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Sixteenth-century Italy witnessed the rebirth of comedy, tragedy,
and tragicomedy in the pastoral mode. Traditionally, we think of
comedy and tragedy as remakes of ancient models, and tragicomedy
alone as the invention of the moderns. Women, Rhetoric, and Drama
in Early Modern Italy suggests that all three genres were, in fact,
remarkably new, if dramatists' intriguingly sympathetic portrayals
of and sustained investment in women as vibrant and dynamic
characters of the early modern stage are taken into account. This
study examines the role of rhetoric and gender in early modern
Italian drama, in itself and in order to explore its complex
interrelationship with the rise of women writers and the role women
played in Italian culture and society, while at the same time
demonstrating just how closely intertwined history, culture, and
dramatic writing are. Author Alexandra Coller focuses on the
scripted/erudite plays of the sixteenth and first half of the
seventeenth centuries, which, she argues, are indispensable for a
balanced view of the history of drama and its place within
contemporary literary and women's studies. As this book reveals,
the ascendancy of comedy, tragedy, and tragicomedy in the
vernacular seems to have been not only inextricably linked to but
also dependent on the rise of women as prominent stage characters
and, eventually, as authors in their own right.
Sixteenth-century Italy witnessed the rebirth of comedy, tragedy,
and tragicomedy in the pastoral mode. Traditionally, we think of
comedy and tragedy as remakes of ancient models, and tragicomedy
alone as the invention of the moderns. Women, Rhetoric, and Drama
in Early Modern Italy suggests that all three genres were, in fact,
remarkably new, if dramatists' intriguingly sympathetic portrayals
of and sustained investment in women as vibrant and dynamic
characters of the early modern stage are taken into account. This
study examines the role of rhetoric and gender in early modern
Italian drama, in itself and in order to explore its complex
interrelationship with the rise of women writers and the role women
played in Italian culture and society, while at the same time
demonstrating just how closely intertwined history, culture, and
dramatic writing are. Author Alexandra Coller focuses on the
scripted/erudite plays of the sixteenth and first half of the
seventeenth centuries, which, she argues, are indispensable for a
balanced view of the history of drama and its place within
contemporary literary and women's studies. As this book reveals,
the ascendancy of comedy, tragedy, and tragicomedy in the
vernacular seems to have been not only inextricably linked to but
also dependent on the rise of women as prominent stage characters
and, eventually, as authors in their own right.
A seventeenth-century play showing the reality of life for women.
Valeria Miani's Amorous Hope is a play of remarkable richness,
subtlety, and verve. It presents a scathing exposure of society's
double-standards and it champions women's dramatic agency by
centering on the bleak reality they often faced, a reality that
attempted to harm and silence its victims. The play's salient
episodes reflect realities modern women still face today. Miani's
literary achievements attest to her emergence as a cultural
protagonist alongside Europe's most talented women writers, such as
Isabella Andreini, and she challenged the premodern notion that a
woman's eloquence is an indication of her sexual promiscuity.
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