Pollastra and the Origins of Twelfth Night: Parthenio, Commedia (1516) With an English Translation

Clubb (emerita, comparative literature and Italian, U. of California, Berkeley), who has written extensively about Italian Renaissance drama, both in its own right and in terms of Shakespeare, presents an expanded edition of her 1993 Romance and Aretine humanism in Sienese comedy; Pollastra's Parthenio at the Studio di Siena, which she co-authored with Arthur Black (Leeds U., the UK), and a complete translation of the 16th-century play. The text describes the Sienese school, Pollastra's background and style, and the very obvious use of his work by Shakespeare, in this case in Twelfth Night. The remaining two-thirds of the volume contains the translation, presented in side-by-side Italian-English format. Textual references in the play are included as endnotes; a bibliography and some b&w images of the original 1520 edition are provided. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Louise George Clubb is Emeritus Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where she is a member of the Department of Comparative Literature and the Department of Italian Studies.