Preview

The Italian Renaissance – Commedia Dell'Arte

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1865 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Italian Renaissance – Commedia Dell'Arte
The Italian Renaissance – Commedia Dell'arte

Even though The Italian Renaissance lasted for a short period of time, approximately 100 years, and some give more consideration and accolades to the English Renaissance, the Italian Renaissance was a period of dramatic cultural advancement. This is seen in its revolutionary architecture design, explorations of discovery, extraordinary art, innovation of Opera, and my personal favorite Commedia dell' arte. Nearly all of Western theatre was influenced by the Italian Renaissance leaving lasting impressions all the way down to our present day.

I love to laugh,so it comes as no surprised that I was drawn to Commedia dell'arte. Let's first examine how this form of theatre came into existence. Then how it was organized and performed. Lastly we will see how its influence can be traced to modern day.

The origins of Commedia dell'arte has been highly debated by scholars. Some say it has roots in Greek comedy, while other critics argue that it is derived from Roman farces. Still others claim it can be traced directly to the religious Mystery Plays of the Middle Ages. Of theses theories of origin, Winfred Smith states, “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 concerning their putative Roman 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 takes pains to trace back what he considers commedia dell'arte motifs and figures into the folk literature of the Middle Ages and from this material to deduce a medieval profane comedy which he asserts must have existed perhaps centuries, side by side with the sacred representatives, until it flowered into the sixteenth century

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Renaissance was a period of great cultural and technological changes which swept Europe from the end of the 13th century. It was integral in developing Europe was subjected to different changes there were two primary renaissance which were most notable. They were the Italian and the Northern renaissance. Both of the renaissance had a profound impact on Europe. But they also had some typical differences among them and each was unique in its own way. Early in the 14th Century, Italian scholars started to study the ancient cultures that preceded them, like those of Greece and the Roman Empire. This scholarly interest would lead to the Italian Renaissance. Italy and Europe was ready for change after the harrowing destruction of the Black Plague in the Middle Ages. Florence, Italy, was the home of the start of the Renaissance. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, culture, politics, and the arts had only been in decline. Petrarch advocated learning about Italy's Latin and Roman history. The Pope and the royalty liked this idea, so other scholars begun to study in the same vein. These…

    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As for the Italian renaissance, due to Italy is the birthplace of Europe renaissance, the style of Italian renaissance is magnificent and serious. At that time, people started to have awareness of classical beauty,…

    • 617 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cloudstreet

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Have you ever wondered where the origins of theatre began? It is a well-known fact that the earliest forms of drama were developed in Ancient Greek by philosophers interested in using entertainment for social and philosophical commentary. It is essential that young people are exposed to the earliest form of scripted drama as it provides a foundation for understanding dramatic styles and conventions which are the basis for all the theatre which followed.…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Life is an ever changing cycle. Since the time of the Romans to modern day Italy life has changed drastically; some say for the worse some say for the better. The Renaissance period is a big part of how the world has changed. The Renaissance changed man’s view on the world in 3 major ways. It changed how we embrace life, how we individualize ourselves, and how how we reason.…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Bacchae Analysis

    • 312 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The few enjoyable moments all had one thing in common, humor. The college students incorporated their 21st century comedy into the ancient drama, in a way through which the audience members could relate. From dancing to modern music in their archaic garb to chanting “orgy” at the audience, the actors did not miss a comedic beat. The amusement the actors brought lightened the mood without interrupting the play’s tragic tone.…

    • 312 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Cesare Borgia

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages

    all these things, the Renaissance was a time of progress and advancement that created a new, more complex civilization within Italy.…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    When dwelling upon the main developments of the theatre, one turns to look at the origins of its birth, therefore focusing upon the Ancient Greeks. A lot of the theatre in which is established today comes from the activities of Greek Worship. The Greeks worshipped their Gods, including ‘the worship of Dionysus; the God of fertility and wine.’ (Gascoinge; History of Theatre, 2001 ongoing.) The Greeks worshipped their Gods through the use of sculpting, painting, music and literature, alongside this they incorporated dance, music and drama. As many of the Athenian’s were illiterate, Greek Theatre was used to explain to the communities the literature in which was written, allowing them through ‘reading artistic signals’ (Michael Walton, J; The Greek Sense of Theatre, Pg.4) to understand ‘the world about them, their fellow men and their Gods.’ (Michael Walton, J; The Greek Sense of Theatre, Pg.4)…

