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'Six Characters in search of an Author' is a is a satirical
tragicomedy play. First performed in 1921 at the Teatro Valle in
Rome, it had a very mixed reception, with the audience shouting
"Manicomio " ("Madhouse "). However, the reception improved
significantly and in 1922 it played on Broadway at the Princess
Theatre.The play starts with a group of actors preparing to
rehearse for a Pirandello play. The rehearsal is interrupted by the
arrival of six characters. One of then informs the manager that
they are looking for an author. He explains that the author who
created them did not finish their story, and that they therefore
are unrealized characters who have not been fully brought to life.
Initially, the manager goes to throw them out of the theatre, but
becomes more intrigued when they start to describe their story.
The facetie, as a literary form, has an ancient lineage, while, if
we regard it merely as a humorous tale or jocular anecdote, its
history must be almost as old as the first laughs and smiles of
prehistoric man. To go back no further, we may trace it in a direct
line through Latin literature, to the Greek apopthegm. Facetiae, in
the literary sense, are also to be found in Oriental literature,
espeically the Persian and the Arabian. The Greek apopthegm and its
Roman successor had a different character from the Florentine
facetia, but the difference is one rather of matter than form. The
ribald, licentious note is not so common in the classic facetaie,
and the historical anecdotes treating of kings, princes, and
persons of high estate were mostly reverent and often adulatory.
Satire and disrespect appeared in the humorous tales of Poggio and
his peers. The apopthegm was, as a rule, a brief narrative, as
often as not enclosing a moral lesson in an historical anecdote. Or
else it was the saying of some wise or great man.
The facetie, as a literary form, has an ancient lineage, while, if
we regard it merely as a humorous tale or jocular anecdote, its
history must be almost as old as the first laughs and smiles of
prehistoric man. To go back no further, we may trace it in a direct
line through Latin literature, to the Greek apopthegm. Facetiae, in
the literary sense, are also to be found in Oriental literature,
espeically the Persian and the Arabian. The Greek apopthegm and its
Roman successor had a different character from the Florentine
facetia, but the difference is one rather of matter than form. The
ribald, licentious note is not so common in the classic facetaie,
and the historical anecdotes treating of kings, princes, and
persons of high estate were mostly reverent and often adulatory.
Satire and disrespect appeared in the humorous tales of Poggio and
his peers. The apopthegm was, as a rule, a brief narrative, as
often as not enclosing a moral lesson in an historical anecdote. Or
else it was the saying of some wise or great man.
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger
Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain
imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed
pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we
have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting,
preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger
Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and
hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone
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