a Good
Wife, 250.
Humor out of Breath, 250.
Ignoramus, 247.
Impegno del caso, L', 169.
Immortal!, 52.
Improvisation, 2 f ., 17, 55, 100,
155, 180 f., 186, 205, 216, 238.
Inavvertito, L', 138, 159.
Incantesimi, Gl', 115, 116.
Ingannati, Gl', 98, 157, 168, 176,
197, 247, 248.
Inganni, Gl', 115, 176, 248.
Innamorato, 4f., 9, 87 f., Chap.
IV passim.
Innocent Persian Maid, The, 211.
Inter esse, L', 159.
Interned j, 49, 77 f., 119, 135,
168, 174, 177.
Intronati, 81, 98, 247.
Invaghiti, 78.
Ion, 72, 79.
Ipocrito, Lo, 160.
Isabella, 82, Chap. IV passim,
161 f. Cf. Andreini, I.
Isle of Dogs, The, 187.
Jacinta, 169.
Jacopo of Venice, 165.
Jalousie du barbouille, La, 159.
James I, 189.
James IV, 187.
Jocasta, 247.
Jonson, B., 15, 136, 178, 187,
188, 246, 248.
Judy, 1, 205.
Jugglers, cf . mountebanks.
Kemp, W., 171, 16.
Kenilworth, 174.
La-Charite-sur-Loire, 149.
Laelia, 247.
Lancelloti, Card. O., 62.
Lancret, 1.
Laneham, B., 174.
Larivey, P. de, 157, 247.
Lasca, II, cf . Grazzini.
Lasso, O. di, 104 f ., 165.
Law Tricks, 250.
Lazzi, definition, 3, 155; ex-
amples, 12 f., 39, 65-6, 121,
124, 133, 230-1, 234.
Leo X, 51, 116.
Leoncavallo, 236.
Libro arbitrio, 246.
Lielesverbot, 235.
Life and Death of Dr. Faustus,
etc., 224.
Lincoln, Earl of, 145.
Linz, 143.
Locatelli, B., 241.
London, 141, 175.
Lope de Bueda, 168-9.
Lope de Vega, 155, 169.
Loret, 211.
Lothar, 236.
Love, as theme of comedies, 15 f .,
85 f.; theory of love, 87, 132,
154-5; Platonic, 16, 68, 87.
Love's Labour's Lost, 178.
Lyly, J., 250.
Lyons, 143, 175.
Macchiavelli, N.,
Maccus, 22-5.
Machinery, cf. stage.
Mad Princess, The, cf. La for-
sennata principessa.
Madness in comedy, 17, 114, 123,
202.
Madrid, 141, 146, 167, 171.
Maggi, cf . May plays.
286
INDEX
Magicians in comedy, 18, 27, 35,
123.
Magnifico, cf. Pantalone.
Maid's Tragedy, The, 223.
Maintenon, Mme. de, 215.
Malade imaginaire, Le, 164.
Malcontent, The, 179.
Malherbe, 153.
Malvolio, 7.
Mandragola, La, 85.
Manningham, J., 176.
Mantua, 62, 119, 145.
Mantua, Duke of, 62, 70, 80, 145,
150-2, 168.
Marcantonio, 172.
Marescalco, II, 248.
Marguerite de Valois, 146.
Maria, A., 142.
Mariage de Figaro, Le, 1, 139.
Marianna, 249.
Mariano, Fra, 51.
Marini, 94.
Marionettes, 200, 205 f.
Marivaux, 218.
Marston, J., 179, 247, 250.
Martinelli, Angelica, 167 f.
Martinelli, D., in Spain, 167 f.;
in London, 175.
Martinelli, T., 59, 63, 167; in
Paris, 154.
Masacone, 142.
Masks (visards), 11, 42, 155-6.
Masks (type characters), defini-
tion, 3 f . ; number and variety,
5, 59, 64, 83, 200; origin,
21 f., 203-4; imitation abroad,
177, 182; decadence, 139, 208;
introduction into opere buffe,
217; into parodies, 217 f.
Masque of Amazons and Knights,
176.
Massimiano, 70 f.
May Day, 246.
May plays, 2, 46.
Mazarin, Card., 153.
Medici, Catherine de', 116, 141.
Medici, Ferdinand I de', 112.
Medecin malgre lui, Le, 164.
Medecin volant, Le, 159.
Medico volante, II, 39, 159, 227.
Melodramma, cf. musical plays.
Menaechmi, 125, 243; reworked
by Scala in The Twin Cap-
tains, 125 f . ; by Noble in The
Two Harlequins, 225-6.
Meo Patacca, 203.
Merry Wives of Windsor, The, 6.
Mezzetino, 12.
Middleton, T., 15, 178, 181, 248,
251.
Midsummer Night's Dream, The,
178, 179.
Milan, 61, 148.
