Commedia dell'Arte - Virginia P. Scott (essay date 1977)
Virginia P. Scott (essay date 1977)
SOURCE: Scott, Virginia P. “The Jeu and the Rôle: Analysis of the Appeals of the Italian Comedy in France in the Time of Arlequin-Dominique.” In Western Popular Theatre, edited by David Mayer and Kenneth Richards, pp. 1-27. London: Methuen, 1977.
[In the following essay, Scott discusses the development of the commedia dell'arte in France, particularly in the late seventeenth century.]
Popular entertainments are generally so classified because of their appeal and availability to a large audience drawn from all classes and conditions of society. However, the assertion that the Italian Comedy in Paris in the last half of the seventeenth century was available to all classes cannot be supported. The cheapest place, in the parterre,1 cost 15 sous,2 a day's wages for many artisans in 16883. Economic necessity dictates that the audience of the...
[The entire page is 11977 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
