Commedia Dell’ Arte
Imanne Mondane
Michelle Zapoluch
Yashica Blackman
Kianna Hughes
1
Commedia Dell’ Arte
 Origins
are less certain for Commedia Dell’
Arte than they are for other time periods.
 Mid 1500s- Mid 1700s
Vocabulary & Characters
 Zanni:
the Servant Clowns
 Prima Donna: the Leading Lady
 Innamorata: the Young, Female Lover
 Innamorato: the Young, Male Lover
 Pantalone: a Miser; an Old Master
 Capitano: a Braggart Soldier
Characters & Vocabulary
Prima
Donna
Zanni
Innamorata
Innamorato
Miser
Pantalone
Production & Performance
 Key
Change: Not working with fully scripted
plays and a wide spread use of improvisation.
 Ventured from Neoclassicism.
 Originated in Italy and then spread to other
countries such as France.
 Basis: Improvisation, Acrobatic Clowning,
Farcical Plots, and Attractive Lovers
 Lots of Masks
3 Major Players
 Carlo
Goldoni: He brought an end to Commedia
Dell’ Arte by fully scripting plays, eliminating
masks, and giving womens’ roles a new
definition.
 Royall Tyler: His play, The Contrast (1787), was
a comic comparison of European and American
society and values.
 Pierre Marivaux and Beaumarchais: These
playwrights made lasting impressions on
Commedia with comedies that aroused tension
and conflict among social structures.