Trama e riassunto di L’arte di scrivere commedie: manuale di tecnica drammatica

A chi è rivolto

Aspiring playwrights, screenwriters and novelists will find practical tools here. So will theatergoers, actors, directors and students who love Shakespeare or Ibsen and enjoy seeing how a scene is built, beat by beat.

Che cos’è questo libro

Why does one scene hold a theater breathless while another sends people reaching for their hats? William Archer thought the answer lay in craft, and he set out to describe it plainly. His book Play-Making, published in 1912, guides anyone who wants to build a play that works before a living audience.

He walks through the whole life of a drama, from theme and character to opening, tension, secrets and endings. You gain clear working ideas about how stories behave on a stage, and why audiences enjoy knowing more than the characters do.

Questions about L’arte di scrivere commedie: manuale di tecnica drammatica

What is Play-Making by William Archer about?

It is a guide to the craft of writing for the stage. Archer covers choosing a theme, planning scenes, opening a play, building tension, using signposts, handling secrets, ending well, and writing natural dialogue, with examples from Shakespeare, Ibsen and later dramatists.

Does Archer give rules for writing a play?

He says plainly that there are no rules, only principles drawn from common sense and experience. He offers advice that readers can test against plays they know, and he leaves room for original writers to break any guideline successfully.

When was Play-Making written and who was it for?

Archer finished it in London in January 1912. He wrote for students of playwriting who wanted sound, artistic work within the real conditions of the theater, and he assumed an audience of educated playgoers in London and New York.

Do I need to know the plays Archer mentions?

Not at all. Archer favors plays that readers can find, such as Hamlet, Othello, A Doll's House and The School for Scandal, and he explains each scene he uses. Each example is told clearly enough to follow on its own.

What is the main message of Play-Making?

Structure is the part of playwriting that can be learned, and it serves character. A play is a crisis shaped for an audience that often knows more than the people onstage, and good craft makes that pleasure possible.