ABSTRACT
As William Shakespeare developed his theatrical craft in the 1580s, English actors and writers incorporated Italian scenarios, plot points, characters, and lazzi. Examination of English attitudes towards Italianate dramatic literature, plays, and practices in Elizabethan England underscores the impact of Italian style on theatre before and during Shakespeare's career. Tudor masques featured Italian characters that foreshadowed the popularity of the Italianate style in the Elizabethan era. As Italian literary and performing arts progressively infused English theatre, the English actors and writers adapted Italian arts to suit the Elizabethan artistic taste. As commedia dell'arte style flourished in France, the Italians' performance for English Lords Buckhurst and Lincoln in France presaged the Italians' return to England, further Italian adventures of Englishmen, and commedia dell'arte characters on the English stage. Given the popularity of the Italians in French courts, Lords Lincoln and Buckhurst might have invited comici Soldino and/or Maria to play in England.