Michiele, A., 151.
Miles gloriosus, cf. Capitano.
Miller, J., 231 f.
Mimes, Roman, 25, analogy to
commedia dell'arte, 21 f., 83,
154.
Mimi centunculi, 23.
Minturno, 22, 85.
Mirtilla, 88.
Misognus, 249.
Mock Thyestes, The, 224.
Moland, L., 236.
Moliere, 153, 158; association
with Italian actors, 158 f., use
of scenarios, 159; influenced
by commedia dell'arte, 159 f.,
197, 239.
Molino, A. (II Burchiella), 80.
Monferrato, 63.
Monsieur de Pourceaugnac, 160.
Montaigne, M. de, 48.
INDEX
287
Morality plays, 54.
Moresca, 78.
Morti vivi, I, 247.
Mother Bombie, 250.
Mountebanks, 29 f., 61 f.; kind
of entertainments, 37; Cory-
at 's impression, 30 f . ; traces
in comedy, Chap. II passim;
English opinion of, 188 f.,
195 f.
Mozart, 160.
Mucedorus, 195, 249.
Munday, A., 247.
Munich, 103, 141, 165.
Musical plays, 124, 125, 139, 172,
200 f ., 210 f ., 213 f ., 217, 221,
229.
Musicians, Italian, 142, 165.
Mystery plays, 21, 27, 52, 75, 119.
Naples, 203 f.
Nash, T., 171, 176, 187, 195.
Nevers, Duke of, 145.
No Wit, no Help like a Woman's,
248.
Nobili, F. de' (II Cherea), 51.
Nogent-le-Boi, 148.
Nordlingen, 143.
Novella, The, 178.
Novelle, as sources of comedy, 15.
Oddi, S. degli, 247.
Onorata fuga di Lucinda, L',
197.
Opera luffa, 125, 139, 200.
Ope"ra Comique in Paris, 219.
Opera mista, 118 f .
Opera regia, 125.
Oratio, Chap. IV passim, 150.
Orfeo, 52.
Orseida, L', 122 f., 211, 249.
Othello, 178, 249.
Ottonelli, 16, 146.
Pagliacci, I, 236.
Palais-Koyal, 158, 215.
Pamela, 209.
Pantalone, 5 f ., 64-6, 86, Chap.
IV passim, 137, 156, 161 f.,
183, 193, 197, 210, 214; origin,
42; traits, 5, 84; in satire,
153, 222, 235.
Pantomime, 200; in France,
219 f.; in England, 1, 222 f.,
228 f ., 251 f .
Pappus, 4-5.
Parabosco, 248.
Parades, 219 f.
Parfaict, 244.
Paris, 141, 142, 146, 175.
Parisitaster, 250.
Parlement, 148-9.
Parody, 17, 87, 110, 213 f .
Pasqualigo, L., 247.
Pasquati, G., 149.
Pastor fido, II, 246.
Pastorals, 18, 75 f., 77, 119 f.,
168, 173-4, 176.
Paul V, 62.
Pazzia, La, 112.
Pazzie, cf . madness.
Peasant in comedy, 18, 53.
Pedante, II, 160, 161, 197.
Pedrolino, 5, 12, 39, 65, 97, Chap.
IV passim, 150.
Perucci, 100.
Petit-Bourbon, Salle du, 158, 212.
Petrarch, 871, 94-5.
Philip II, 146.
Piccolomini, A., 240, 246, 247.
Piissimi, V., 65, 111, 147, 150 f.
Plato, 72, 79, 136.
Plats, 183 f.
Plautus, 67-8.
288
INDEX
Play of Love, 249.
Poetics, 67; cf. Aristotle and
Horace.
Polcinella, J., 11.
Pontano, J. J., 43.
Porta, G. B. della, 11, 138, 242,
243, 247, 248.
Portrait, The, cf. II Eitratto.
Prima donna, 5.
Privy Council of England, 174.
Prologs, 77, 135 f .
Promos and Cassandra, 177.
Pulcinella, 5, 204 f., 242; origin
of name, 10 f.
Pulcinella dalle Carceri, 11.
Pulcinelli in carnival songs, 11.
Punch, 1, 23, 205 f.
Puppet play, cf. marionettes.
Pyrgopolinices, 83.
Quattro Pazzi, I, 203.
Quattro Pulcinelli simili, I, 243.
Queen of England, The, 129 f.
Bdbbioso, II, 83.
Raphael, 116.
Bare Triumphs of Love and For-
tune, The, 249.
Beading, 173.
Eegnard, 218, 225.
Betz, Card, de, 153.
Bicciolina, Chap. IV, passim.
Biccoboni, L., 23, 26, 215, 228.
Eich, J., 227, 230, 232.
Eitratto, II, 111, 112.
Eitratto, II, ovvero Arlecohino
cornuto per opinione, 164.
