The Reception of Ancient Drama in Renaissance Italy

Abstract

The first reception of Classical drama in a modern language occurred in sixteenth-century Italy. Italian neoclassical drama served as a basis for the development of European drama and represented a very rich cultural phenomenon in itself. This chapter discusses important characteristics of theater in Renaissance Italy, focusing on why neoclassical drama originated in Italy, on the theoretical debates that this new genre ignited, and on the main trends and themes of Italian neoclassical tragedy and comedy as well as their place in the larger Italian cultural milieu. For Renaissance theorists and playwrights, tragedy had a didactic function. By staging the fall of tyrants, tragedy could teach rulers how to govern with justice and avoid the dangers of tyranny. In Cinquecento Italy, Classical comedy was both translated and adapted. While translations could be more or less free, scholars speak of commedia erudite for adaptations and original comedies based on classical models.

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