The Soul-giver/El Donador De Almas: v. 46 (Hispanic Literature) - Tapa dura

This is the first reliable version of Giraldi's sole comedy, "Gli Eudemoni" ("The Lucky Ones"), completed in 1549. A comedy after the manner of Terence, this edition reproduces the text of the autograph manuscript preserved in the Biblioteca Communale at Ferrara. The five Acts of the play proper are preceded by a prologue, showing that, in all probability, it was intended for public performance; but there is some doubt as to whether the author ever in fact mounted a production of it. An interesting feature of this comedy is that it has some striking features in common with "Gli Antivalomeni", one of Giraldi's tragedies with a happy ending, performed at the court of Ferrara the previous year. However, the chief interest of the "Eudemoni" for the literary historians of today is the exent to which it illustrates the theories on comedy enunciated by the author in the contemporary "Discorso intorno al comporre delle comedie e delle tragedie", first published in 1554.