''Canace'' is a verse tragedy by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

playwright

Sperone Speroni Sperone Speroni degli Alvarotti (1500–1588) was an Italian Renaissance humanist, scholar and dramatist. He was one of the central members of Padua's literary academy ''Accademia degli Infiammati'' and wrote on both moral and literary matters. ...

(1500-1588). It is based on the Greek legend of

Canace In Greek mythology, Canace (; Ancient Greek: Κανάκη means "‘barking") was a Thessalian princess as daughter of King Aeolus of Aeolia and Enarete, daughter of Deimachus. She was sometimes referrred as Aeolis. Family Canace was the sist ...

, the daughter of

Aeolus In Greek mythology, Aeolus or Aiolos (; grc, Αἴολος , ) is a name shared by three mythical characters. These three personages are often difficult to tell apart, and even the ancient mythographers appear to have been perplexed about which A ...

, who was forced by her father to commit suicide for having fallen in love with her brother,

Macar In Greek mythology, Macar (; Ancient Greek: Μάκαρ ''Makar'') or Macareus (; Μακαρεύς ''Makareus'' means 'happy') or Macareas (, ''Makareas''), is the name of several individuals: * Macareus, an Arcadian prince as one of the 50 sons ...

. The play was composed for

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of t ...

's literary academy, the ''

Accademia degli Infiammati The Accademia degli Infiammati ("Academy of the Burning Ones") was a short-lived but influential philosophical and literary academy in Padua, in northern Italy. It was founded in 1540 by Leone Orsini, and was dissolved somewhere between 1545 and 15 ...

'', and was printed at Firenze on 1546. The play was heavily modeled on

Senecan tragedy Senecan tragedy refers to a set of ten ancient Roman tragedies, probably eight of which were written by the Stoic philosopher and politician Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Senecan Tragedies The group comprises: * '' Hercules Furens'' * ''Medea'' * '' ...

. The work was highly polemical, and was performed only once. The public's reaction led Speroni to write an ''

Apologia An apologia (Latin for apology, from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense") is a formal defense of an opinion, position or action. The term's current use, often in the context of religion, theology and philosophy, derives from Justin Mar ...

'' (1550), which he never finished. Still, the play circulated widely, and, with

Giovanni Battista Giraldi Giovanni Battista Giraldi (12 November 1504 – 30 December 1573) was an Italian novelist and poet. He appended the nickname Cinthio to his name and is commonly referred to by that name (which is also rendered as Cynthius, Cintio or, in Italian, ...

's ''

Orbecche ''Orbecche'' is a tragedy written by Giovanni Battista Giraldi in 1541. It was the first modern tragedy written on classical principles, and along with Sperone Speroni's '' Canace'', was responsible for a sixteenth-century theoretical debate on ...

'', led to literary debates on tragedy and theatrical morals and

decorum Decorum (from the Latin: "right, proper") was a principle of classical rhetoric, poetry and theatrical theory concerning the fitness or otherwise of a style to a theatrical subject. The concept of ''decorum'' is also applied to prescribed limit ...

through to the next century. Elio Brancaforte's translation is the first translation of the play to English and it has just been published by the Centre for Renaissance and Reformation Studies, Toronto, 2013.

References

See also