THE DRAMA.
First attempts at Secular Drama--The _Orfeo_ and _Timone_--General
Character of Italian Plays--Court Pageants and Comedies borrowed from
the Latin--Conditions under which a National Drama is formed--Their
absence in Italy--Lack of Tragic Genius--Eminently Tragic Material in
Italian History--The Use made of this by English Playwrights--The
Ballad and the Drama--The Humanistic Bias in Italy--Parallels between
Greek and Italian Life--Il Lasca's Critique of the Latinizing
Playwrights--The _Sofonisba_ of Trissino--Rucellai's _Rosmunda_--Sperone's
_Canace_--Giraldi's _Orbecche_--Dolce's _Marianna_--Transcripts from
the Greek Tragedians and Seneca--General Character of Italian
Tragedies--Sources of their Failure--Influence of Plautus and Terence
over Comedy--Latin Comedies acted at Florence, Rome, Ferrara--Translations
of Latin Comedies--Manner of Representation at Court--Want of
Permanent Theaters--Bibbiena's _Calandra_--Leo X. and Comedy at
Rome--Ariosto's Treatment of his Latin Models--The _Cassaria_,
_Suppositi_, _Lena_, _Negromante_, _Scolastica_--Qualities of
Ariosto's Comedies--Machiavelli's Plays--The _Commedia in
Prosa_--Fra Alberigo and Margherita--The _Clizia_--Its Humor--The
_Mandragola_--Its sinister Philosophy--Conditions under which it was
Composed--Aretino disengages Comedy from Latin Rules--His Point of
View--The _Cortegiana_, _Marescalco_, _Talanta_--Italy had innumerable
Comedies, but no great Comic Art--General Character of the _Commedia
Erudita_--Its fixed Personages--Gelli, Firenzuola, Cecchi, Ambra, Il
Lasca--The Farsa--Conclusion on the Moral Aspects of Italian Comedy 108