Shakespeare Manipulated The Use of the Dramatic Works of Shakespeare in Teatro Di Figura in Italy

Much can be gleaned from the stage directions in these fascinating documents about the techniques of theatre with marionette. It is also apparent that these productions were a heady mixture of Shakespearean characters intermingled with stock comic masks of Italian tradition, displays of virtuoso technique, music, and dance. The texts are of considerable linguistic interest, combining as they do an elevated, archaic Italian for the Shakespearean characters with colloquial language or dialect for the masks.