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Liola, Cosi e
The theater of Luigi Liolà and Così è (se vi pare) (Right you are (if you think so))
214 pages, Paperback
First published September 13, 1916
About the author
Luigi Pirandello
1,657 books1,501 followersLuigi Pirandello; Agrigento (28 June 1867 – Rome 10 December 1936) was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays.
He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his bold and ingenious revival of dramatic and scenic art"
Pirandello's works include novels, hundreds of short stories, and about 40 plays, some of which are written in Sicilian. Pirandello's tragic farces are often seen as forerunners of the Theatre of the Absurd.
He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his bold and ingenious revival of dramatic and scenic art"
Pirandello's works include novels, hundreds of short stories, and about 40 plays, some of which are written in Sicilian. Pirandello's tragic farces are often seen as forerunners of the Theatre of the Absurd.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 3, 2019
I'm reading Liolà in Italian, which has been on my shelf for decades, with a few marginal notes. Act 1 starts with harvest almond-shucking, Act 2 with onion picking by three kids of Liola, all from different mothers, whom he doesn't marry, though he cares for the kids. (In the play we meet three boys, Tinino, Calicchio, Pallino.) Act 3, also harvest time, but no one comes when asked by Zia Croce, though they do for La Moscardina, who’s always running. She cites the proverb, “Gallina chi va e gira, col gozzo pieno si retira”(85).
In the first scene we meet three young country girls, “contadine,” Cruz, Luzza and Nela, who sing in chorus a Maria folksong as they crack almonds for Zia Croce’s stand.
Mita is the young wife of Uncle (Zio) Simone who wants to have a child. Three aunts in the play, Liolà’s mother Zia Ninfa, his cousin Zia Croce, and Gesa, aunt of Mita.
In Bruno’s play in 1582 I translated a couple dozen proverbs; here too there are quite a few, like “Chi cerca trova, e chi séguita vince”(87). Whoever seeks will find, and who follows, wins.
The play opens with almond harvest, and closes with grape harvesting for wine, same time of year, August and September. Liolà leads the harvesters, many of them kids, their hands linked, in song. One proverb, Playing music or singing is only wind; Liolà says he and the wind are brothers, they are both everywhere.
In the last act, the grapes’ ripening resonates with the ripening of the pregnant Tuzza and Mita, the young wife of the rich Signor Simone, whose cousin Zia Croce initiates the harvest unknown to the owner. Simone arrives at the harvest celebration in a grumpy mood, ready to cross-examine harvest leader Liolà on his wife’s pregnancy. Simone says he swears before Gesú he had boasted wrongly of a son, who was in fact, Liolà’s, “mi son vantato a torto del figlio che, in coscienza, è tuo”(101).
Liolà says he had offered to marry Tuzza, but she didn’t want him—probably because he’s a notorious womanizer. But he offers to take, and take care of Tuzza’s child, if Tuzza and her mother Zia Croce want him to. Tuzza answers with an act of violence, but no spoiler here. The three kids sing at the end, When you’re born, Three and one make four. “Tre e uno quattro! Gl’insegno a cantare!” I’ll teach you to sing.
"Così è (se vi pare)," the second play here:
This play, beginning Pirandello’s major works, drawn from his novel on Frola and Ponza, was first performed in my daughter’s Milan, 1917; translated into French, staged in 1924, it succeeded and became part of the repertory at Comédie Française, as Chacun sa verité. The novel title asserts that both named characters are sui generis, so here’s the stage direction on one, Signora Frola, a beautiful old woman, modest but affable, “con uno grande tristezza negli occhi, ma un constanta dolce sorriso sulle labbra.” A sweet smile but sad eyes.
Who’s crazy? That’s the main theme. Ponza treats his suocera, Signora Frola, very well, pays for a city apartment, and often visits amicably; while her daughter Lina, his wife, Frola hasn’t seen for years. Ponza keeps her in the top floor where they can’t even speak in the courtyard as a well. Lina was in an asylum, maybe fetched from one at end, in a dark veil, mourning clothes. Was she both his 1st and 2nd wife, new marriage to accept her back into the house?
The townspeople look into this with legal authorities, the Prefect and Counselor Amalia. Frola thinks Ponza crazed, driven mad enough to pretend his second wife Giulia is Lina. Ponza reciprocates, thinks Frola crazed by the loss of her daughter.
