Betti, Ugo (

`gō bət`tē), 1892–1953, Italian dramatist and poet. He was a judge by profession. His earliest published works were two volumes of poetry (1922 and 1932), but he is remembered for his dramas. He wrote 27 plays. Among the most notable were La padrona [the mistress] (1927), Frano allo scalo nord [landslide at the north station] (1936), Il cacciatore di anitre [the duck hunter] (1940), Il diluvio [the flood] (1943), and Delitto all'isola delle capre [crime on goat island] (1950). Betti's outlook was predominantly pessimistic, concerned with man's moral responsibility, guilt, and forgiveness.

Bibliography

See translations of his most important plays by H. Reed (1958), G. H. McWilliam (1964), and G. Rizzo (1966).

Betti, Ugo

(born Feb. 4, 1892, Camerino, Italy—died June 9, 1953, Rome) Italian playwright. He pursued a legal career, serving as a judge and as librarian of the Ministry of Justice in Rome. He wrote three volumes of poetry, three collections of short stories, and 26 plays. His first play, The Landlady (1927), drew mixed reviews, but later works were more successful. Several were translated into French and English and performed in Paris, London, and New York City, including Landslide (1933), Corruption in the Palace of Justice (1949), The Queen and the Rebels (1951), and The Fugitive (1953).