Metaliteracy & Theatricality in French & Italian Pastoral
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THE SHEPHERD‘S SONG: METALITERACY & THEATRICALITY IN FRENCH & ITALIAN PASTORAL by MELINDA A. CRO (Under the Direction of Francis Assaf) ABSTRACT From its inception, pastoral literature has maintained a theatrical quality and an artificiality that not only resonate the escapist nature of the mode but underscore the metaliterary awareness of the author. A popular mode of writing in antiquity and the middle ages, pastoral reached its apex in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries with works like Sannazaro‘s Arcadia, Tasso‘s Aminta, and Honoré d‘Urfé‘s Astrée. This study seeks to examine and elucidate the performative qualities of the pastoral imagination in Italian and French literature during its most popular period of expression, from the thirteenth to the seventeenth century. Selecting representative works including the pastourelles of Jehan Erart and Guiraut Riquier, the two vernacular pastoral works of Boccaccio, Sannazaro‘s Arcadia, Tasso‘s Aminta, and D‘Urfé‘s Astrée, I offer a comparative analysis of pastoral vernacular literature in France and Italy from the medieval period through the seventeenth century. Additionally, I examine the relationship between the theatricality of the works and their setting. Arcadia serves as a space of freedom of expression for the author. I posit that the pastoral realm of Arcadia is directly inspired not by the Greek mountainous region but by the Italian peninsula, thus facilitating the transposition of Arcadia into the author‘s own geographical area. A secondary concern is the motif of death and loss in the pastoral as a repeated commonplace within the mode. Each of these factors contributes to an understanding of the implicit contract that the author endeavors to forge with the reader, exhorting the latter to be active in the reading process. INDEX WORDS: Pastoral, Pastoralism, Jean Erart, Theocritus, Virgil, Jehan Erart, Guiraut Riquier, Giovanni Boccaccio, Dante, Petrarch, Guido Cavalcanti, Jacopo Sannazaro, Arcadia, Torquato Tasso, Aminta, Honoré d‘Urfé, Astrée, Ameto, Ninfale fiesolano, Pastourelle, Arras, Naples, Ferrara, Forez, Italian Pastoral Literature, French Pastoral Literature, Medieval Pastoral Literature, Pastourelle, Pastorella, Pastoral Play, Renaissance Pastoral Literature, Metaliteracy, Theater, Performance, Orality, France—13th Century, France—17th Century, Italy—14th Century, Italy—16th Century THE SHEPHERD‘S SONG: METALITERACY & THEATRICALITY IN FRENCH & ITALIAN PASTORAL by MELINDA CRO B.A., King College, 2004 M.A., The University of Georgia, 2006 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2010 © 2010 Melinda A. Cro All Rights Reserved THE SHEPHERD‘S SONG: METALITERACY & THEATRICALITY IN FRENCH & ITALIAN PASTORAL by MELINDA A. CRO Major Professor: Francis Assaf Committee: Steven Grossvogel Catherine Jones Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2010 iv DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my parents, Stelio and Ann Cro. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank my major professor, Dr. Francis Assaf, and the committee, Dr. Steven Grossvogel and Dr. Catherine Jones. Their support, guidance, and advice during my studies and the preparation of this dissertation have been invaluable and I am very grateful to them. Dr. Assaf has always encouraged my research, helping me to prepare articles and providing valuable insight on my dissertation. In his courses I learned to love the uniqueness of seventeenth-century France and the complex nature of literature. He introduced me to the concept of metaliterary awareness and the moment he did, I was hooked. He also challenged me to be a better writer and researcher. I owe a great deal of my professional formation to Dr. Assaf. Dr. Grossvogel is always willing to go above and beyond for his students and has been so supportive of my decisions while always offering excellent advice. He has always done whatever he could to help and to encourage me. He taught me a great deal about the Italian Middle Ages and Renaissance, two periods that I adore in Italian literature. He guided me through the poetry of the scuola siciliana and the complexity of Dante. He also encouraged my love of Boccaccio. I could not have asked for a better teacher in Italian. Dr. Jones taught me not only the beauty of the French Middle Ages but also how to teach. Her courses are lessons for future teachers of literature. She brings her subject to life and encourages her students to interact with the text, to explore the nuances of the work. I am so grateful to have had such wonderful mentors. I would also like to thank my family, in particular my parents, for their love and support during this challenging process. They were always available for a late-night phone call or an in- depth discussion of pastoral literature. They instilled in me early in life a passion for literature vi and a true sense of curiosity, always encouraging me to find the truth. It is due to them that I have succeeded. I would also like to thank my sister, Rebecca. She always had a smile and a laugh waiting for me. Finally, I would like to thank my fiancé, Ryan, for always being there. There is no one else in the world I would rather walk through life with. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... ix INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1 PART I TOWARDS A DEFINITION ......................................................................................10 Chapter 1: What is Pastoral? ..................................................................................11 II ORAL TRADITION & DRAMATIC STRUCTURE IN PASTORAL FROM ITS ORIGINS TO VIRGIL ................................................................................................29 Chapter 1: Origins and Sources: The Pastoral as Foundation ................................30 Chapter 2: Early Pastoral and its Influence: Theocritus and Virgil .......................47 III PASTORAL LITERATURE AND THE VERNACULAR MIDDLE AGES ............59 Chapter 1: Pastoral Literature in Medieval France and Italy: An Overview .........60 Chapter 2: Jehan Erart, Arras, and the French Pastourelle ....................................78 Chapter 3: Reinventing the Pastourelle..................................................................94 Chapter 4: Boccaccio and the Nymphs ................................................................113 IV THE REBIRTH AND REINVENTION OF THE PASTORAL, 1504-1627: ARCADIA, AMINTA, AND ASTRÉE .........................................................................134 Chapter 1: Et in Arcadia Ego ...............................................................................135 Chapter 2: 1504: The Rebirth of Arcadia ............................................................142 viii Chapter 3: The Protean Nature of Pastoral: Love, Death, and ―Le jeu de miroirs‖ in Tasso‘s Aminta (1573) .....................................................................................181 Chapter 4: The Diurnal, the Nocturnal, and the Reader in Honoré d‘Urfé‘s Astrée ...................................................................................................................203 CONCLUSION ...........................................................................................................................226 WORKS CITED ..........................................................................................................................230 ix LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1: Narrative Structure of Guiraut Riquier‘s Pastorela Cycle ............................................102 Figure 2: Narrative Scheme in Sannazaro‘s Arcadia ...................................................................153 1 Introduction The shepherds gather round in the shade of a tall oak, asking Logisto and Elpino, two of their number, to sing in contest. Selvaggio is elected judge and Ofelia plays his pipe. Logisto and Elpino answer one another in verse, composing a sweet song to which the accompaniment must be imagined by the reader. Music lies in the words spoken, however. Rhythm and rhyme combine to form song. This is a very typical scene of pastoral literature. It occurs in Theocritus and Virgil in antiquity. Boccaccio includes such a contest in his Comedia delle ninfe fiorentine. This particular scene comes from Sannazaro‘s Arcadia. Taking a moment to consider the elements of this scene, it becomes evident that the reader has witnessed a performance. Two shepherds, like actors, take the stage and entertain a group of on-looking shepherds. The ―audience‖ listens, appreciates, judges, and praises. The audience reaction guides that of the reader, leading them to value the winner‘s song and indicating how the author would like the reader to evaluate the work. Through the performance of the song contest, the author reaches out to the readers, inviting them to witness and to participate, modeling an active interaction with the text rather than a passive reading experience. The performance allows a dialogue to open up between the reader and the text, between the reader and the characters, and enhances the reading experience.