ABSTRACT

Jason Lawrence makes the case for Shakespeare's acquisition of Italian through John Florio manuals. Michael Wyatt's research, in the article in this volume and in his recent book, though not direct towards Shakespearean theatre, reveals a multitude of possible contacts which allow him to argue winningly for a profound impact made on English cultural self-awareness by the presence of Italians resident in England. The repertory of the comici dell'arte is tipped heavily towards comic forms farce, romantic comedy, and pastoral but when they adapted regular tragedy for scenarios, the frequency of comic relief, the expansion of the feminine roles and the uninhibited 'outdoing' of literary models with scenic effect, to borrow Mariangela Tempera's telling word pointed also towards Shakespeare's way with tragedy, and not only in those tragedies that came to him from Italian comedy. Quite independent from documented contacts, however, Shakespeare's plays themselves betray their origins by a family resemblance strong enough to be convincing without further testing.