THE THEATRE OF “ALIVE MASK” AND “NUDE MASK” (IN EDUARDO DE FILIPPO’S “THE SON OF PULCINELLA”)

Abstract

The paper is dedicated to the tradition of commedia dell’arte and its demonstration in Eduardo de Filippo's play “The Son of Pulcinella”. Pulcinella is one of the central figures of the Italian traditional theatre. The aim of the paper is to show how Eduardo de Filippo uses the mask of Pulcinella to analyze some of the main themes of 20th century theatre, focusing on the public-theatre relationship. Moreover, the paper represents Eduardo de Filippo's thoughts on the incompatibility of the past and the present and their analysis.