commedia dell'arte

[ kuh-mey-dee-uh del-ahr-tee; Italian kawm-me-dyah del-lahr-te ]

noun

, plural com·me·di·a dell'ar·tes, com·me·di·as dell'ar·te, Italian com·me·die dell'ar·te [kawm-, me, -dye del-, lahr, -te].

1. Italian popular comedy, developed chiefly during the 16th–18th centuries, in which masked entertainers improvised from a plot outline based on themes associated with stock characters and situations.

commedia dell'arte

/ kɔmˈmeːdia delˈlarte /

noun

1. a form of popular comedy developed in Italy during the 16th to 18th centuries, with stock characters such as Punchinello, Harlequin, and Columbine, in situations improvised from a plot outline

Word History and Origins

Origin of commedia dell'arte¹

1875–80; < Italian: literally, comedy of art

Word History and Origins

Origin of commedia dell'arte¹

Italian, literally: comedy of art

Example Sentences

Set in a sunset landscape, the exquisitely painted composition shows a couple embracing while Mezzetin, a stock character from Italian commedia dell'arte, tunes his guitar nearby.

From Los Angeles Times

In the Actor's Gang workshop, prisoners put on the clothes and make-up of characters from a type of theatre called commedia dell'arte - such as Pierrot, Harlequin or Columbine - and start improvising.

From BBC

The revolutionary 1912 score for five instrumentalists and a vocalist sets texts by the Belgian Symbolist Albert Giraud that offer a surreal update on commedia dell'arte.

From Los Angeles Times

The second centers on the sad side of commedia dell'arte clowns.

From Los Angeles Times

Being an "experience designer", Ben-Hayoun draws on the influence of commedia dell'arte, a form of comedy that originated in 16th-century Italy, in which actors play stock characters based on universal types, indicated by masks.

From The Guardian