Both
Shakespearean theatre and Commedia Dell’Arte have been important in the
development of archetypes in society. Shakespeare was well aware of many
elements of Commedia and tried to add his own personal touch to it. There are
many similarities and differences between the traditional Italian Commedia and
Shakespeare’s ingenious stories (“The Elizabeth Age”).
Both
Shakespeare and the first Commedia Dell’Arte troop were born roughly in the
same decade. At that time, both Italy and England were becoming major cultural
and commercial hubs which allowed artists and writers to truly express their
craft. The political world realized the importance of art and literature to the
life of the nation. Both Commedia and Shakespeare moved in troops that knew
their craft very well and worked well together. (“The Elizabethan Age”)
Shakespeare
spent a lot of time writing poetic lines in his plays using the iambic
pentameter. Commedia Dell’Arte was more focused on humor and improvisation.
Commedia was much more fluid in their use of audience interaction and
improvisation but Shakespeare stuck to the script much more. (“Interrogating
Shakespeare’s Sources”)
Both
Commedia Dell’Arte and Shakespeare were known to heavily borrow components of
plot and character development. They pieced this together with their own ideas.
Commedia Dell’Arte could have been influenced by Shakespeares stories and
Shakespeare seems to have watched some Commedia as he borrowed parts of plays
from it. His use of Commedia roles and trademark actions are used in almost all
his books. Even some names are copied such as Polonius to play Pantalone (“Interrogating
Shakespeare’s Sources”).
"Interrogating
Shakespeare's Sources: Commedia Dell'arte." University of Cambridge.
Cambridge, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. <https://www.ice.cam.ac.uk/component/courses/?view=course&cid=4130>.
"The
Elizabethan Age." Shakespeare
in American Communities. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.shakespeareinamericancommunities.org/education/elizabethan-age>.
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