Mandragola (Italian Edition)

Messer Nicia is incredibly stupid. Callimaco, in conjunction with a guy named Ligurio and Fra Timoteo, manage to convince him that Lucrezia will become fertile if she drinks a potion made of mandrake. However, the crew manage to convince Messer Nicia that the first man to sleep with Lucrezia will die, which allows for them to also convince Nicia that Lucrezia sleeping with another man is a GREAT idea.

I didn't even have to try to read this through a feminist lens. The sexism screamed at me from within the pages and wildly flailed in my direction. I couldn't ignore it if I tried. Regardless of the understanding that sexism was much more prevalent in the society that Machiavelli lived in, the misogyny within Mandragola personally made me very, very uncomfortable.

Where some people may be able to disregard the sexism and enjoy the play, I was not able to. Quotations like "The real sin is to displease your husband" and "All women are a little light in the head; if one of them can string two words together she is considered a marvel- in the country of the blind the one-eyed man is king" were amongst those that just made me cringe. Machiavelli obviously isn't the beacon of moral goodness, so my disapproval stems mostly from the fact that the sexist plot leeched at my ability to enjoy it.

On the other hand, apparently there is a way to read this play as a political satire where women are Italy or something of the sort. I evidently didn't read the play that way. Perhaps the sexist elements are understood differently in reading the play as a political satire rather than a simple comedy. I might have to return to this one after gaining a better understanding of history during that time period. Some nice quotations taken out of context so they sound more profound: Overall, it's a quick play and a lesser-known work of Machiavelli. Despite my qualms with its treatment of women, it did manage to hold my attention.

This book that was lent to me by my school as a part of our English unit on comedy, where we briefly studied The Importance of Being Earnest, another play within the volume. As this school year is coming to an end, I figured that I should try to read some of the other comedies while I had the book in my hands. Dec 23, Julian Meynell rated it liked it Shelves: This is a comedic play by Machiavelli. The plot is straight forward and Machiavellian. A young man and his acquaintances concoct a scheme to seduce the young and beautiful wife of a rich fool.

It is a useful disproof to some new kinder-gentler interpretations of Machiavelli. It is in the scheming protagonist school of romantic comedies, which are my favorite. The plot is straight forward and the scheme is not really ever set back. It is quite dirty at times, but the 16th century was more sexuall This is a comedic play by Machiavelli. It is quite dirty at times, but the 16th century was more sexually explicit than anytime until the 20th century.

It is the kind of play that can attract labels of sexism, I suppose quite fairly, but to me a sophisticated reader should be able to handle it without a problem.

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I am not a big fan of just dismissing works because they fail to love up to twentieth century morality. More importantly, it is thoroughly Machiavellian. Every one in the play looks after their own interests at the expense of everyone else. The heroes of the play are the ones that scheme the best. Everyone is trying to deceive everyone else. The figures of fun in the play are not either the bad people or the good people, but the ones who scheme the worst.

Hence the elderly husband is a person who has married for an heir and to get a hot wife, but in his own ruthlessness goes to extreme lengths to get himself cuckolded. Its a very cynical play, but also very light and socially satirical. It has a completely amoral Friar who is a confessor and there are bits and pieces around the confessional, which are surprising in how far they go. The comedy shows the lighter more humane side of Machiavelli.

It puts his philosophy naturally into a stream of romantic comedy that was at its height in the Restoration period and in the screwball comedies of the 30s and 40s. Interesting and worth reading. Jan 29, Danielle rated it liked it Shelves: Pensavo che la maggior parte fossero basate sulla politica e che le pagine erano piene di retorica filosofica.

Infatti, Machiavelli mi ha quasi convinto che il fine giustifica i mezzi! Feb 12, Nour AlHaj Yehia rated it it was amazing. Nov 22, Bookworm rated it it was amazing.

Mandragola

Mi sento qui in dovere di fare una piccola digressione per i lettori oltraggiati che hanno visto in questa commedia un trattamento orribile e degradante della donna in questione da parte della combriccola di Callimaco e hanno gridato al sacrilegio. Nov 20, rated it it was amazing Shelves: Jako bys to neznal: In a surprising aesthetic turn, Machiavelli pumps out a slap-stick farce! In the opening of the play, the author presents a chorus of sh In a surprising aesthetic turn, Machiavelli pumps out a slap-stick farce!

In the opening of the play, the author presents a chorus of shepherds and nymphs, who, in turn, provide a segue into the prologue, which… finally leads into the action of the play proper. What would this prologue to the prologue add to a contemporary adaptation of The Mandrake? Moving on to the prologue itself, Machiavelli offers an incredibly meta introduction to the play a la Plautus. In particular, the playwright seems preoccupied with illustrating his intent which happens to be wicked cynical.

