Carlo Goldoni: Life, Theatrical Reform, and Works

Vocabulary flashcards covering the life of Carlo Goldoni, the characteristics of the Commedia dell'Arte, the components of his theatrical reform, and his major plays divided into four phases.

Carlo Goldoni

The Venetian playwright (1707–1793) who studied law in Padua, abandoned the legal profession for theater, and spearheaded the reform of Italian comedy by replacing the Commedia dell'Arte with scripted, realistic theater.

Casa di Goldoni

Goldoni's birthplace in Venice, now a museum that has also housed an eighteenth-century puppet theater (teatrino di marionette) since 2001.

Giuseppe Imer

The troupe leader (capocomico) of the San Samuele theater in Venice, whom Goldoni esteemed and for whom he committed to writing theatrical texts in 1734.

Gerolamo Medebach

The capocomico who signed a contract with Goldoni in 1748 for the Teatro Sant'Angelo in Venice, prompting Goldoni to permanently abandon law to write plays.

Comédie italienne

The theater in Paris where Goldoni was invited to work in 1762, where his reform was not understood and he was initially constrained to produce traditional scenarios (canovacci).

Commedia dell'Arte

The traditional theatrical form dominant prior to Goldoni's reform, characterized by actor improvisation, vulgar comedy, masks, and fixed stock types.

Canovaccio

A basic plot outline or scenario used in the Commedia dell'Arte, from which actors freely improvised their lines, dialogue, and stage situations.

Tipi fissi (Fixed types)

Stock, masked characters of the Commedia dell'Arte (such as jealous husbands, grumbling old men, and cheating servants) who lacked individual psychological depth.

Goldoni's Theatrical Reform

A gradual transformation of Italian theater that replaced improvised canovacci with fully written scripts, substituted masks with realistic and psychologically defined characters, elevated female roles, and added an educational and moral purpose.

Linguistic Realism in Goldoni's Theater

A thorough linguistic revision adopting a style close to everyday spoken speech and frequently utilizing Venetian dialect to mirror real life faithfully on stage.

Momolo cortesan (1738)

A Phase One comedy representing Goldoni's earliest step toward reform, in which only the part of the protagonist Momolo—an honest, hardworking young Venetian merchant—was written out entirely.

La donna di garbo (1743)

The first Italian comedy completely written out line by line, requiring actors to memorize every line rather than improvise; it stars the humble maidservant Rosaura.

Arlecchino servitore di due padroni (1745)

A Phase One comedy representing a deliberate compromise between scripted dialogue and traditional improvised performance.

La vedova scaltra (1748)

A Phase Two reformed comedy centering on a shrewd, attractive widow who is courted by four suitors of different nationalities: French, English, Spanish, and Italian.

La bottega del caffè (1751)

A Phase Two comedy set in a coffeehouse, focusing on the honest café owner Ridolfo and the penniless, meddling nobleman don Marzio.

La locandiera (1753)

Goldoni's celebrated Phase Two comedy revolving around Mirandolina, a clever and attractive Florentine innkeeper who resists noble suitors and chooses to marry her waiter Fabrizio.

Il campiello (1756)

A Phase Three comedy written in Venetian dialect that vividly portrays the collective daily life, interactions, and atmosphere of a small Venetian square.

I rusteghi (1760)

A Phase Three comedy that critiques the conservative Venetian bourgeoisie who obstinately cling to outdated mercantile traditions and values.

Trilogia della villeggiatura (1761)

A cycle of three plays illustrating how a family nucleus is endangered by obsessive vacationing and extravagant spending aimed solely at maintaining social status.

Sior Tòdero brontolon (1762)

A Phase Three Venetian-dialect comedy featuring an ill-tempered, avaricious old tyrant who dominates his household and servants for personal advantage.

Le baruffe chiozzotte (1762)

A Phase Three dialect masterpiece portraying the everyday lives, romances, squabbles, and hardships of the fishermen of Chioggia.

Il ventaglio (1764)

A Phase Four comedy written during Goldoni's French period and translated into Italian, where a simple fan acts as the symbol of love between Evaristo and Candida and drives the entire plot.

Il burbero benefico (1771)

A Phase Four comedy written in French and later translated into Italian, focusing on Geronte, a gruff but generous uncle whose niece Angelica eventually marries her true love Valerio.

Memorie (1787)

Goldoni's French-language autobiography, written in Paris toward the close of his life while living in poor health and near poverty.