Analysis
Although Ludovico Ariosto was a dramaturge as well as a poet, his drama has long been obscured by the well-deserved fame of his epic masterpiece. The chief reason for this traditional slighting of Ariosto’s drama, however, probably lies in the five comedies’ supposedly excessive reliance on Roman models for their plots, themes, and characters. (Although Virginio Ariosto wrote that his father “was not very studious and searched for few books,” Ariosto’s dramatic works demonstrate a thorough knowledge of Plautus and Terence; similarly, his Cinque canti of 1545 is proof of his extensive familiarity with Cicero, Ovid, Statius, Horace, and Catullus.) Roman comedy typically included stock characters (such as domineering and/or aged fathers, furtive young lovers, scheming slaves, and swaggering soldiers) and love affairs (full of mistaken identities, disguises, tricks, and reversals), and employed a prologue, versification, and many monologues and asides. Unquestionably, numerous parallels to classical comedy exist in Ariosto’s dramatic corpus (and, although generally unacknowledged, in much modern European comedy as well). The crucial point here is that the Italian dramatist fully intended that the classical influences should shine through his text even to the cursory reader or casual observer. His primary goal was the creation or establishment of a tradition of learned comedy. Any analysis, however, that emphasizes only classical sources and analogues invariably negates much of the originality of the comedies, regrettably neglects much of the social commentary in the plays, and usually overlooks any evolution from the first to the last play, all of which frequently discourages a close examination of the influence of Ariosto’s work on the later cinquecento comedy. These aspects—especially the question of originality—are issues that should be considered in any assessment of Ariosto’s contribution to the dramatic genre.
The view, shared by critic Franceso De Sanctis and others, that Ariosto’s plays are unoriginal and lacking in freshness is a criticism not easily dismissed, but one that nevertheless misses the point of what Ariosto was attempting to achieve in his drama. It fails in large part to take into account the nature of the vernacular dramatist’s task at the beginning of the sixteenth century. In the composition of erudite comedies, Ariosto was intent on re-creating a classical literary genre in his native tongue, and such a feat required him to draw extensively on popular Plautine and Terentian models. In the prologue to The Pretenders, he even states his desire “to imitate the celebrated classical poets as much as possible, not only in the form of their plays, but also in the content.” He refers to this action as “poetic imitation rather than plagiarism”; consequently, it should be considered in the spirit of Renaissance imitatio . Just as Latin playwrights made use of Greek writers to create a viable Roman theater, Ariosto drew on the Latin tradition in order to initiate an Italian dramatic repertory. His role, therefore, was that of a pivotal adapter and initiator and, as such, was not totally devoid of originality. Even as he imitated, he made important modifications and innovations in order to reflect and comment on Ferrarese society and Italian courtly life. (His comments range from remarks on ducal penalties for poaching to statements on the vanity of women, the latter of which constitute a repeated theme.) Furthermore, although debts to Plautus and Terence are immediately apparent in the first two plays, they become progressively less evident in the later plays as the number of contemporary allusions increases and as ubiquitous classical prototypes are transformed into ever more realistic individuals. As Edmond M. Beame and Leonard G. Sbrocchi note in the introduction to their 1975 translation of...
(This entire section contains 1755 words.)
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the plays, with each successive play, Ariosto “became more daring and more original, introducing comic characters that never had appeared on the Roman stage, dealing with nonclassical themes, exploring human foibles, and placing his comedies in a contemporary Italian setting.”
In his comedies, though not as skillfully as in Orlando furioso, Ariosto attempted to treat popular themes in classical ways. With a sympathetic ear for the life of his contemporaries, he combined a thorough knowledge of theatrical devices with a realistic depiction of human nature. Sprinkled with a liberal portion of his characteristic wit and irony, Ariosto’s comedies equal any produced during his age.
The Coffer
The Coffer, Ariosto’s first play, composed originally in prose and later versified, is, as he states in the prologue, “a new comedy filled with various witticisms that neither Greek nor Latin tongues ever recited on the stage.” It is, in other words, a modern comedy, even though most of its themes derive from Phormio (161 b.c.e.; English translation, 1598), Heautontimorumenos (163 b.c.e.; The Self-Tormentor, 1598), and Andria (166 b.c.e.; English translation, 1598) by Terence, and Mostellaria (The Haunted House, 1774) by Plautus. The action takes place in Mytilene, the main city on the infamously corrupt island of Lesbos, but concludes with a reference to the Moor’s Inn, one of Ferrara’s famous taverns. The plot revolves around a trick played by two young men, Erofilo and Caridoro, on the procurer Lucrano in order to liberate two young ladies, Eulalia and Corisca, of whom the young men are enamored. Volpino, Erofilo’s crafty servant, suggests the scheme, which suffers more than one reversal before it is accomplished. Briefly stated, the plan consists in convincing the young men’s fathers that the procurer has stolen a coffer of gold brocade and must be punished. The originality of the play appears in such aspects as the transformation of the two girls from the stereotypical slaves of classical times into much more sympathetic figures. Ariosto also offers contemporary social commentary on the corruption of many Roman ecclesiastes and Ferrarese magistrates.
