(; : ; meaning 'old one' or simply 'old') is a category of aged, male characters from Italian

commedia dell'arte Commedia dell'arte was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Theatre of Italy, Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is a ...

theatre. The primary members of this group are

Pantalone Pantalone (), spelled Pantaloon in English, is one of the most important principal characters found in commedia dell'arte. With his exceptional greed and status at the top of the social order, Pantalone is "money" in the ''commedia'' world. His ...

il Dottore Il Dottore (; ), most commonly known in Italian language, Italian as ''Dottor Balan'' or simply ''Balanzone'' (; Bolognese dialect, Bolognese ), is a commedia dell'arte stock character, in one scenario being an obstacle to young lovers. Il Dotto ...

, and

il Capitano Il Capitano (; ) is one of the four stock characters of commedia dell'arte. He most probably was never a "Captain", but rather appropriated the name for himself. Its genesis dates back to the Pyrgopolinices of Titus Maccio Plautus' Miles glor ...

. Pantalone and il Dottore are the

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...

of each other: Pantalone being the decadent wealthy merchant, and il Dottore being the decadent erudite. They are overwhelmingly the

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Zanni Zanni (), Zani or Zane is a character type of commedia dell'arte best known as an astute servant and a trickster. The Zanni comes from the countryside and is known to be a "dispossessed immigrant worker".Rudlin, John. ''Commedia dell'arte: An A ...

manage to overcome them and unite the lovers.

References

Vecchio {{Europe-theat-stub

See also

References