Aminta

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Aminta is a shepherd's play by Torquato Tasso in five acts or 1,996 verses. The premiere took place on March 23, 1573 on the Po island Belvedere in Ferrara . Aminta was first published as a book in 1580 .

Edition of Aminta published in Parma in 1789

content

prolog

The prologue is spoken by Amor , who disguised himself as a shepherd hiding from his mother Venus , because she, in her ambition, wants Amor to associate and work exclusively in the circle of the gods (which in turn reminds of Aretino's first version of La Cortigiana [1524] in whose prologue parents are criticized who do everything to ensure that their children are accepted at royal courts and that they would be abandoned to the vicious life at these courts). Cupid's current challenge is to make the cold-blooded nymph Silvia fall in love. For this purpose, Amor had shot at the shepherd boy Aminta with his love arrows. If Aminta succeeds in softening Silvia, the love wound that Amor would inflict on Silvia with his arrows will become even deeper and more painful. This is another reason why Cupid disguised himself as a shepherd: As a shepherd, he can fire his invisible arrows of love undetected. Love is supposed to instill nobility in the plump souls of the shepherds, and in this way shepherd poetry is raised to the rank of high culture.

first act

Dafne tries to persuade her companion Silvia to open her heart to Aminta. But Silvia remains tough. She is more interested in the hunt than in love. She is also very careful to maintain her virginity. Finally, Silvia and Daphne arrange to meet at a later date and Silvia sets off to hunt. Aminta, on the other hand, is frustrated by Silvia's brittleness and indicates to his friend Tirsi that he wants to harm himself if he does not achieve his goal. Aminta has been close friends with Silvia since childhood. They went hunting together. Gradually Aminta fell in love with Silvia. He finally became aware of this when the three of them were out and about with a certain Filli and Filli, one of their hunting associates, was stung by a bee on the cheek. Silvia relieved him of pain with a kiss, whereupon Aminta pretended to have also been stung by a bee on his lower lip. Silvia then kissed his mouth to heal him. Since Aminta had found a taste in the touch of Silvia's lips, he complained again and again about the pain that the alleged bee sting had left him, and so he was kissed again and again by the unsuspecting Silvia. When Aminta later confessed his love to Silvia, she became angry. Silvia hasn't spoken to Aminta for three years now. Aminta tried everything to soften Silvia's heart, but in vain. Now, according to Aminta, suicide is all that remains for him to arouse pity on Silvia, especially since Mopso, a fortune teller, had prophesied that he would succeed in doing this alone. Tirsi warns Aminta about Mopso, with whom he has had bad experiences. Years ago, when Tirsi wanted to go into town, he had consulted with Mopso. This had warned him about the company there, especially about the court society, and about the falseness of the courtiers and the clairaudience of the walls. Tirsi nevertheless went to the city and, contrary to Mopso's prophecy, found a splendid court society - Mopso's prophecy therefore turned out to be a deception. When Tirsi later told Mopso about his experiences in the city, Mopso bewitched him and made him mute for a while. Tirsi's rough voice comes from this time. After Tirsi's story, Aminta entrusts him with the mediation between him and Silvia. They both arrange to meet at a fountain at a later date. The choir, which concludes the first act, celebrates the golden age, which was not only characterized by the fact that milk and honey flowed, but also by the fact that the principle of “what pleases is allowed” prevailed among the people. Only the sense of honor brought the golden age to a close. The happy, impartial coexistence of people was destroyed by honor, taught women shame and added pain to love.

Second act

Even a satyr is unhappily in love with Silvia. Since Silvia mainly associates with people, he is jealous of them. He attributes this to the rule of money. Since love has been spoiled by the evil of money, this satyr, who, in contrast to humans, thinks he is a real man, wants to get justice by raping Silvia. A shepherd told him that Silvia was stopping at a well when she was hunting. Meanwhile, Tirsi and Daphne talk about the brittle Silvia and ask themselves whether or not Silvia is aware of her beauty and her effect on men. Both come to the conclusion that Silvia's brittleness is actually a vain trick, the reason being the harmful influence of the city on the country. Aminta was lost because of his sensitivity and his consideration for Silvia, since nowadays it is important to persuade women to love, if not to rape them, if one wants to be successful in this. Daphne reveals to Tirsi the appointment with Silvia. Then there is an argument between Tirsi and Daphne, because Tirsi does not want to fall in love, but Daphne (for whatever reason) has an interest in Tirsi falling in love. Tirsi prefers to devote himself to the worship of his God / Lord, as he (due to Mopso's magic) cannot do what his God / Lord has told him to do, namely to sing about him. At the end of the argument, they each decide to bring Aminta and Silvia together at the well. After this scene, Aminta and Tirsi are in conversation. Tirsi tells Aminta that he has agreed with Daphne to take him to Silvia, who would bathe naked at the well in the forest. Aminta just had to come over and confess his love to her. But it is unbearable for Aminta not to have any certainty that Silvia loves him (which, however, she cannot give him for reasons of honor). He doesn't want to take the risk of being turned away by her. Finally, Tirsi persuades Aminta to go with him to the well. The choir sings about the difficulty of communicating love through language and comes to the conclusion that love can only be imparted by itself. The choir also indirectly suggests that from a literary point of view, the poetry of love, the shepherd's poem, abolishes the contradiction between the classes and thus between the literary genres, because even a clumsy shepherd understands the sublime language of love.

