CHAPTER IV.
NATURE OF PUNCH'S PERFORMANCES.
What was the dialogue of any of the pieces in which Pulcinella originally performed, soon after his invention, cannot now be distinctly ascertained. We have already seen that they were called commedie à soggetto and commedie all'improviso, or impromptu and extempore comedies, the plot and arrangement of which were first communicated to the actors, who afterwards filled up the dialogue according to their own notions, as their wit or invention might serve them.[1] The schemes, or, as the Italians call them, canevas and scenarie, of some pieces of this description were printed early in the 16th century, by Flamineo Scala, and others, appeared in 1661, but not a syllable of what passed between any of the characters is there supplied. Hence almost everything must depend upon conjecture; but the probability certainly is, that actors of this class, accustomed repeatedly to perform together, would, ere long, come to a perfect understanding with each other, and the interlocutions thus acquire a certain degree of permanence, until some change took place in the company.[2] At different places the same plot would be represented, and, of course, the same dialogue would be sufficient, as far as it would be remembered. No doubt, the dramas consisted of "gross buffooneries," because the actors were buffone; but there was room for the display of ready talent; and if a few of the pieces had been left upon record, we should most likely have found that they had something else to recommend them besides the coarseness of their jokes, delivered in the dialect of Italy peculiar to each of the characters.[3]
Neither in England have we the means of knowing with precision, the nature of the earlier exhibitions of "Punch and his merry family." How the stories of Mr. Powell were compounded, as far as relates to the dialogue, must remain a mystery, the writers of his day never entering into this interesting point. It appears from the "Spectator" (No. 14), that under the little Piazza, in Covent Garden, Mr. Powell's hero danced a minuet with "a well-disciplined pig; which, according to the "Second Tale of a Tub," had been taught also to ridicule the celebrated Italian singers, Valentini and Nicolini; and in the same show, "King Harry (probably the Eighth) laid his leg upon the Queen's lap in too ludicrous a manner." We likewise learn on this authority, as well as from Swift, that, at that time, Punch possessed the same animating voice which, when heard in our streets, still lights up the eyes of the rising generation.
The Spectator, and the "Second Tale of a Tub," may further be brought forward, to prove that "Whittington and his Cat"[4] was one of the subjects chosen by Mr. Powell for the display of his talents. We take it for granted, that in all these cases, as at the present moment, the dialogue was extemporaneous, excepting in so far as it became habitual and mechanical by frequent repetition. That singing then formed part of the entertainment, is not mere matter of inference, and we know that it did so in the time of Strutt, who also speaks of a fiddler, now discontinued: many living can remember the introduction of "snatches of old songs," and parodies of popular ballads by Punch. Steele makes mention of Powell's "books;" but, in all likelihood, they were not books of his performances, which in our day, and for our purpose, would be great curiosities.
At all events, there is certain ground for concluding that the adventures of Punch, as represented in this country, did not by any means always consist of that series in which they are now usually performed; and although we are not in a condition to adduce distinct proof upon the point, we cannot help thinking that the introduction and popularity of "Don Juan" contributed mainly to the arrangement of the performance as it is now daily exhibited.[5] We have consulted some persons whose age is sufficiently advanced to enable them to supply the information, and they agree that about that period the character of Punch certainly underwent a material change. Although we are inclined to favour this hypothesis, we must allow that the story, as displayed on some parts of the continent at the present moment, bears many features of strong resemblance to the fable of the piece as shewn in Great Britain.[6] We here advert to Punch in the puppet-show, and not on the stage in Italy.
