Commedia Erudita

The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre | 1996 | 700+ words | Copyright

Commedia Erudita, ‘learned’ Italian counterpart in the early 16th century to the ‘popular’ commedia dell'arte. Based on the Roman comedies of Plautus and Terence, it tended towards the creation of types rather than individuals. Typical of the genre are the comedies of Della Porta, which are all reducible to a single plot—two young people crossed in love, whose difficulties are resolved by a servant; the plays usually end with a recognition scene, after it has been revealed that one of the characters has previously been carried off by pirates, sold into slavery, or captured by the Turks. The writers of learned comedies were convinced that they had breathed new life into classical comedy—as indeed they had, but mainly thanks to their observation of contemporary life and manners. Among the masterpieces of the commedia erudita are the comedies of Aretino and Ariosto, La Calandria (1506) by Cardinal Bibbiena, and La Mandragola (1520) by Machiavelli.

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PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Commedia Erudita." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Commedia Erudita." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-CommediaErudita.html

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Commedia Erudita." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-CommediaErudita.html

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