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" Carnival, comedy and the Commedia : "
Knapper, Stephen P. J.
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Latin Dissertation
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| Record Number
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1093053
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TLets263932
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| Main Entry
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Knapper, Stephen P. J.
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| Title & Author
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Carnival, comedy and the Commedia :\ Knapper, Stephen P. J.
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| College
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University of Westminster
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| Date
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1998
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| student score
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1998
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| Degree
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Ph.D.
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| Abstract
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Acknowledging the provenance of the mask of Scaramouche in carnival, thisthesis employs a critical framework drawn from the work of one of thatphenomenon's major theorists, the Russian philologist, Mikhail Bakhtin.It specifically tests the hypothesis that the mask embodies Bakhtin' s criteria ofcarnival- laughter, both mocking and regenerative. First by charting itsevolution as a parasite or servant role in the professional theatre of the socalledcommedia dell 'arte in early seventeenth-century Italy. A comparisonbetween the myth of its most famous exponent, Tiberio Fiorilli, and hismaterial history exemplifies the hypothesis by establishing his social positionas a type of court jester. The satirical functions of the mask in French societyare then examined, focussing particularly on its influence upon the theatre ofMoliere in its fluctuation betwen the roles of servant and master. It is arguedthat the carnivalesque qualities of the mask represented the continuation of aheterodox opposition to absolutist containment, and these dialogic propertiesare emphasised in its history throughout the eighteenth, nineteenth andtwentieth centuries, which is marked by a hybridisation into different artisticgenres. It is demonstrated how the mask became inextricably associated withrevolution through the popular fiction of Rafael Sabatini and cinematicadaptations thereof. Finally its attraction to the Italian avant-garde is seen in theclosing decades of this century, returning through the mask to a cultural politicsechoing the utopian project of carnival.
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| Subject
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Neapolitan theatre; Fiorilli
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| Added Entry
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University of Westminster
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