The play begins and ends with an ironist, Laudisi, the brother of Counselor Amalia who wears a purple jacket with gold braiding. At the end, Ponza’s wife is fetched either from the top floor of his house, or from an asylum; she is dressed in mourning, with a black veil. Frola embraces her as her daughter, but it is not entirely clear. She asks to see under the veil, looks and leaves in silence.
Laudisi laughs at end…”You happy?”
In the first scene we meet three young country girls, “contadine,” Cruz, Luzza and Nela, who sing in chorus a Maria folksong as they crack almonds for Zia Croce’s stand.
Mita is the young wife of Uncle (Zio) Simone who wants to have a child. Three aunts in the play, Liolà’s mother Zia Ninfa, his cousin Zia Croce, and Gesa, aunt of Mita.
In Bruno’s play in 1582 I translated a couple dozen proverbs; here too there are quite a few, like “Chi cerca trova, e chi séguita vince”(87). Whoever seeks will find, and who follows, wins.
The play opens with almond harvest, and closes with grape harvesting for wine, same time of year, August and September. Liolà leads the harvesters, many of them kids, their hands linked, in song. One proverb, Playing music or singing is only wind; Liolà says he and the wind are brothers, they are both everywhere.
In the last act, the grapes’ ripening resonates with the ripening of the pregnant Tuzza and Mita, the young wife of the rich Signor Simone, whose cousin Zia Croce initiates the harvest unknown to the owner. Simone arrives at the harvest celebration in a grumpy mood, ready to cross-examine harvest leader Liolà on his wife’s pregnancy. Simone says he swears before Gesú he had boasted wrongly of a son, who was in fact, Liolà’s, “mi son vantato a torto del figlio che, in coscienza, è tuo”(101).
Liolà says he had offered to marry Tuzza, but she didn’t want him—probably because he’s a notorious womanizer. But he offers to take, and take care of Tuzza’s child, if Tuzza and her mother Zia Croce want him to. Tuzza answers with an act of violence, but no spoiler here. The three kids sing at the end, When you’re born, Three and one make four. “Tre e uno quattro! Gl’insegno a cantare!” I’ll teach you to sing.
"Così è (se vi pare)," the second play here:
This play, beginning Pirandello’s major works, drawn from his novel on Frola and Ponza, was first performed in my daughter’s Milan, 1917; translated into French, staged in 1924, it succeeded and became part of the repertory at Comédie Française, as Chacun sa verité. The novel title asserts that both named characters are sui generis, so here’s the stage direction on one, Signora Frola, a beautiful old woman, modest but affable, “con uno grande tristezza negli occhi, ma un constanta dolce sorriso sulle labbra.” A sweet smile but sad eyes.
Who’s crazy? That’s the main theme. Ponza treats his suocera, Signora Frola, very well, pays for a city apartment, and often visits amicably; while her daughter Lina, his wife, Frola hasn’t seen for years. Ponza keeps her in the top floor where they can’t even speak in the courtyard as a well. Lina was in an asylum, maybe fetched from one at end, in a dark veil, mourning clothes. Was she both his 1st and 2nd wife, new marriage to accept her back into the house?
The townspeople look into this with legal authorities, the Prefect and Counselor Amalia. Frola thinks Ponza crazed, driven mad enough to pretend his second wife Giulia is Lina. Ponza reciprocates, thinks Frola crazed by the loss of her daughter.
The play begins and ends with an ironist, Laudisi, the brother of Counselor Amalia who wears a purple jacket with gold braiding. At the end, Ponza’s wife is fetched either from the top floor of his house, or from an asylum; she is dressed in mourning, with a black veil. Frola embraces her as her daughter, but it is not entirely clear. She asks to see under the veil, looks and leaves in silence.
Laudisi laughs at end…”You happy?”
April 18, 2021
La commedia del grottesco, il sentimento del contrario con l'ironia e il cinismo di Pirandello, intriso di malinconia e a tratti squallore(volutamente), rappresenta l'essere umano nel suo egoismo e povertà morale. Soprattutto così è se vi pare l'ho amato, il finale ti lascia nel dubbio....non sapremo mai se realmente il vicino di casa effettivamente non permette alla moglie(o seconda?), Di non vedere la madre....la verità è sempre soggettiva e relativa, quindi.... così è, se vi pare.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2018
نمایشنامه ای شاید در مکتب سمبولیسم در باب واقعیت . مردی ادعا میکند که همسرش زن دوم اوست و همسر اولش فوت شده است و مادری که ادعا میکند همسر اول مرد که دخترش نیز هست زنده است و تنها به دلیل وضع روحی مرد به عنوان زنی جدید و همسر دوم معرفی کرده است . این شکل دوگانه ی حقیقت و واقعیت تمام سوال این نمایش است . سوالی که یک پاسخ واحد و متقن ندارد .
