«Playing the part» and the «grottesco»

Abstract

After focalizing the concept of parody as the basis of the theatre that was defined, and not wrongly, as the theatre of the «grottesco», the author analizesin this vein Playing the part [Il giuoco delle parti]. In this way, Pirandello's play, usually ignored by the critics, turns out to be a very high moment in his playwriting. Besides, Pirandello shows himself to be fully conscious ofthis artistic-cultural operation, that he's carrying on inPlaying thepart antinaturalism, antipsychologism, and so on), so that this text can be defined as the didactic drama of the «grottesco».