The Pretenders
The setting for Ariosto’s second play, The Pretenders, is the Italian city of Ferrara, but the situation derives from a favorite theme of classical comedy: the substitution of one person for another until a certain end is realized and true identities are revealed. The classical models cited in the prologue to this play are the Captivi (The Captives, 1767) by Plautus and the Eunuchus (161 b.c.e.; The Eunuch, 1598) of Terence; a tale in Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron: O, Prencipe Galetto (1349-1351; The Decameron, 1620) may have been a closer source of the dramatist’s inspiration in that both Ariosto’s and Boccaccio’s works feature a young lover who disguises himself in order to enter the house of his beloved. The lover, Erostrato, disguising himself as the servant of his beloved Polinesta’s father, sends his own servant to school disguised as himself. Competing with an old doctor, Cleandro, who is able to offer a considerable sum of money for the hand of Polinesta, Erostrato and his fellow conspirators undergo many reverses and impersonations, which delightfully embellish the clever plot.
The play premiered in Ferrara in 1509, the year following the first performance of The Coffer. It was staged again a decade later in Rome, with sets by Raphael, to the great pleasure of Pope Leo X. The popularity of the comedy soon spread beyond the Alps. In addition to Gascoigne’s English paraphrase in 1566, Jean Godard’s Les Desguisez (1594) and Molière’s L’Avare (pr. 1668; The Miser, 1672) are two French plays indebted to The Pretenders. The freshness of the play derives in no small part from the introduction of the pedantic character, Cleandro, the doctor of the law, to the Italian stage.
The Necromancer
The Necromancer, the third of Ariosto’s comedies to be performed, was begun during the same period as the first two, but it was not completed until 1520 and not performed until 1529. It tells the story of a swindler, or confidence man, Jachelino, who passes himself off as a necromancer or conjurer of spirits. He is able to trick many gullible people who come to him for advice, but in the end he is unmasked and forced to flee. The play, set in the city of Cremona, is quite modern and is characterized by quick dialogues and a satiric tone. The satire is directed as much against human folly as against astrology. The main plot, probably suggested by Terence’s Hecyra (165 b.c.e.; The Mother-in-Law, 1598), concerns the reluctance of a young man, Cinthio, to consummate the betrothal arranged by his foster father, Massimo. Massimo hires the necromancer to discover the solution to his son’s problem, not knowing that Cinthio has already married someone else. In order to be eligible for his inheritance, Cinthio has kept the former marriage a secret.
Again, coincidence and the machinations of a minor character bring about the reversals necessary for a happy ending when Cinthio is reunited with his secret love, Livinia, who turns out to be Massimo’s long-lost daughter. Ariosto’s careful planning and complex plot design, a carryover from his Roman models, again combines with his warmly human character portrayal to produce a clever and pleasing drama.
Lena
Lena, Ariosto’s last complete play, was produced in 1528 and treats the theme of corruption. Ferrara provides the setting, and the astute protagonist provides the title for this work, which Marvin Herrick in 1960 called “Ariosto’s best and most original comedy.” Lena’s husband assists a young lover, Flavio, in a scheme to allow him to marry his beloved, Licinia. Lena, who instructs Licinia in the ways of household tasks, is reluctant to allow the meeting, so Flavio’s servant attempts to bribe her with money. Pacifico, who is little more than a procurer for his wife, Lena, who has many lovers, finally suggests to Flavio that he slip into the house hidden in a wine cask. As in The Necromancer, a subordinate character, here a usurer, creates insurmountable problems when he requires the wine cask in payment of a debt.
Fatio, Licinia’s father, who is also Lena’s landlord and one of her lovers, determines to hold the wine cask in his house until the argument over the debt is settled. As one scandal is circumvented, new ones arise. Flavio is eventually discovered in the cask, and the two young lovers, in order to avoid yet another scandal, are allowed to marry.
Repeated references to well-known Ferrarese places and personages underscore the play’s satiric statement. The satire is directed at corrupt municipal authorities, incompetent officers of the law, and usurers charging exorbitant interest rates. In addition to the contemporary allusions, Ariosto based his story on a portion of Boccaccio’s The Decameron. Although many scenes are also reminiscent of classical comedy, the play is filled with contemporary motifs.