The Commedia dell’Arte Influence on A Midsummer Night’s Dream

     Commedia dell’Arte was a theatre tradition that began during the Renaissance in Italy and spread across Europe. “There is no evidence that [Shakespeare] ever saw a Commedia company perform, but there are such strong links and comparisons, he must have heard some very accurate accounts of it” (“Commedia dell’Arte”). A Midsummer Night’s Dream includes not only the interweaving of stories across social classes found in Commedia dell’Arte, but some of its stock characters. As a result, the play remains one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies.

     Commedia dell’Arte incorporates three “classes” of characters in its performances. These are the vecchi, the zanni, and the innamorati (“French Theater in the 18^th Century”). The vecchi are the upper class or masters. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, these characters are represented by Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus, Oberon, and Titania. Theseus is the Duke of Athens; Hippolyta is the Amazon queen engaged to Theseus; Egeus is a citizen of Athens; and Oberon and Titania are the king and queen of the fairies. In addition to being part of the vecchi, Egeus is recognizable as the stock Commedia dell’Arte character named Pantalone, who often portrayed a father whose daughter doesn’t want to marry the man he has chosen for her. This is certainly true in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as one of the major plot lines surrounds Theseus’ daughter Hermia, who wants to marry Lysander rather than the man her father wants her to marry.

     The working class craftsmen in A Midsummer Night’s Dream who have decided to perform the story of Pyramus and Thisbe for the Duke’s wedding are referred to as the mechanicals. They consist of Nick Bottom, Peter Quince, Francis Flute, Robin Straveling, Tom Snout, and Snug. These characters are part of what is referred to as the zanni in Commedia dell’Arte.  They provide much of the base humor in the play, from the visual comedy of Bottom’s head being turned into the head of an ass (3.2.102) to the mechanicals’ performance in front of the vecchi at the top of Act V, which is so terrible that it’s laughable. The most memorable of the mechanicals is Nick Bottom, who is self-deluded and thinks he is a talented actor; he is the butt of many of the jokes in the play. Other zanni in the play are the servant fairies: Puck, Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Mote, and Mustardseed.

Puck, Oberon’s servant, plays a more integral role in the play than the rest of the fairy zanni in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and may be compared to the Commedia dell’Arte stock character named Arlechinno. He is also one of Shakespeare’s most memorable characters, just as Arlechinno was one of the most memorable Commedia dell’Arte characters. In Act II, Oberon gives Puck a flower and tells him to anoint Demetrius’ eyes with it. The flower is magical and its nectar will cause Demetrius to fall in love with Helena. Unfortunately, Puck mistakes Athenians and anoints Lysander instead of Demetrius and plot complications ensue. Making mistakes that complicate the plot is a characteristic of Arlechinno. Another characteristic of Arlechinno is that he may speak directly to the audience (“Arlechinno”), something that Puck does at the end of the play.

     The innamorati, or young lovers, in Commedia dell’Arte are represented by the characters Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius, and Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Like the innamorati in Commedia dell’Arte, these characters are more serious than the other classes. Hermia is in love with Lysander instead of the young man her father, Egeus, wishes her to marry. Demetrius, her father’s favorite, wants to marry Hermia, but he has jilted her best friend Helena and she plots to win him back. This is a common plotline in Commedia dell’Arte, where the wishes of fathers regarding the marriages of their children are at odds with the desires of those children.

     Given the popularity of Commedia dell’Arte, it is no wonder that Shakespeare used its elements of interwoven classes and stock characters to create A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a memorable play that continues in popularity to this day.

Works Cited

“Arlechinno” Shane-Arts.com. The Commedia dell’Carte. n.d. Web. 27 March 2014. <http://shane-arts.com/Commedia-Arlechinno.htm>

“Commedia dell’Arte.” UnderstandingItaly.com. Understanding Italy, n.d. Web. 19 March 2014. <http://www.understandingitaly.com/profile-content/commedia.html>

Shakespeare, William. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Volume 1. Ed. W.G. Clark and W. Aldis Wright. Garden City: Nelson Doubleday, Inc. Hardback, n.d. Print.

“French Theater in the 18^th Century.” McCarter.org The Figaro Plays. n.d. Web 20 March 2014. < http://www.mccarter.org/figaroplays/3-explore/frenchtheater18.html>