ITALIAN DRANI A. In Italy, where the revival of the classical type wa- earliest. the religions drama reached a considerable degree of literary progress before it was superseded. The fifteenth century saw the development of the so-called Rapprescrita:ionc Sacra, produced chiefly in connection with the festivities in honor of Saint John the Baptist. Notable among these are the .11tra nut r l.saecn I 14491 of Feo Beleari, and Loretto de' Medici's San rlio•antti and San pardo.
The modern history of the drama in Italy, passing by less regular attempts like that of Poliziano, is considered to Iwgin with Tris sino's Sofatticba a dull and conventional tragedy in blank verse. :\bout the same time ]'taut -an comedy was revived in the writings of Cardinal 110)1dt-rm. \ riosto. and \laeltiavelli. Tas so's A minta (1573) set a fashion of pastoral drama wit kit much imitated. Toward the end of the century, Giambattista della Porta, play Wright as %cell as philosopher, exhibited a num ber of comedies of a familiar and sometimes even farcical kind. but of an agreeable original. ity. The political influence of Spain was now at its height en Italian territory, and the roman tic drama of the West gradually. found favor in Italy. Borghini. Michelangelo litionarreti. nephew of the great artist, and other writers continued the reaction against the domination of the classic taste: notahle in the movement were Buonarroti's comedies, Tnnein 11.112) and Fiera ti(ils t. About the beginning of tile ..eVell h century, 1..0, 1: i 11111(1.111i and others, by the union of music with the romantic drama, succeeded in establishing what was called 11140 (1 I'll Ilia I:A-gill:1r tragedy and comedy were well nigh superseded, and all Italy turned to the uNica opt ra. %emir, :A century later, fixed the drama on a level, and in it Aletastasio, popularity. was established by the performance in }tome (1723f of his boionc Ibbninioantn. tompletely fascinated the Italian public. llis long -erits of works culminated in the triumph of his .ttiiio 11750).
however. tire regular drama had been The archaeologist Maffei composed his ,Hercule 11713f. with the definite purpose of restoring the elassi• tragedy to Italy. The political preponderance of Spain had now given way to that of France, and Maffei's friend, the actor-playwright Bieeoboni, eontributed not a little to the consequent increase of French in fluen•e upon the Italian stage. The other fore most names of the eighteenth century in Italian drama are those of (_:tiltioni. Cozzi. and .11ti•ri. Goldoni, who left his native Venice in 1761 to complete his life in Paris, has been called the Italian Moliere': lie is the great Italian exem plar of regular literary comedy. ills great rival. Carlo t:OZZi, won fame in quite a different style. Taking the popular institution of the cola nt ilia tit I!' utM ( 'comedy of masks'). for which Goldoni expressed contempt, lie gave it a literary form which for a few years enjoyed immense success. The bold and passionate Al fieri inaugurated a new era in Italian tragedy.
11e was a follower of the classic school, an observer of the unities. and aimed. while writing such tragedies as Filippo If., Saul, and La f'on yitirn to help revive the vigor of the national spirit. llis su••essors, among them Alonti. Niecolini. Manzoni„ Silvio Pellico. and, later. ('ossa. somewhat relaxed their adherence to classic forms: in the nineteenth century Daly shared in the extending influence of Shake spearean The dramatists thus affected have given prominence to historical drama, and of their works have been of a high In recent years the novelist and poet 1)•.\ninitizio has gained some distinction as a playwright, with drama- written for the actress ))use. .\inong the other Italian actors of the past century who have ve gained in international reputation are Modena. Tommaso Sal•ini. and Madame Vistori.
SeAxisil Dim ! A The great period of the Spanish drama came earlier than did that of Italy. and at a time when the best poets. while writing for the stage. -till busied their pen- in the composition of religious dramas in the ser vice of the ('hurch. Passing over sonic of the earlier among them those of Santillana. Lope de Buetla, who. as actor. malinger, and playwright, has been (-ailed the Patriarch of the Spanish Stage, and hi. follower Naharro, we come to the century of Cell ante, Lope de Vega, and Calderon. the genius of Cervantes was more decidedly epic than dramatic. Yet in La Numancia he ha, left a serious tragedy of per manent worth and dignity. Contemporary with him were the lesser writer. Cueva. Virues, and Argen.ola. While the critic., however, were clamoring about the classic rules of the drama. Lope de Vega appeared upon the scene, to set nearly all the laws at defiance. Ile was a writer of the most prodigious facility. as well as dra matic ‘igor. Alore than eighteen hundred plays are .aid to have been his work, and he won im mense popularity, to which, indeed, he sacri ficed conic of the more enduring qualities. of the same period were Ruiz de .Alarcon and Tiro de Molina (Gabriel Tellez). whose Burlado• ilc ,`'snips, 6 el coneidado de pied re, is a play notable for having introduced the famous character of Don duan. Calderon, who succeeded to the greatness of Lope de Vega. had the additional merit of serious devotion to dramatic art. The lyric ele ment is prominent in his plays, and they include many of the highest expression, of Spanish ideals, of devotion to the King. to the Church, and to personal 'honor.' Famous among his creations were the religious plays called autos sacramentales, in which the mystery of the Eucharist was dramatically set forth. With his death in 16S1, the brilliant period of the Spanish theatre was nearly closed. His con temporary Moreto wrote numerous fine come dies. notably the 'cloak and sword play.,' for which the Spanish stage is proverbial: and the name of the historian Solis is worthy of mention. For the theatre of the present day in Spain, &Mega ray is the best-known writer.