Pastoral Drama and Healing in Early Modern Italy

Schneider (Italian, University of Mary Washington) revisits the sixteenth century pastoral, through Guarini's Pastor Fido and Tasso's Aminta to demonstrate how this theatrical form, once thought frivolous, has as its goal a psychological approach to health. He notes how often medical cures are suggested for lovesick or suicidal characters so that there is a healing within the plays. But even more, Schneider feels that the authors intended to arouse feeling of empathy in the audience, so that they felt pity and fear for the characters and relief when the situation was resolved. In this way the pastorals were intended to be a remedy for melancholy. Moreover, in an age when religion was in turmoil, the pastoral provided a comforting sense that there was still order in the world. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Federico Schneider is an Associate Professor of Italian in the Department of Modern Foreign Languages at the University of Mary Washington, USA.