Subject
Italian drama -- Translations into English Books
Best books
Luigi Pirandello
Three Plays
"Three Plays" by Luigi Pirandello is a collection of dramatic works written in the early 20th century. It includes notable plays such as "Six Characters in Search of an Author," "Henry IV," and "Right You Are! (If You Think So)." The collection showcases Pirandello's exploration of the complexities of identity, reality, and the nature of creation in theater, often through characters that challenge the boundaries between life and art. The opening portion introduces "Six Characters in Search of an Author," setting the stage for a unique play that blurs the lines between actors and characters. The story begins with a theater company preparing for a rehearsal when six characters arrive unexpectedly, claiming they are in search of an author to complete their story. They express their existential plight—having been abandoned by their creator—and urge the manager and actors to help bring their drama to life. As the characters begin to interact with the theater personnel, the themes of reality versus illusion and the struggles of characters seeking their own narratives are vividly presented, hinting at a satirical yet profound critique of dramatic conventions and the artistic process itself.
Gabriele D'Annunzio
The daughter of Jorio : $b A pastoral tragedy
The Daughter of Jorio: A Pastoral Tragedy by Gabriele D'Annunzio is a verse pastoral tragedy written in the early 20th century. Set among the archaic customs of the Abruzzi, it centers on the shepherd-artist Aligi and the persecuted Mila di Codra, whose encounter tests clan loyalties, religious rites, and the sanctity of the hearth. The work blends folk belief, ritual, and lyric speech to explore love, honor, and communal judgment within a harsh pastoral world. The opening of the play frames its world through an introduction that situates the action in the Abruzzi, explains the folk rites (marriage, mourning, sanctuary at the hearth), and highlights the drama’s flexible, musical verse. Act I unfolds during Aligi’s espousal rites: his mother Candia and sisters conduct the traditional ceremony when a hunted woman rushes in to claim sanctuary. The reapers outside name her as Mila di Codra, “the daughter of Jorio,” revile her as an outcast, and demand she be handed over; the women waver, and Aligi at first tries to expel her. When Mila invokes the sacred fireplace and Aligi envisions her guardian angel weeping, he repents, places a blessed cross on the threshold, and sends the reapers away in peace, just as his father Lazaro returns wounded. At the start of Act II the scene shifts to Aligi’s mountain cave, where he carves an angel in walnut wood while Mila sits nearby and other mountain folk doze, signaling a new, quieter phase after the village tumult.
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