Why did Machiavelli write The Mandrake? A weighty question to start an otherwise care-free comedy. The Mandrake showcases lots of idiom — why? Is this a common trope in Italian Renaissance drama? In addition to peppered idiom, Mandragola is rife with casual asides even in the form of full speeches. This would most certainly enhance the moral ambiguity of the play. On the other hand, would it sacrifice the laughs? I dunno… uncomfortable laughter is always pretty amusing, too. Most notably, The Mandrake is chauvinistic in its central conceit: However, a director of a contemporary adaptation of The Mandrake should definitely consider this aspect of the play before mounting the production.

Should contemporary directors continue to stage The Mandrake? Consideration of its misogyny should not serve as a deterrent from its staging.

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If anything, this aspect of the play should become a jumping-off point for post-show conversation with the audience. Is The Mandrake chauvinistic? At one point, Callimaco notes that, when he does achieve what he wants bedding Lucrezia , he will most assuredly be dissatisfied as a result of the guilt associated with this grand deception. How much of this is the voice of Machiavelli? With all its thematic ambivalence, The Mandrake offers directors lots of leeway for directorial interpretation.

At its core, is the play cruelly deceptive? This kind of flexibility makes Mandragola a dream to direct. L'ironia di Machiavelli sui diversi tipi di caratteri l'innamorato, il frate, il valletto, ecc. Questa commedia, con una storia piuttosto semplice e "classica", fa ridere, ma anche riflettere: Mi piacerebbe vedere questa commedia su scena, in italiano o in francese.

Nov 08, Phillip rated it really liked it Shelves: This is a really interesting play because it seems like remarkably little happens. The plot is quite short, and focuses mostly on one guy and his friend trying to trick this old man into letting the guy sleep with the old man's young attractive wife. Compared to modern plays or to something like Shakespeare, there is little action and comparatively little scheming.

Things just seem to play directly out with no real major twists in the plot, which seems very odd to a modern reader used to suspens This is a really interesting play because it seems like remarkably little happens. Things just seem to play directly out with no real major twists in the plot, which seems very odd to a modern reader used to suspense and reversals. One useful context for understanding this play is the comedia dell'arte tradition. I am not familiar enough with the comedia to really say whether it seems like Machiavelli is accurately and seriously using the form or whether he's satirizing it the way many historians now suggest that The Prince is a satire.

This was unexpectedly good. I read The Prince and this one is definitely up to it, although this was way comical, especially in the characterisation of the people. They were stock-types, just as Classic theatre's characters, but they were symbol of humanity in the negative. The story reminded me of Boccaccio's novellas of Decameron , particularly the ones about jokes with the use of intelligence.

The moral of Mandragola is the negative essence of humanity and we can see that because any of the char This was unexpectedly good. The moral of Mandragola is the negative essence of humanity and we can see that because any of the characters is innocent nor can be considered as a positive model. The skepticism we find in The Prince is pretty clear in this book as well. Unexpected for those who are unfamilliar with Machiavelli's cannon.

This is the perfect little play for some light reading enjoyment. Jan 27, Madeleine rated it liked it. It was pretty interesting! Made me think a lot about the characters. I'd love to see this live. Feb 11, Eric rated it liked it. The Prince as a lover; still funny years later. Dec 03, Hannah Goff rated it really liked it. Give insight into how homosexuality was viewed in the Italian Renaissance.

Mandragola by Niccolò Machiavelli

La Mandragola avrebbe casuato tuttavia la morte di colui che per primo avrebbe avuto un rapporto con la giovane, dice mentendo Callimaco; per cui qualcuno al posto di Nicia si sarebbe dovuto sacrificare. E sono in inferno tanti uomini da bene! Ha' ti tu a vergognare d'andarvi tu? Jan 23, Colby Rice rated it really liked it. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. An interesting farce comedy that essentially reinforces what Machiavelli's been saying all along: Being that I read this in class, I wrote a required Play Reader's Journal for this piece, and so I'm just going to use that as my review.

Mandragola The Mandrake 2. Pulitzer prize winning American composer William Bolcom adapted the story in operetta form with a libretto by Marc Campbell. Titled Lucrezia, the minute work was commissioned by New York Festival of Song and premiered in with two pianos and a cast of five. Mandragola , an opera in Serbian by composer Ivan Jevtic , book by Dejan Miladinovic and lyrics by Vesna Miladinovic after Machiavelli, was given its world premiere in Belgrade at the Madlenianum Theatre on 16 December A film version was made, The Mandrake Root. Produced by European Drama Network , [14] it was made in English with limited Italian sections, and it remains close to the original story.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For other uses, see The Mandrake disambiguation. Overview" in Reference Guide to World Literature.

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