Commedia Dell'Arte A Guide to the Primary and Secondary Literature

The Commedia dell'arte, which arose in the 16th century, was a form of professional improvised theatre. It gave the world such comic figures (masks) as Harlequin, Pulcinella, Pierrot, Dottore, and other stock characters. Its only remaining textual sources are plot outlines, called scenarios. This book summarizes, in English, virtually all the literature on the commedia dell'arte through 1987."This is a work of exceptional value, which can certainly be read for pleasure in addition to being used for study or reference, given its precision, its breadth of coverage, an the smooth flow of its abstracts."Letters dell'ItaliaHeck, Thomas F. is the author of 'Commedia Dell'Arte A Guide to the Primary and Secondary Literature' with ISBN 9780595004522 and ISBN 0595004520.