Staging the Soul
Allegorical Drama as Spiritual Practice in Baroque Italy

Eugenio Refini

Italian Perspectives 48

Legenda

22 January 2023  •  256pp

ISBN: 978-1-781884-37-9 (hardback)  •  RRP £95, $120, €120

ISBN: 978-1-781884-40-9 (paperback, forthcoming)

ISBN: 978-1-781884-48-5 (JSTOR ebook)

Access online: Books@JSTOR

RenaissanceItalianDramaTheology


As per William Shakespeare, ‘all the world’s a stage’. But what if the human soul was a stage too? What if the stage of the world and the stage of the soul coincided? And what if the soul was also the main character of the play? These questions are at the core of this study, which explores pedagogical uses of allegorical drama in Italy in the decades around 1600, with a focus on the place of theatre in the education of female orphans in the hospitals of Venice. The consumption of morality plays is looked at as a form of spiritual practice modeled on long-lasting theatrical metaphors. In this context, tropes such as the theatrum mundi not only regained their literal meaning by being actually staged, but also turned into rhetorical devices able to promote the inner staging of the ‘world’ on the ‘spiritual’ stage of the soul.

Eugenio Refini is Associate Professor of Italian Studies at New York University.

Reviews:

  • ‘Refini’s Conclusion looks at the possible reasons why these plays have been forgotten. Glissenti’s works, like those of his contemporaries, are still largely undiscovered, and Refini’s research is based on the manuscript collection at the Marciana Library in Venice. The hope is that books such as Staging the Soul will contribute to the rediscovery of early modern Italian literature with a transnational perspective.’ — Valentina Mirabella, Modern Language Review October 2024, 119.4, 570-71 (full text online)
  • ‘The significance and pervasiveness of the literary and theatrical genre of fables or moral dramas cannot be overstated in the context of theater studies, and this monograph addresses that gap while opening new and crucial lines of research. The author's insight into establishing a link between this rich dramaturgical-literary-iconographic world and the equally important moral dramaturgy of Northern Europe is noteworthy. The abundance of sources and the reconstruction of the historical context allow for an original exploration of the theatrical and literary form of 'drammi morali' which represents a significant contribution of this profound and original book.’ — Gianni Cicali, Annali d'Italianistica 42, 2024, 605-08
  • ‘Refini offers us a superbly informed, tightly argued volume that casts a novel light on a period of Italian culture often cast aside from consideration for ideological reasons. Time might have finally come for a holistic analysis of lay and religious texts in several genres, and this monograph advances the field in meaningful ways.’ — Maria Galli Stampino, Italica 100.4, 2023, 617-20 (full text online)

For a contents listing, see this volume at JSTOR.

Bibliography entry:

Refini, Eugenio, Staging the Soul: Allegorical Drama as Spiritual Practice in Baroque Italy, Italian Perspectives, 48 (Legenda, 2023)

First footnote reference: 35 Eugenio Refini, Staging the Soul: Allegorical Drama as Spiritual Practice in Baroque Italy, Italian Perspectives, 48 (Legenda, 2023), p. 21.

Subsequent footnote reference: 37 Refini, p. 47.

(To see how these citations were worked out, follow this link.)

Bibliography entry:

Refini, Eugenio. 2023. Staging the Soul: Allegorical Drama as Spiritual Practice in Baroque Italy, Italian Perspectives, 48 (Legenda)

Example citation: ‘A quotation occurring on page 21 of this work’ (Refini 2023: 21).

Example footnote reference: 35 Refini 2023: 21.

(To see how these citations were worked out, follow this link.)


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