Lazzi

Lazzi
Lazzi (/ˈlɑːtsi/; from the Italian lazzo, a joke or witticism) are stock comedic routines that are
associated with Commedia dell'arte. Performers, especially those playing the masked
Arlecchino, had many examples of this in their repertoire, and would use improvisatory skills
to weave them into the plot of dozens of different commedia scenarios.[1][2] These largely
physical sequences could be improvised or preplanned within the performance and were
often used to enliven the audience when a scene was dragging, to cover a dropped line or
cue, or to delight an expectant audience with the troupe's specialized lazzi.[3][4]
Lazzi could be completed by a single player (e.g. the Lazzo of the School of Humanity
wherein a Zanni character would announce that his sister was running a “school of
humanity” from their home because she was a prostitute), a few individuals (e.g. the Lazzo
of the Straw wherein a stock character of higher status would pour wine as his servant
emptied it through a straw), or the entire troupe (e.g. the Lazzo of Nightfall wherein the
entire troupe would stumble onto stage to enact hapless physical sequences as though the
room was pitch black).[3][5] While its placement in the plot was usually fixed during
rehearsals, it was acceptable for an actor to unexpectedly utter a predetermined line of
dialogue that instructed fellow performers to enact lazzi at any time during the
performance. Sometimes lazzi could take place in dances or songs accompanied by
onstage stringed musical instruments.[6]
History
17th and 18th Century Italy

…
Evidence of lazzi's conventionalization within the Italian Commedia dell'arte includes visual
iconography, paintings, fragmented writings, and personal manuscripts from prominent 16th
and 17th century dramatists and actors. One of the earliest accounts can be found in the
work of Flaminio Scala, who listed 30 instances of lazzi, though the word "lazzi" was not yet
used.[7][8] Nearly a century later, Andrea Petrucci described lazzi as a fixture of commedia
in The Art of The Rehearsal Performance and Improvisation. In Selva over zibaldone di
concetti comic raccolti dal P.D. Placidio, Adriani di Lucca provides a list of lazzi from a
manuscript that is one of the few extant and intact accounts of lazzi from 17th and 18th
century Italy. The manuscript is currently held at the Library in Perugia [3] Most recently, Mel
Gordon compiled a comprehensive collection of lazzi performed by commedia troupes
between 1550 and 1750, and organized the descriptions into twelve categories that include
'acrobatic and mimic' as well as 'violence/sadistic behavior' lazzi.[5]
In addition, visual iconography from the 17th and 18th century depicts elements of lazzi that
often portray what would have been considered vulgar physical acts (i.e. a doctor
administering an enema as seen in the image), though few of the written accounts describe
such content. It has been proposed that the marked lack of documentation may be, in part,
an attempt to evade rising censorship by authorities, especially in the case of Parisian
Commedia Italienne under the rule of Louis XIV, who threatened troupes with the revocation
of royal subsidies should their material be deemed subversive.[8] In some cases, his
censorship resulted in a troupe's expulsion from the country. Others theorize that lazzi
often went undocumented so that it could not be imitated by competing troupes, as
routines could not be patented.[3] Also, it has been suggested that because of the oral and
physical nature of the training, as well as the inbred legacy of performers within the troupe,
there was less of a need to have written explanations of lazzi.[9]
Elizabethan and Jacobean England

…
While the direct influence of Italy's Commedia dell'arte on the England's Elizabethan and
Jacobean theatre is subject to much debate, verbal and visual lazzi were present in the
plays of William Shakespeare.[10] Shakespeare's work implies a familiarity with Italian
literature and theatrical practices, though it is not certain that he ever experienced a
commedia performance firsthand.[11] It is as likely that Richard Tarlton served as the
inspiration for Shakespeare's plays, as well as the lazzi of Italian commedia.[12] Verbal lazzi
were used in the form of puns, proverbs, and malapropisms, while instances of physical
lazzi were abundant, especially in the work of Shakespeare's clowns, whose improvisations
during performances often vexed the playwright.[13][14]
1920s and Modern Lazzi

