Five Comedies from the Italian Renaissance
At the turn of the sixteenth century, Italian playwrights rediscovered and recast an old art form—the ancient Latin comedy—to create witty, ribald, and intricately plotted plays that delighted Renaissance audiences with their clever reversals of gender and class roles. Five Comedies from the Italian Renaissance brings together the best of these works in lively new translations by Laura Giannetti and Guido Ruggiero, who also place the comedies in their cultural and social context. Presenting a...
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Humor, sex, and satirized or upturned gender roles and social stereotypes characterize the Latin comedies updated and translated into Italian that became popular in Italy at the turn of the 16th century. The translations are by and for scholars of literature and history, rather than for production or performance. There are explanatory notes, but no bibliography or index. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Playing the RenaissanceLa calandra /The Comedy of Calandro1La mandragola /The Mandrake Root71Il marescalco /The Master of the Horse117Gl'ingannati /The Deceived205La veniexiana /The Venetian Comedy285
\ Bibliotheque d'Humanisme et RenaissanceThe translations of these bold and sometimes bawdy Italian imitations of raucous Latin comedy are readable and playable.\ \ \ \ \ Modern Language ReviewAn intelligently prefaced book which makes available in sensible, accurate English—to scholars and students of drama and of the Renaissance, as well as to general readers—a coherent body of theatre which is culturally and intrinsically valuable.\ — Ronnie Ferguson\ \ \