Bivali, I, 98.
Bodiana, La, 54.
Borne, 62.
Borneo and Juliet, 72, 248.
Bosalba the Witch, 211.
Eogantino, 9, 203.
Bossi, N., 22, 66.
Bossi, V., 243.
Bowley, W., 181.
Buggle, 247.
Euzzante, cf. Beolco.
Bymer, T., 223.
Sacre Eappresentazioni, cf. mys-
tery plays.
Sacchi, 208.
St. Bartholomew, 146.
St.-Simon, 215.
Sand, M., 236.
Sannio, 23.
Satire in farce, 237 f.
Saltimbanchi, cf. mountebanks.
Scala, F., 98, 125, 135; his book,
11, 99, 111, 1171, 125 f., 128,
163-4, 194-5 202, 211, 214-6,
240-1.
Scarmouche, cf. Scaramuccia.
Scaramuccia, 40, 158, 203, 206.
Scenarios, 4, 76, 100, 230; ex-
amples, 103 f ., 112 f ., Chap. IV
passim, 138 f., 187, 240 f.
Schlegel, A. W., 23.
Scoto of Mantua, 189.
Secchi, N., 159, 248.
Senex, 86.
Servetta, 5, 48, 86.
Servus, 86.
Seville, 167, 171.
Sganerelle, 163.
Shakespeare, 15-6, 155, 178, 239,
248.
Sidney, P., 84, 177.
Siena, 81.
Silver Arrow, The, 230 f .
Simone, 150.
Sixtus V, 62.
Smeraldina, 210.
INDEX
289
Soldino, A., 144, 165.
Sommi, L. de, 70 f ., 100, 173, 183.
Soubrette, cf. servetta.
Sorel, 147.
Spain, 166 f.
Spanish Gypsy, The, 181.
Spanish Tragedy, The, 180.
Spavento, cf. Capitano.
Spirit ata, La, 246.
Stage, public and private, 118;
setting, 116 f., 211-2; proper-
ties, 117 f., 129, 173, 211-2.
Stentorello, 202.
Strasino, 51.
Strega, La, 57, 77, 116, 136.
Supposes, The, 69, 180, 246.
Suppositi, I, 116, 243, 246.
Surrey, Earl of, 88.
Tabarin (1), 143-4; (2), 165,
190.
Tabernia, La, 242.
Tamburino, 34.
Tamburlaine, 17.
Taming of the Shrew, The, 198.
Tappeti, I, 203.
Tarlton, E., 186.
Tartaglia, 210.
Tartuffe, 160, 197.
Tasso, T., 94-5.
Tavernaria, La, 242.
Teatro Olimpico, 67.
Terence, 68.
Theater, 58, 60 f ., 232. Cf . stage.
Thraso, 8, 83.
Thyestes, 224.
Tombeau de Maltre Andre, Le,
214.
Tomkis, 248.
Tragedy, 68. In improvised
form, 118, 121, 129.
20
Translations from the Italian,
French, 157; English, 180;
Spanish, 168-9.
Trapolaria, La, 11, 138, 247.
Trappola, 93.
Trappolin suppos'd a Prince,
222.
Trappolino, 12.
Trausnitz, 146.
Travagliata Isabella, La, 198.
Trivelino, as satiric term, 153.
Trojano, M., 103, 240.
Truffaldino, 210.
Turca, La, 242.
Turchetta, La, 242.
Twelfth Night, 16, 176, 178, 197,
248.
Two Gentlemen of Verona, The,
15, 197, 248.
Two Harlequins, The, 225.
Umidi, 59.
University plays, 247.
Valladolid, 167.
Vappo, cf . Guappo.
Vaudeville, 6, 13, 95.
Vauquelin, Sieur de la Fresnaye,
146.
Venice, 30, 42, 51, 60, 65, 148,
188, 201.
Verginia, 172, 248.
Veridico, cf. Sommi.
Verona, 64.
Vicenza, 67.
Victoria, 247.
Vienna, 141-3, 146, 165.
Viluppo, II, 248.
Vittoria, cf. Piissimi.
Volpone, 188 f.
Wagner, E., 235.
Watteau, 1.
290
INDEX
What You Will, 247.
Whetstone, G., 177, 180.
Widow, The, 198, 251.
Wilson, R., 186.
Wild Men, 173-4.
Windsor, 173.
Wit of a Woman, The, 248.
Woman is a Weathercock, 250.
Women on stage, 31, 48 f., 57,
73, 176; in theater, 44-5, 48.
Wright, J., 224.
Zan Fritata, 34, 190.
Zanni, 5, 9 f ., 39, 47, 49, 66, 86,
95 f., Chap. IV passim, 169,
179; origin, 42 f.; name, 42.
Zan Polo, 51 f.
Zan della Vigna, 34.
Zingara, La, 112.
Zottino, 34.
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