Drama

Dramatic literature clearly demonstrated the parallel development of humanistic works in the vernacular and traditionally medieval forms that continued to be used in the Renaissance with slight modifications. There was occasional overlapping, for example, in biblical subjects familiar from medieval plays used in 16th-century tragedies. In tragedy, the ancient models were Seneca, Sophocles, and Euripides. In comedy, Plautus and Terence served as classical examples. Although every national vernacular in Europe had its playwrights during the 16th century, many of the plays were quite derivative because the point of writing a classical tragedy or erudite comedy was to emulate the work of ancient authors. Court theater predominated in Italy and France. Except for the street performances by the commedia dell’arte, plays were mainly written for the aristocracy. Most German drama, however, was written to appeal to the Protestant masses, with much of the content blatantly religious. There was no set format for dramatic speech, and playwrights wrote in prose as well as in several types of verse. European theater was evolving during this period. In addition to plays performed in piazzas, inn yards, great halls, and roving wagons, new dramatic works began to be performed in permanent theaters during the second half of the 16th century. These new structures, with resident companies of actors, helped to legitimize playwriting and acting as serious professions.

Fortunately, we have some knowledge about earlier Renaissance performances and stage setting from contemporary reports, especially in personal letters. In 1513, for example, Baldassare Castiglione (1478-1529), author of 11 cortegiano (The courtier, 1528), wrote about the stage scenery of a comedy that premiered at the court of Urbino. The play was La calandria by Bernardo Dovizi, Cardinal Bibbiena, which became one of the most acclaimed comedies of the early 16th century. According to Castiglione’s report, it took four months to construct the following scenery: a wall with two towers; a rampart; tapestries of the Trojan War hung above the tiers of seats; wires extending from the cornices holding 13 gigantic carved letters, each with torches to light the stage; building fronts in relief “in scenic perspective”; an elaborately decorated octagonal temple; a triumphal arch with an equestrian statue; and even more. Renaissance theatrical performances had intermissions in which short skits were performed, often with music and dancing. Castiglione also described the intermezzi of the Urbino play, one of which was a chariot of the goddess Juno: “This car was drawn by two peacocks so beautiful and lifelike that I could not believe my eyes, and yet I had seen them before, and had myself given directions how they were to be made” (Ross and McLaughlin 1968, pp. 461-465). Although many stage-settings were by no means so elaborate, the scenery for La calandria is representative of that of the plays commissioned by the powerful Renaissance courts.

Major dramatic subgenres discussed in the following include tragedy, comedy, and the masque. The commedia dell’arte, which usually performed comedies, is treated in a separate section. Religious drama, another important subgenre, is discussed in chapter 2, and theatrical architecture is discussed in chapter 4.