Pulcinella

Pulcinella

Pulcinella, often called Punch or Punchinello in English, Polichinelle in French, is a classical character that originated in the Commedia dell'arte of the 17th century and became a stock character in Neapolitan puppetry.

His main characteristic, from which he acquired his name, is his extremely long nose, which resembles a beak. In Latin, this was a "pullus gallinaceus", which led to the word "Pulliciniello" and "Pulcinella", related to the Italian "pulcino" or "chick".

According to another version, "Pulcinella" derived from the name of Puccio d'Aniello, a peasant of Acerra, who was portrayed in a famous picture attribued to Annibale Carracci, and indeed characterized by a long nose. It has also been suggested that the figure is a caricature of a sufferer of acromegaly. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/derbyshire/5315432.stm]

Ever white dressed and black masked (hence conciliating the opposites of life and death), he stands out thanks to his peculiar voice, the sharp and vibrant of qualities of which contribute intense tempo of the show. According to Pierre Louis Duchartre, his traditional temperament is to be mean, vicious, and crafty: his main mode of defense is to pretend to be too stupid to know what's going on, and his secondary mode is to physically beat people. Actually Pulcinella is an archetype of humanity, with all its complexities and contradictions.

The Legacy of Pulcinella

Many regional variants of Pulcinella were developed as the character defused across Europe. In Germany, Pulcinella came to be known as "Kasper". In the Netherlands he is known as "Jan Klaassen". In Denmark he is "Mester Jakel". in Russia he is known as "Petrushka"Fact|date=June 2007 (however, Igor Stravinsky composed two different ballets Pulcinella and Petrushka); in Romania, he is "Vasilache"; and in France "Polichinelle", while in England, he inspired the character of "Mister Punch" of Punch and Judy.

Pulcinella is also the mascot of the Pulcinella Awards, annual awards for excellence in animation, presented at the Cartoons on the Bay Festival in Positano, Italy.

ee also

*Trickster
*Punch and Judy

External links

* [http://shane-arts.com/Commedia-Pulcinella.htm The Commedia dell'Arte Homepage]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • PULCINELLA — Pulcinella est l’un des types de la commedia dell’arte. Apparu au XVIIe siècle dans le théâtre napolitain, il devint bientôt célèbre en Europe et se maintint dans le théâtre populaire jusqu’à la fin du XIXe siècle. On a cherché depuis le XVIIIe… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Pulcinella — nach einer Figurine von Maurice Sand Pulcinella (neapolitanisch: Pulecenella, französisch Policinelle oder Polichinelle) ist ursprünglich eine Figur des süditalienischen und neapolitanischen Volkstheaters. Dort ist er, gesichert seit der Zeit der …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • pulcinella — /pultʃi nɛl:a/ (region. polcinella) s.m. [etimo incerto, forse attribuito alla maschera di Pulcinella a causa della somiglianza con un pulcino per il naso adunco, la voce chioccia e la particolare andatura], invar. 1. (teatr.) [con iniziale… …   Enciclopedia Italiana

  • Pulcinella — Pulcinella, so v.w. Policinell …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Pulcinella — (Policinell, franz. Polichinelle), eine der Masken der italienischen Stegreifkomödie, auch bei allen Volksfesten in Neapel die lustige Person. Sie erscheint am Ende des 16. Jahrh. Charakter und Kleidung wechselten. Letztere besteht jetzt in… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Pulcinella — (spr. pultschi ), frz. Polichinelle, ital. komische Charaktermaske, noch jetzt Hauptgestalt im neapolit. Volkslustspiel und auf dem Marionettentheater …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Pulcinella — Pulcinella, franz. Polichinelle, eine Maske der italienischen Komödie (commedia dell arte), ist außer Italien nur der Spaßmacher der Marionettenbuden, Arlechino s (s. Harlekin) würdiger Ersatzmann, und ein Geistesverwandter des Jocrisse (s. d.).… …   Damen Conversations Lexikon

  • pulcinella — pul·ci·nèl·la s.m.inv. CO 1. anche con iniz. maiusc., persona travestita da Pulcinella: alla festa di carnevale c erano molti pulcinella | marionetta o pupazzo raffigurante tale maschera 2. fig., persona poco seria, volubile e senza carattere;… …   Dizionario italiano

  • Pulcinella — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Pulcinella est le nom italien Polichinelle, un personnage de la Commedia dell arte Pulcinella (Stravinski) un opéra d Igor Stravinski inspiré du… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Pulcinella — Pul|ci|nẹl|la 〈[ tʃi ] m.; , nẹl|li〉 Maskenfigur, Hanswurst der neapolitan. Volksposse u. später der Commedia dell Arte [<ital.; zu pulcino „Hühnchen“; zu lat. pullus „Hühnchen“ (nach der piependen Stimme u. der schnabelähnl. Nase der… …   Universal-Lexikon

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”