Pastoral Drama in Early Modern Italy

This book traces the development of pastoral drama as it evolved over the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Italy. It considers how writers of pastoral drama responded to social, cultural and intellectual pressures and innovations, regarding critical attitudes towards theatre and the arts. 1. Introduction 2. The Earliest Examples of Pastoral Drama: The Self-Conscious Evolution of a New Genre 3. Tasso's Aminta: Raising the Profile of the Pastoral Play 4. Imitations and Innovations after Tasso's Aminta: Accommodating a Female Voice 5. Guarini's Pastor fido: The Establishment of an Ethical and Political Model of Pastoral Drama 6. Performing Pastoral Drama 7. Pastoral Drama in the Seventeenth Century and Beyond