November 7, 2017
Recensione presente sul blog The Book Of Writer: https://thebookofwritercom.wordpress....
May 4, 2022
Vi si ritrovano tutte le tematiche caratterizzanti la scrittura di Pirandello
October 15, 2026
"Liolà - Così è (se vi pare)" by "Luigi Pirandello" deconstructs the illusion of absolute authority, proving individual consciousness is the ultimate stronghold. Smart writing that leaves you pondering.
June 18, 2020
My review in English follows the Italian version below.
★★★★★
Queste due commedie mostrano bene la grandezza di Pirandello, il mio autore italiano preferito, sia nella capacità di mettere in discussione le convenzioni sociali sia nella riflessione sulla relatività della verità e sull'incomunicabilità tra gli esseri umani.
In Liolà colpisce l'ostinazione con cui la società cerca di imbrigliare il protagonista nelle proprie convenzioni, tentando di ricondurre la sua vitalità e la sua libertà entro schemi prestabiliti. È una critica a un ordine sociale che pretende di imporre a tutti le stesse regole, incapace di accettare chi vive al di fuori di esse.
In Così è (se vi pare) emerge invece uno dei temi centrali della poetica pirandelliana: l'impossibilità di stabilire una verità assoluta e di conoscere davvero un'altra persona. Ognuno osserva il mondo dalla propria prospettiva, e ciò che appare indiscutibilmente vero a qualcuno può risultare falso agli occhi di un altro. La frase che dà il titolo all'opera racchiude questa relatività e mette a nudo il bisogno della società di trovare una spiegazione definitiva anche quando la realtà non sembra consentirla.
A rendere queste idee così efficaci è anche la qualità della scrittura teatrale. Lo sviluppo scenico è ben costruito e i dialoghi sono convincenti e potenti, capaci di intrecciare significato drammatico e umorismo secondo la particolare concezione pirandelliana. La riflessione filosofica non rimane astratta, ma prende vita nei conflitti, nelle contraddizioni e nei rapporti tra i personaggi.
Cinque stelle per un teatro che, dietro le situazioni e i dialoghi, continua a interrogare la nostra capacità di conoscere noi stessi, gli altri e la realtà.
---
English version
★★★★★
These two plays demonstrate Pirandello's greatness, both in his ability to challenge social conventions and in his exploration of the relativity of truth and the difficulty of communication between human beings. He remains my favourite Italian author.
In Liolà, what stands out is the stubbornness with which society tries to constrain the protagonist within its conventions, forcing his vitality and freedom into predetermined patterns. It is a critique of a social order that expects everyone to follow the same rules and struggles to accept those who live outside them.
In Right You Are (If You Think So), one of the central themes of Pirandello's work emerges: the impossibility of establishing an absolute truth or truly knowing another person. Everyone sees the world from their own perspective, and what appears unquestionably true to one person may seem false to another. The play's title captures this relativity while exposing society's need for definitive explanations, even when reality refuses to provide them.
These ideas are made especially effective by the quality of Pirandello's theatrical writing. The dramatic structure is carefully constructed, and the dialogue is compelling and powerful, blending drama and humour in keeping with Pirandello's distinctive vision. Philosophical reflection never remains abstract; it comes alive through the conflicts, contradictions and relationships between the characters.
Five stars for a theatre that continues to question our ability to understand ourselves, other people and reality.
★★★★★
Queste due commedie mostrano bene la grandezza di Pirandello, il mio autore italiano preferito, sia nella capacità di mettere in discussione le convenzioni sociali sia nella riflessione sulla relatività della verità e sull'incomunicabilità tra gli esseri umani.
In Liolà colpisce l'ostinazione con cui la società cerca di imbrigliare il protagonista nelle proprie convenzioni, tentando di ricondurre la sua vitalità e la sua libertà entro schemi prestabiliti. È una critica a un ordine sociale che pretende di imporre a tutti le stesse regole, incapace di accettare chi vive al di fuori di esse.