Third act

Tirsi is looking for Aminta, who from his point of view has committed suicide in the meantime. Since the choir of shepherds asks him how he came to this assumption, Tirsi tells what has happened to him in the meantime: No sooner had Tirsi and Aminta reached the fountain than they heard Daphne's crying. According to Daphne, Silvia was raped. And indeed Tirsi and Aminta saw how Silvia was tied to a tree and the satyr was still fiddling with the chains. Aminta shot arrows at this one. Tirsi had meanwhile collected stones to throw them at the satyr. When the satyr fled, Aminta freed Silvia from her chains. But instead of thanking Aminta, the haughty Silvia ran away. Tirsi, who watched the whole scene, ran after Silvia to get her back. However, he has lost sight of her. When Tirsi returned to the well, Aminta also disappeared. Tirsi's last hope is to find Aminta with Elpino, to whom Aminta usually goes in order to allay his heartache at the sound of his bagpipe. Meanwhile, Aminta and Daphne are arguing with each other. Given that Silvia fled from him, Aminta wants to kill herself. But Daphne explains to him that Silvia did not flee out of resentment towards him, but out of shame at standing naked in front of him. The conversation between Aminta and Daphne is interrupted by Nerina's wailing cry. From Nerina, the two learn that Silvia went to her shortly after she was freed from the satyr's bonds: after Silvia had dressed again, the two went hunting. They would have seen a wolf while hunting. Silvia hit this wolf with an arrow, whereupon it fled back into the forest. Silvia started looking for the wolf. Nerina, in turn, followed Silvia, but lost sight of her. Finally she found Silvia's veil in the heart of the forest. Silvia herself has disappeared. A pack of wolves licked a trail of blood near the veil, which is why Nerina suspects that Silvia was torn down by these wolves. After hearing this news, Aminta finally decides to commit suicide and walks away at a fast pace. Since Nerina is unable to follow him and cannot prevent him from doing what he has done, she finally goes on her way again. At the end of the third act, the choir sings about love and suicide. Suicide is not necessary, since loyalty in love brings the chosen together (even if this is not initially reciprocated). Love automatically ensures immortal fame.

Fourth act

Silvia, who apparently was not torn from the wolf pack after all, tells Daphne what happened to her. Silvia followed the wolf that she hit with the arrow and finally lost sight of him. After all, she saw the wolf, who had recently killed an animal, again in a pack. When the wolf ran towards her, Silvia missed him with her arrows and then fled. In doing so, she lost the veil. She was able to leave the forest safely. When she reached her house, she met Daphne. Daphne is only to a limited extent happy to see Silvia again, believing that Aminta committed suicide due to the alleged death of Silvia. Silvia also cries to Aminta out of pity. However, Daphne and the choir or the band of shepherds are of the opinion that pity is a harbinger of love, which is why Silvia must necessarily fall in love with Aminta. Consequently, Silvia is punished for her hard-heartedness towards Aminta, since she is now condemned to weep a dead man. Like a bee, Aminta had to pay for Silvia's pain in love with death. A messenger then reports to Silvia, Daphne and the shepherds of Aminta's death. Aminta called the name Silvias shortly before his death. During the hunt he, Ergasto, the messenger, saw Aminta and ran to her. Aminta, in turn, led him to a steep rock and made him promise not to intervene in what he was doing. Aminta Ergasto then explained the reason for his actions and finally threw herself off the rock. Ergasto tried in vain to hold back Aminta. After the suicide attempt, he did not want to check whether Aminta was still alive because he did not want to see his dismembered body. In view of this news, Silvia is again considering killing herself. However, what initially prevents them from doing so is the search for Aminta's body in order to be able to bury it with dignity. At the end of the fourth act the choir sings about love and death. Love brings people together, death separates them, love be the friend of peace, death the friend of war. Love, however, triumphs over death: by uniting two people, love makes earth equal to heaven. Love removes resentment in people's hearts and almost transforms the earth into the eternal bliss of heaven.

