''The Liar'' ( it, Il bugiardo) is a

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

Carlo Goldoni Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: * Carlo (name) * Monte Carlo * Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince ...

. It was written as part of Goldoni's fulfilment of a boast that he had inserted into the

epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...

to one of his plays that for the next season he would write sixteen comedies. ''The Liar'', along with the fifteen other comedies, was staged in the 1750-51 season at the

Teatro San Angelo The Teatro San Angelo (in Venetian dialect) or Teatro Sant' Angelo (in Italian) was once a theatre in Venice which ran from 1677 until 1803. It was the last of the major Venetian theatres to be built in the 1650s–60s opera craze following Teatr ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

.Holme (1976, 108, 190). It draws on '' commedia dell'arte'' conventions and stock characters.

Plot

Lelio, a Venetian who has spent years away from home, returns to Venice. He courts the two daughters of Doctor Balanzone, Beatrice and Rosaura, without telling them which one he really loves. Meanwhile, each girl has another suitor, Florindo for Rosaura and Ottavio for Beatrice. Florindo is shy, however, and will not tell Rosaura that he loves her. This allows Lelio to concoct fabulous lies and convince Rosaura that he wishes to marry her. Meanwhile, Lelio's servant Arlecchino tries to woo the Doctor's servant Columbina away from Brighella, Florindo's friend. Lelio's lies get him into deeper and deeper trouble with the girls, their father, and his own father Pantalone. At the end, it is revealed that while in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

he married a Roman lady, Cleonice Anselmi. He departs to go to her, leaving Rosaura and Beatrice free to marry Florindo and Ottavio, and Columbina free to marry Brighella.

References

Bibliography

External links

English Translation of ''The Liar'' by Grace Lovat Fraser
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liar, The 1750 plays Plays by Carlo Goldoni Comedy plays