The original of "Don Juan" is generally allowed to be Spanish: in that language, it is called Il Convidado di Pietra, and its author was Tirso de Molina. It was played in Paris first by the Italian company; and to rival them an actor of the name of Villiers brought it out in French verse, at another theatre, while the biographers of Moliere informs us that he wrote his Festin de Pierre in prose, because he was in such haste to anticipate Villiers. T. Corneille added rhymes to it on the death of Moliere. Three years afterwards, viz. in 1676, it first appeared on the English stage, from the pen of Shadwell; but Punch was, probably, then unknown here, at least by that appellation, and the change in the fable, to which we have referred, was occasioned, if at all, long afterwards, by the extreme popularity of the pantomine-ballets at the Royalty, and subsequently at Drury Lane Theatre, about forty years ago.[7]
The ensuing ballad was written very nearly about that date, being extracted from a curious collection of comic and serious pieces of the kind, in print and manuscript, with the figures 1791, 1792, and 1793, in various parts of it, as the times, probably, when the individual who made it obtained the copies he transcribed, or inserted in their original shape. It certainly affords evidence of the connection between the stories of Punch and Don Juan; and (like the old ballads of "King Lear and his Three Daughters," "The Spanish Tragedy, or the lamentable murder of Horatio and Bellimperia," &c.) was perhaps founded upon the performance, by one who had witnessed and was highly gratified by it. It is called,
- ↑ The Reader who wishes for further knowledge upon this subject, may either consult D'Israeli's Curiosities of Literature, vol. 3, 25, or the authorities from which he derived his statements, Gimma's "Italia Letterata," Signorelli's "Storia Critica de Teatri," &c., and Riccoboni.
- ↑ Ruzzante was a very famous comedian in the opening of the 16th century, and printed various comedies and dialogues, which he set down from his own invention and from the mouths of the extempore performers (of whom he was one) as the language became habitual: he is mentioned as the first who put different Italian dialects into the mouths of his performers. "Il Travaglia," by Andrea Calmo, printed at Venice in 1557, also professes to be di varie lingue adornata. Riccoboni informs us that Scaramouche, Harlequin, and other characters, threw off their provincialism on occasion, and tous declament des vers en bon Romain.
- ↑ The actors, whether representing the Neapolitan "Pulcinella," the Calabrian "Giangurgolo," or the Milanese "Beltrame," preserved the dialect of their respective countries. The Spanish Captain spoke a language compounded of Italian and Spanish. Of the dialect employed by Punch, and by the country people of Acerra, (of whom he was originally supposed to be one,) we have a specimen in a three-act comedy, called "Puncinella finto Dottore," which was acted at Rome during the Carnival of 1728. A very short extract will suffice, as the language is sometimes scarcely intelligible to a native. Flamineo, a young lover, is endeavouring to persuade his servant, Pulcinella, to assume the dress and appearance of Doctor Farfallone, his rival, in order to impose upon the father of the lady.
Flam. E possibile, che non ti dia l'animo di dire queste quattro parole?
Pul. Ne diraggio cinquanta, bene mio, mà se tu struppei do discurso.
Flam. E come dirai?
Pul. Diraggio cà songo venuto dalla Cierra per nzorarme.
Flam. E ti chiami?
Pul. Purcenella.
Flam. O stordito! ed ecco atterrata tutta la machina.
Pul. E peche?
Flam. E perche tu hai du dire che sei il Dottore, venuto da Bologna, e ti chiami Farfallone.
Pul. E ca non buoglio rinega lo pajeso mio, e poi chillo nome de Farfantone non c'aggio genio nente, cà fete no tantillo di galera, &c. - ↑ It has, we believe, been hitherto thought that the story of "Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London," was exclusively national; but supposing the notion to be well founded, what we are about to mention affords one more proof to those already furnished of late years, that, in time, tales of the land become the common property of other countries. It is found among the "Facezie, Motti, Buffonerie, et Burle" of the Piovano Arlotto, which were originally printed very early in the 16th century, and subsequently were re-issued from the celebrated press of the Giunti, at Florence, in 1565. The title it there bears is this: "Il Piovano, à un prete che fece mercantia di palle, dice la novella delle gatte." With a change of persons and places, it is the same story as our own "Whittington and his Cat."
- ↑ Hone, in his account of the "Mysteries," &c. draws a parallel between the two; but, in order to render it more obvious, he a little perverts the story of Punch, particularly in the catastrophe.
- ↑ It seems hardly likely that this change was earliest effected in Italy; for when Goldoni brought out his "Don Juan," he for the first time left out Harlequin, and introduced other comic characters in his place, as he himself informs us in his Memoirs (vol. 1, p. 311, edit. Paris, 1787.) In the Convidado di Pietra, to which the Italians had been accustomed, Harlequin on one occasion saves himself by swimming, with the aid of a couple of bladders. Sacchi was the most famous Harlequin of his day, and is highly extolled by Goldoni, who wrote several pieces expressly for him.
- ↑ "Don Juan" was acted at the Royalty Theatre in 1787, and at Drury Lane in 1790. It was played many nights in succession, and are hardly yet laid aside.