Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/437

417 ITALIAN.] DRAMA 417 tragedy, was not reduced to a merely occasional appearance between the acts till the beginning of the 17th century, or ousted altogether from the tragic drama till the earlier half of the 18th. Thus the changes undergone by Italian tragedy were for a long series of generations chiefly confined to the form of versification and the choice of themes ; nor was it, at all events till the last century of the course it has hitherto run, more than the after-growth of an after growth. The honour of having been the earliest tragedy in Italian seems to belong to Galeotto s tiofonisba (1502), a piece in 15 or 20 acts, regardless of unity of scene. A. da Pistoia s Pamfila (1508) followed, of which the subject was taken from Boccaccio, though the names of the characters were Greek. The play usually associated with the beginning of Italian tragedy that with which &quot;th Italian scene first learned to glow &quot; was another Sofonisla, acted before Leo X. in 1515, and written in blank verse (verso sciolto) instead of the ottava and terza rima of the earlier trage dians (retaining, however, the lyric measures of the chorus), by Trissino, who was employed as nuncio by that Pope. Other tragedies of the former half of the 16th Century were the liosmnnda of Rucellai, a nephew of Lorenzo the Magnificent (1516) ; Alamanrii s Antigone (1532); the Canace of Sperone Speroni, the envious Mopsus of Tasso, who, like Guarini, took Sperone s elaborate style for his model ; the Orazia, the earliest dramatic treatment of this famous subject, of the notorious Aretino (1549) ; and the nine tragedies of G. Cinthio, among which L Orbecche (1541) is accounted the best and the bloodiest. Cinthio, the author of those Hecatommithi to which Shakespeare was indebted for so many of liis sub jects, was (supposing him to have invented these) the first Italian who was the author of the fables of his own dramas ; he introduced some novelties into dramatic con struction, separating the prologue and probably also the epilogue from the action, and has by some been regarded as the inventor of the pastoral drama. In the latter half of the 16th century may be mentioned the Didone and the Marianna of L. Dolce, the translator of Seneca (1565); the Hadriana (acted before 1561 or 1586) of L. Groto, which treats the story of Romeo and Juliet; Tasso s Torrismondo (1587); the Tancredi of Asinari (1588); and the Merope of Torelli (1593), the last who employed the stationary chorus (corofisso) on the Italian stage. Leonico s Soldato (1550) is noticeable as supposed to have given rise to the tragedia cittadina, or domestic tragedy, of which there are few examples in the Italian drama, and De Velo s Tamar (1586), as written in prose. Subjects of modern historical in terest were in this period treated only in isolated instances. 1 The tragedians of the 17th century continued to pursue the beaten track, at times in vain, seeking by the intro- duction of musical airs to compromise with the danger w i fc h which their art was threatened of being (in Voltaire s phrase) extinguished by the beautiful monster, the opera, now rapidly gaining ground in the country of its origin. (See OPERA.) To Count P. Bonarelli (1589-1659), the author of Sollmano, is on the other hand ascribed the first disuse of the chorus in Italian tragedy. The innovation of the use of rhyme attempted in the learned Pallavicino s Erminigildo (1655), and defended by him in a discourse prefixed to the play, was in Italy no more than in England able to achieve a permanent success ; its chief repre sentative was afterwards Martelli (d. 1727), whose rhymed Alexandrian verse (Martelliano), though on one occasion used in comedy by Goldoni, failed to commend itself to the popular taste. By the end of the 17th century Italian tragedy seemed destined to expire, and the great tragic actor Cotta had withdrawn in disgust at the apathy of the 1 Mondelh, Isiflc (1532); Fuligni, Bragadino (158&). public towards the higher forms of the drama. The 18th century was, however, to witness a change, the beginning of which are attributed to the institution of the Academy of the Arcadians at Rome (1690). The principal efforts of the new school of writers and critics were directed to the abolition of the chorus, arffl to a general increase of freedom in treatment. Before long the Marquis S. Maffei MaffeL with his Merope (first printed 1713) achieved one of the most brilliant successes recorded in the history of dramatic literature. This play, which is devoid of any love-story, long continued to be considered the master-piece of Italian tragedy ; Voltaire, who declared it &quot; worthy of the most glorious days of Athens/ adapted it for the French stage, and it inspired a celebrated production of the English drama. 2 It was followed by a tragedy full of horrors, 3 noticeable as having given rise to the first Italian dramatic parody ; and by the highly esteemed productions of Granelli (d. 1769) and his contemporary Bettinelli. The influence of Voltaire had now come to predominate over the Italian drama ; and, in accordance with the spirit of the times, greater freedom prevailed in the choice of tragic themes. Thus the greatest of Italian tragic poets, Count V. Alfieri (1749-1803), found his path prepared A IfierL for him. Alfieri s grand and impassioned treatment of his subjects caused his faultiness of form, which he never altogether overcame, to be forgotten. The- spirit of a love of freedom which his creations 4 breathe was the herald of the national ideas of the future. Spurning the usages of French tragedy, his plays, which abound in soliloquies, owe part of their effect to an impassioned force of declamation, part to those &quot; points &quot; by which Italian acting seems pre-eminently capable of thrilling an audience. He has much besides the sub jects of two of his dramas 5 in common with Schiller; but his amazon-muse (as Schlegel called her) was not schooled into serenity, like the muse of the German poet. Among his numerous plays (21), Merope and /Saul, and perhaps Mirra, are accounted his master-pieces. The political colouring given by Alfieri to Italian tragedy Trag&l reappears in the plays of U. Foscolo (c. 1760-1827) and A. - since. Manzoni (1784-1873), both of whom are under the influ- Alficn - ence of the romantic school of modern literature ; and to these names must be added those of S. Pellico (1789-1854) and G. B. Niccolini (1785-1861), whose most celebrated dramas 6 treat national themes familiar to all students of modern history and literature. While Italian tragedy has upon the whole adhered to its love of strong situations and passionate declamation, its later growths have shown a capability of development precluding the supposition that its history is closed. The art of tragic acting at the pre sent day probably stands higher in Italy than in any other European country ; if the tragic muse were to be depicted with the features of a living artist, it is those of Adelaide Ristori which she would assume. In comedy, the efforts of the scholars of the Italian Italian Renaissance for a time went side by side with the progress comed J of the popular entertainments noticed above. While the contrasti of the close of the 15th and of the 16th century were disputations between pairs of abstract or allegorical figures, in the frottola human types take the place of abstractions, and more than two characters appear. To the farsa (a name used of a wide variety of entertainments) a new literary as well as social significance was given by the Neapolitan court-poet Sannazaro (c. 1492) ; about the same time a &quot;capitano valoroso,&quot; Venturino of Pesara, first brought on the modern stage the capitano glorioso or spavente, the - Home, Dourjlas. 3 Lazzaroui, Ulisse il Giovane (1719). 4 E.g., Druto I. and //. 5 Filippo; Maria Stuarda. 6 Pellico, Francesco, da Rimini; Niccolini, Giovanni da Procida; lleatrice Ccnci, VTL 53