…
More recent appropriations of lazzi include the 1920s silent films of Charlie Chaplin, the
silent/sound films and stage productions of Laurel and Hardy, and Punch and Judy puppet
shows. While many similarities exist, a few parallels can be drawn in the use of pratfalls,
fright jumps, and physical settings that enable the use of objects to perform the comedy.
One popular comparison is Charlie Chaplin's cane to Arlecchino, or the Harlequin's stick
when used as a comedic device.[15]
Examples
Tap to display image.
Two Commedia dell'arte performers using a clyster
The following list contains a few examples of 17th and 18th century lazzi that were found in
the notes and manuscripts of actors and dramatists.[3][5] The term "lazzo" refers to lazzi in
the singular:
j. Lazzo of the Fly: (17th century Italy) Servant stock character tells master that there is
"not a fly" in his home. Master enters to find it is full of people. Servant insists that
there are still "no flies."
k. Lazzo of Water: (17th century Italy): The mistress has fainted. Female servant asks the
male servant, usually an Arlecchino or Pulcinella, to fetch water. After splashing many
kinds of water on her face, the male servant splashes his own urine on the fainted
mistress, and she is revived.
l. Lazzo of Begging: (17th century Italy) A servant character/low status stock character
pretends to be a beggar by hiding his limbs from passers-by.
n. Lazzo of the School of Humanity: (17th century Italy) Harlequin, Arlecchino, or other
servant stock character insists that female relative runs a "school of humanity." The
female relative is a prostitute.
o. Lazzo of the Barber: (17th century Paris) Clown/servant stock character shaves male
character of higher status and replaces fresh drinking water with the contaminated
shave remnants.
p. Lazzo of Eating Oneself: (18th century Paris) Clown/servant stock character, who is
traditionally always hungry, eats himself.
q. Lazzo of the Straw: (17th century Paris) A high status character pours wine into a
glass while his servant empties the cup through a straw.
References
j. Boyd, Timothy W. (2012-08-01). "Memory on Canvas: Commedia dell'Arte as a Model

for Homeric Performance" . Oral Tradition. 26 (2). doi:10.1353/ort.2011.0025 .
hdl:10355/65243 . ISSN 1542-4308 .
k. Smith, Winifred (1912). The Commedia Dell'arte: A Study in Italian Popular Comedy.
Columbia University Press. pp. 5–10. ISBN 9780742643543.
l. Garfein, Herschel; Gordon, Mel; Turci, Gennaro (1978-01-01). "The Adriani Lazzi of the
Commedia Dell'Arte". The Drama Review: TDR. 22 (1): 3–12. doi:10.2307/1145163 .
JSTOR 1145163 .
n. Smith, Winifred (1912). The Commedia Dell'arte: A Study in Italian Popular Comedy.
The Columbia University Press. pp. 5–10.
o. Gordon, Mel (1983). Lazzi: The Comic Routines of the Commedia Dell'arte .
Performing Arts Journal Publications. ISBN 9780933826694.
p. Oreglia, Giacomo (1968). The Commedia dell'Arte. New York: Dramabook. pp. 11–12.
ISBN 0-8090-0545-X. "The lazzi were stage jests in mime or words,sometimes even in
dances (sarabands, pavanes, galliards, bergamasques, chaconnes and the like) and
songs (strambotti- short rounds in folk style, frottole- popular songs, arias, canzoni)
accompanied by musical instruments such as the guitar, the theorbo, the flute, the
Neapolitan lute and the mandola or small lute."
q. Steele, Eugene (1976). "Verbal Lazzi in Shakespeare's Plays". Italica. 53: 14–142.
doi:10.2307/478086 .
w. Zarilli, Phillip B.; McConchie, Bruce; Sorgenfrei, Carol Fisher (2010). Williams, Gary Jay
(ed.). Theatre Histories: An Introduction (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
ISBN 9780415227278.
x. Selfridge-Field, Eleanor (2004). "La Commedia dell'Arte in Naples: A Bilingual Edition

of the 176 Casamarciano Scenarios/La commedia dell'arte a Napoli: edizione bilingue
dei 176 scenari Casamarciano (review)". Music and Letters. 85: 436–437.
doi:10.1093/ml/85.3.436 – via Project MUSE.
jy. Steele, Eugene (1976). "Verbal Lazzi in Shakespeare's Plays". Italica. 53: 214–222.
doi:10.2307/478086 .
jj. Levith, Murray J.; Johnson-Haddad, Miranda (1992). "Review: [Untitled]". Shakespeare
Quarterly. 43: 253–257. doi:10.2307/2870897 .
jk. Fever, Charles S. (1963). "The Commedia Dell'art and the English Drama in the
Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries". Renaissance Drama, a Report on Research
Opportunities. 6: 24–34.
jl. Steele, Eugene (1977). "Shakespeare, Goldoni, and the Clowns". Comparative Drama.
11: 209–226. JSTOR 41152748 .
jn. Schmitt, Natalie (2014). Befriending the Commedia dell'Arte of Flaminio Scala: The
Comic Scenarios. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 1442648996.
jo. Madden, David (1968). "Harlequin's Stick, Charlie's Cane". Film Quarterly. 22.

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What are lazzi?

What are some examples of lazzi?

17th and 18th Century Italy

Elizabethan and Jacobean England

1920s and Modern Lazzi

Two Commedia dell'arte performers using a clyster

j. Boyd, Timothy W. (2012-08-01). "Memory on Canvas: Commedia dell'Arte as a Model

x. Selfridge-Field, Eleanor (2004). "La Commedia dell'Arte in Naples: A Bilingual Edition

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