Commedia Dell'Arte

Character Analysis of Pantalone
Final Essay:

Commedia dell’Arte, a popular form of theatre began in Italy in the sixteenth century and it became known for the creation of improvised theatre that were based on sketches or scenarios. The earliest known company formed in Padua in 1545, and by the turn of the seventeenth century troupes such as the Gelosi, Confidenti, and Fedeli enjoyed international celebrity (Kenneth and Kenneth 20-25). Commedia dell’Arte was performed by professional actors who were usually masters of their craft whether it was acting or singing or dancing. Historians such as Roberto Tessari and Luciano Pinto believe that the tradition was developed in response to the economic and political crisis that occurred in the fourteenth century[1] (Katritzky 80-92). Commedia dell’Arte would grow to become the first professional form of theatre filled with comedic characters and lavish costumes which would become the trademark for this theatrical era. With each stock character of the Commedia evolved a distinct set of attribute, characteristic speech, gestures, props, and costume, all of which became standard to the portrayal of the character. One of the most important and popular stock characters is Pantalone, the “first old man of the Commedia dell’Arte”(Oreglia 78). Scholars have various ideas of what the origins of the name were. Some believe that it derived from St Pantalone, the patrons of Venice, while other scholars claim that his name originated from the Italian name for “plant the lion,” which was “piantaleoni.” Venetian merchants planted these when fresh lands were conquered(Oreglia 78). Pantalone is portrayed as an old Venetian man who is often described as “a rich and almost miserly old merchant, always decrepit and stumbling"(Nicoll 47). His character is based on money and ego, he also has the highest regards for his own intelligence even though he is often the victim of every kind of prank or trick. His character is made comical

Cited: Allardyce, Nicoll. The World of Harlequin, a Critical Study of the Commedia Dell 'arte. Burke, Peter. Popular Culture in Early Modern Europe. NY: Harper & Row, 1978. Ducharte, Pierre L, and Randolph T. T. Weaver. The Italian Comedy; the Improvisation, Scenarios, Lives, Attriubtes, Portraits, and Masks of the Illustrious Characters of the Commedia Dell 'arte. New York, Dover Publications, 1966. Print. Goldoni, Carlo. The Servant of Two Masters. London: Heinemann, 1961. Print. Gozzi, Carlo. Turandot, Princess of China. S.l.: General Books, 2010. Print. Henke, Robert. Performance and Literature in the Commedia Dell 'arte. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print. Oreglia, Giacomo. The Commedia Dell 'arte. New York: Hill and Wang, 1968. Print. ----------------------- [1] Economic crisis of the sixteenth century: The sixteenth century in Europe was a time of unprecedented change. It was the beginning of the modern era, and it saw a revolution in almost every aspect of life. The combination of population pressure and inflation exacerbated by the flow of gold and silver from the New World saw a price rise that cut effective wages in half by about mid-century. Changing economic conditions saw many peasants lose their land as the terms of their tenancy become much less favorable, while land was becoming concentrated in the hands of the elites, especially the rising bourgeousie. Homelessness and vagrancy were on the rise, and towns experienced a sense of crisis trying to deal with the poor. By the end of the century, a peasant almost never saw meat, and many of them had reached such a state of despair about the future that they engaged in widespread revolts. Tensions between the social orders were high on many levels. (Burke 120)