In Così è (se vi pare) emerge invece uno dei temi centrali della poetica pirandelliana: l'impossibilità di stabilire una verità assoluta e di conoscere davvero un'altra persona. Ognuno osserva il mondo dalla propria prospettiva, e ciò che appare indiscutibilmente vero a qualcuno può risultare falso agli occhi di un altro. La frase che dà il titolo all'opera racchiude questa relatività e mette a nudo il bisogno della società di trovare una spiegazione definitiva anche quando la realtà non sembra consentirla.
A rendere queste idee così efficaci è anche la qualità della scrittura teatrale. Lo sviluppo scenico è ben costruito e i dialoghi sono convincenti e potenti, capaci di intrecciare significato drammatico e umorismo secondo la particolare concezione pirandelliana. La riflessione filosofica non rimane astratta, ma prende vita nei conflitti, nelle contraddizioni e nei rapporti tra i personaggi.
Cinque stelle per un teatro che, dietro le situazioni e i dialoghi, continua a interrogare la nostra capacità di conoscere noi stessi, gli altri e la realtà.
---
English version
★★★★★
These two plays demonstrate Pirandello's greatness, both in his ability to challenge social conventions and in his exploration of the relativity of truth and the difficulty of communication between human beings. He remains my favourite Italian author.
In Liolà, what stands out is the stubbornness with which society tries to constrain the protagonist within its conventions, forcing his vitality and freedom into predetermined patterns. It is a critique of a social order that expects everyone to follow the same rules and struggles to accept those who live outside them.
In Right You Are (If You Think So), one of the central themes of Pirandello's work emerges: the impossibility of establishing an absolute truth or truly knowing another person. Everyone sees the world from their own perspective, and what appears unquestionably true to one person may seem false to another. The play's title captures this relativity while exposing society's need for definitive explanations, even when reality refuses to provide them.
These ideas are made especially effective by the quality of Pirandello's theatrical writing. The dramatic structure is carefully constructed, and the dialogue is compelling and powerful, blending drama and humour in keeping with Pirandello's distinctive vision. Philosophical reflection never remains abstract; it comes alive through the conflicts, contradictions and relationships between the characters.
Five stars for a theatre that continues to question our ability to understand ourselves, other people and reality.
September 19, 2017
Not my cup of tea. Pirandello è un eccellente autore, non si può negargli l'abilità di scrivere dialoghi potenti (che al giorno d'oggi taluni "romanzieri" si possono soltanto sognare). Eppure il teatro mi sembra una forma d'arte così lontana, che mi è difficile pensare che tutto questo venisse scritto un secolo fa. E soprattutto, il tema che tratta mi sembra così distante da non avere alcuna attinenza al reale.
June 13, 2016
Solo "Così è se vi pare".
Inutile commentare, Pirandello è Pirandello. Conoscevo già la trama, ho letto l'opera per l'imminente maturità. Nonostante questo sono riuscita ad apprezzare la lettura. Ovviamente un'opera teatrale non mi prenderà mai tanto quanto un romanzo, quindi ho assegnato 4 stelline.
Inutile commentare, Pirandello è Pirandello. Conoscevo già la trama, ho letto l'opera per l'imminente maturità. Nonostante questo sono riuscita ad apprezzare la lettura. Ovviamente un'opera teatrale non mi prenderà mai tanto quanto un romanzo, quindi ho assegnato 4 stelline.
April 13, 2012
(Così è, se vi pare)
January 21, 2014
Un Pirandello poco pirandelliano e molto verghiano... Il modello è Cavalleria rusticana, ma lo spirito dell'opera è più gioioso e vitalistico.
January 11, 2018
Sono ancora abbastanza confusa da questo libro, nonostante avessi già capito come sarebbe andata a finire dal primo atto.
Tutta la situazione è talmente ridicola che viene da ridere: o è pazzo lui, o è pazza lei, o sono pazzi entrambi, o non è pazzo nessuno.
Alla fine, il meno pazzo (e contemporaneamente il più pazzo) di tutti è Laudisi, che ha sempre ragione.
Tutta la situazione è talmente ridicola che viene da ridere: o è pazzo lui, o è pazza lei, o sono pazzi entrambi, o non è pazzo nessuno.
Alla fine, il meno pazzo (e contemporaneamente il più pazzo) di tutti è Laudisi, che ha sempre ragione.
July 17, 2018
Υπέροχο θεατρικό έργο. Το διάβασα χωρίς να το καταλάβω πότε τελείωσε. Φοβερά μηνύματα για την αδικία την επανάσταση την χαρά της ζωής.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews