A Companion to Pirandello Studies

The life and career of the Nobel Prize winning dramatist Luigi Pirandello is the subject of this important new reference companion. Designed to improve the general understanding of this major literary figure, the book focuses not only on Six Characters in Search of an Author, Pirandello's most famous work, but also on other plays, novels, short stories, and even translations of his poems. In addition to essays by some of the best-known Pirandello experts and drama scholars, the volume contains background information on Pirandello and a complete bibliography of his works and books and articles about him.

Working within a structured set of categories, the contributors adopt a variety of styles in exploring significant aspects of Pirandello and his work. The six essays under Pirandello's world include his philosophy, his journey toward the modern stage, feminine conditions in his work, and his treatment of medical ethics. A section on background information includes surveys of theater in Italy before Pirandello and surrealism in his work, while the seven contributions on his plays focus on Six Characters in Search of an Author, Henry IV, and Tonight We Improvise. Subsequent sections address Pirandello's influence, his work in production, and his non-theatrical works. The book concludes with a set of three appendixes, providing a production history of Six Characters and Henry IV, a Pirandello bibliography, and a list of his publications. This major new work will be especially useful for courses in modern drama, modern literature, and Italian literature, and a significant reference tool for public, college, and university libraries.