"
Tarlton died in the year 1588, and some of the other plays, especially
_The Dead Man's Fortune_, are considered to be a good deal older than
his. They belong, therefore, to an early period of the English
Renaissance stage.
These four tables caused considerable trouble to Malone and his
contemporary Steevens, as well as to later investigators, as they are
without equals in the archaeology of the English stage. If these men had
known that such tables, containing the plot of the piece which was acted
at the time, were always hung upon the stage of the Italian commedia
dell' arte in order to assist the memory of the improvising actors, they
would have seen instantly that their essential historical importance to
us consists in their showing by documentary evidence how the early
Elizabethan scenic art in its outer form was influenced and improved by
the Italians.
The fact that one of the principal characters in the oldest scenario,
_The Dead Man's Fortune_, bears the name of "Panteloun" further confirms
this supposition.
This is not the place to investigate how far the English were influenced
by Italian professional dramatic art. At any rate, the English national
character differed too much from the Italian to allow it to receive more
than an outward and formal stamp. And even this superficial effect is
much less significant in England than in France.
Pages:
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302