He wears white garments with his face powdered white, sometimes painted with a single teardrop alluding to his melancholy. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. Fluff. This Commedia Dell'Arte definition is insufficient, however, because Commedia was a particularly unusual kind of performance. The Elders in Commedia Dell'Arte existed to prevent the Innamorati from being together. Later on, he becomes a more toned-down Arlecchino for Groucho to boss around, before leaving the pictures altogether, in favour of Belle and the Beast: Innamorati (main romantic leads of the movie, although much more fleshed out than the usual innamorati), Gaston: Il Capitano (vain, boasting antagonist who lusts for Belle), LeFou: Pulcinella (ugly and stupid servant of the main antagonist), Lumiere: Arlecchino (smart, confident and flirty leader of the Beast's servants), Mrs. Potts and Fifi the Feather Duster have the traits of Colombina divided between them: Mrs. Potts embodies, Monsieur D'Arque: Brighella (cunning and greedy minor villain), It is less evident from the book's final edition, but in, Commedia dell'Arte motifs figure in the later, The characters do not fit the archetypes, but in. Others include Pierrot, a clown, and Columbina, a maid. These characters were not the protagonists of plays, but they provided comic relief and helped move the plot along, often through humorous miscommunications. He is usually depicted as more intelligent than Arlecchino and he is less sympathetic. Today, the most famous element of Commedia performance is its highly recognizable characters. The following list is not exhaustive but does cover the most important and famous Zanni in the Commedia canon. Jack Point is introduced as an Arlecchino figure, but by the end, he's become a tragic Pierrot. All characters except Pedrolino and the innamorati wore masks, a tradition deriving from ancient Roman comedies, Atellanae Fabulae, that featured character types similar to those of the commedia. Commedia DellArte was a form of improvisational theatre which relied heavily on stock characters and pre-established scenarios. His face is covered by a white mask or white paint, making him seem even sadder or even ghost-like, as though he's wasting away. Poor Pulcinella! The Met Fifth Avenue is closed Monday, May 1 for The Met Gala. However, he is untruthful and gets caught cheating several times; he is a love rat. He sacrifices his lucrative medical practice in the . Has one line in the play. They range from resourceful and witty, to completely inept or selfish. There are many characters associated with the form. Il Dottore is also fond of girls. His long, dark, flowing robes make him seem like a scholar--imagine yourself in your graduation robe. The Zanni character was a buffoon or clown and known in those days as a simpleton or 'stupid incompetent fool'! Il Capitano is a character who can be difficult to characterize but is nonetheless a mainstay of Commedia pieces.