Fifth act

Obviously, Aminta survived the rock fall. He is now in Silvia's lap and lets his tears of joy / remorse dry from her lips. Elpino wants to rush to Silvia's father, Montano, to ask him to consent to the marriage of the two. It happened by chance that Tirsi and Elpino saw Aminta fall from the rock on the way to Elpinos Cave. Fortunately for Aminta, his fall was slowed down by a thicket protruding from the rock face, so the fall was not fatal for him. Aminta only suffered a few scratches and bruises. While Aminta and Silvia are happily reunited, Elpino goes to Montano. The chorus of the last act sings of the intensity of the feelings that result from their opposition. The love that follows bitterness is all the more intense. Nevertheless, the choir wishes for a life less suffering and ultimately a final peace of mind.

people

  • Amore (Cupid), in shepherd's robes
  • Daphne , Silvia's companion
  • Silvia , adored Amintas
  • Aminta , admirer of Silvias
  • Tirsi , Aminta's journeyman
  • Satiro (satyr), admirer of Silvias
  • Nerina , messenger
  • Ergasto , messenger
  • Elpino , shepherd
  • Other people: Coro de 'pastori (Shepherd's Choir)

Literary role models

Ancient Greek literature

Latin literature

Italian literature

Further information

Some people and events in Aminta reflect people and events in reality that were known to the audience - at least the audience of the premiere - and may have given the play an extra flavor, since the premiere took place in front of the Ferrara court society, its member Tasso was:

  • Aminta was not only premiered on Belvedere Island near Ferrara, but also plays there - at least hinted at.
  • In relation to Mopso's prophecy, Tirsi's account reflects Tasso's experiences with the court society in Ferrara. Mopso, in turn, stands for Sperone Speroni, once a teacher, later, especially since his criticism of the manuscripts of the Gerusalemme liberata (1575), a bitter opponent of Tasso (cf. Act 1, Scene 2, verses 565-652). Tirsi's master, who commands him to sing about him, is Alfonso II. D'Este (cf. Act 2, Scene 2, verse 994-1023).
  • Elpino stands for Giambattista Nicolucci, known as "Pigna", the secretary Ercoles II and later Alfonsos II d'Este. “Pigna” (like Tasso before him) was unhappily in love with Lucrezia Bendidio , who in turn was Baldassare Machiavelli's fiancée and the lover of Cardinal Luigi d'Este . Pigna dedicated several poems to Lucrezia Bendidio. An allusion to this can be found in an anecdote by Daphne, in which Elpino is unhappily in love with a certain Licori (cf. Act 1, Scene 1, verses 261-290).
  • Manfred Brauneck sees the praise of the golden age at the end of the first act as a criticism by Tasso of the rigid code of honor introduced by the Spanish occupation in Italy.

Others

  • Tasso directed Aminta's premiere .
  • The court staff and members of the "Comici Gelosi" acted as actors at the premiere.
  • Aminta was imitated by numerous theater poets, such as Antonio Ongaro's Alceo (1582) and Angelo Ingegneri's Danza di Venere (1583).

literature

Text output

  • Torquato Tasso: Amyntas , translation into German by Johann Heinrich Kirchhoff. Hanover 1742
  • Torquato Tasso: Aminta . 15th edition. BUR, Milano (Milan) 2004.
  • Torquato Tasso: Aminta . In: Torquato Tasso: Teatro . 3. Edition. Garzanti, Milano (Milan) 1995.

Web links

Commons : Aminta  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dante della Terza: La corte e il teatro: il mondo del Tasso . In: Maristella de Panizza Lorch (Ed.): Il teatro italiano del Rinascimento . Edizioni di Comunità, Milano 1980, p. 51.
  2. ^ Giulio Ferroni: La scena, l'autore, il signore nel teatro delle corti padane . In: Maristella de Panizza Lorch (Ed.): Il teatro italiano del Rinascimento . Edizioni di Comunità, Milano 1980, p. 559.
  3. ↑ Manfred Brauneck: The world as a stage. History of European Theater . First volume. JW Metzler Stuttgart / Weimar 1993, p. 447.
  4. ↑ Manfred Brauneck: The world as a stage. History of European Theater . First volume. JW Metzler Stuttgart / Weimar 1993, p. 447.
  5. ↑ Manfred Brauneck: The world as a stage. History of European Theater . First volume. JW Metzler Stuttgart / Weimar 1993, p. 447.
  6. ^ Douglas Radcliff-Umstead: Love in Tasso's "Aminta": A Reflection of the Este Court . In: Maristella de Panizza Lorch (Ed.): Il teatro italiano del Rinascimento . Edizioni di Comunità, Milano 1980, p. 84.
  7. ↑ Manfred Brauneck: The world as a stage. History of European Theater . First volume. JW Metzler Stuttgart / Weimar 1993, p. 447.