    • 886 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1. A) The first professional published female composer was a woman by the name of Madalena Casulana. Madalena was upper social class, because she was born into an aristocratic family in Venice, Italy. The type of music she was most known for publishing consisted of madrigals; composition of three to four unaccented voices written in vernacular text and used word painting to highlight mood and meaning. B) The foundation of choreographed dance that enabled women’s professional involvement differs from the Consort of Ladies in that the Consort of Ladies was a group of professional singers that entertained the courts. (102 Words)…

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The music and art of the Renaissance are related because a lot of the artists were inspired by the music of the time period. Some of the paintings also had instruments that were played in Renaissance. Yes I think music greatly affected the artwork of the renaissance because music was played outside of the church. People were allowed to express different opinions through art and music.…

    • 66 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Renaissance was a very influential time in Europe during which new doors were opened and learning was enhanced. Discoveries were constantly being made through science, art, and exploration. Exploration to the New World…

    • 919 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It presents the events and facts as being a self contained entity without having influence on a greater scale, which is simply not true. The linear cause and effect plotting of the history leaves out any nuance with in the narrative which then excludes the complicated origins of performance and cultural practices, and especially when they are problematic to the keeping the pristine a-political nature of art that the History of the Theatre wants to convey. In it’s attempt to simplify and create a linear encyclopedia, it leaves the reader without the history of theatrical performance but instead with technical specs of theatres and industrial…

    • 270 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Renaissance elicited innovation of technology, creativity, and the ability to use individual impression to express ones self thereby influencing later art forms. In America, we are free thinkers, not bogged down by a dictatorship of religion and can freely express spirituality by our own interpretation. The Renaissance paved the way for new literature beyond theological writings of different genres of interest such as fiction, non-fiction, science fiction, poetry, romance, politics, philosophy and many others. Its influence architecturally is seen across our country with elements of ancient Roman/Greek architectural features in our nations capital with pillars and arches, and many cathedrals around the world. Seeing a Renaissance influence in our society today cannot be seen without in depth knowledge of its origin through the transition of the late Middle Ages by the revival of classical antiquity. Once this is accomplished, one can see the influence the Renaissance has had in many parts of the…

    • 2243 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Renaissance was a period of time when great changes occurred across the world that changed the way people lived and how they thought. The Renaissance was a period of time spanning over several centuries. It affected the entire world at different times and in different ways. Europe and England were also greatly influenced as part of the Renaissance Many outcomes developed as a result of the Renaissance.…

    • 978 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Italian Renaissance Masks

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Italian resonance stared during the 1300. This included the movement from Medieval to the modern Europe we see today. The Italian Renaissance had many changes which included cultural change as well as the works of artists, writers, and architects. One of the main people during this time period would be Francesco Petrarch. Petrarch was born in Arezzo Italy and his profession was poetry and a Philosopher. Petrarch can be considered the start of the renaissance in Italy. Petrarch poetry is seen as the father of modern Italian language. Many of these authors wanted to teach Italians how to act as a gentlemen and a women. Without the individuals from the Italian renaissance modern Italy would be very different from what we seen now. The Italian renaissance can be summed up from one word and that would be teaching. These authors would look at old artifacts rewrite the work and then teach people how to be good people. Not only did they teach people how to be good people they also taught you how you should live life and how you should act in general. They taught you how you should read, write, build, talk and so on. Without the Italian Renaissance the Italian people would not have guidance and it would be harder to do things and learn things throughout their lifetime. I believe that the Italian Renaissance shaped the people we see today and was able to spread to different parts of Europe. Italians were finally able to talk for themselves as well as have the knowledge too back them up. They also taught the Italian people too question things and answer things for themselves. ` With out the Italian Renaissance we would have never had seen the start of the Renaissance Humanism. All in all the Italian Renaissance did an amazing job establishing the Modern Italian…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Art Renaissance

    • 562 Words
    • 3 Pages

    -He painted a scene that would normally be reserved for something religious and was highly controversial during the time. He took a step that went against the bourgeois values by not caring about the class definitions that were socially acceptable. He painted something that he “shouldn’t” have, but it brought him instant fame.…

    • 562 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays