Pirandello, Luigi (lwē`jē pērändĕl`lō), 1867–1936, Italian author, b. Sicily. One of the great figures in 20th-century European theater, Pirandello was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature. After an extensive education, he began in the 1890s to write poetry and short stories, many of which reflect his interest in Sicilian folklore. In 1897 he became professor of Italian literature at the Normal College for Women in Rome. Before achieving fame Pirandello had many difficult years. Lack of public recognition, the failure of his father's mining business, and the 14-year-long insanity of his wife may account in part for the pessimism of his work. Pirandello wrote seven novels, among them Il fu Mattia Pascal (1904, tr. The Late Mattia Pascal, 1923) and I vecchi e i giovani (1913, tr. The Young and the Old, 1928), as well as nearly 300 short stories. His fame rests primarily, however, on his intellectual and grotesquely humorous plays. He began writing for the theater during World War I and from that time until his death produced more than 40 dramas. By 1924 his plays were being performed in most of the great cities of the world. The best known include Così è, se vi pare (1917, tr. Right You Are If You Think You Are, 1922), Il piacere dell'onestà (1917, tr. The Pleasure of Honesty, 1923), Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore (1921, tr. Six Characters in Search of an Author, 1922), Enrico IV (1922, tr. Henry IV, 1922), and Come tu mi vuoi (1930, tr. As You Desire Me, 1931). The grim humor of his plays flows from their central theme—the shattering search to distinguish between reality and illusion. Reality he saw as an intangible, and what is taken for reality as a series of illusions. Since truth was not ascertainable, man was condemned to live in moral and cultural confusion, or even anarchy. These alienated beliefs may partly explain Pirandello's acceptance of Mussolini as a man of order. Pirandello's works are influential models for later existential drama.

Bibliography

See studies by W. F. Starkie (3d ed. 1965); O. Büdel (2d ed. 1969), R. Matthaei (tr. 1973), A. Paolucci (1974), D. Radcliff-Unstead (1978), O. Ragusa (1980), and A. Caputi (1988).

Pirandello, Luigi

Luigi Pirandello.

(credit: Courtesy of the Italian Institute, London)

(born June 28, 1867, Agrigento, Sicily, Italy—died Dec. 10, 1936, Rome) Italian playwright and novelist. He earned a doctorate in philology at the University of Bonn but turned to writing poetry, short stories, and several novels, including the successful The Late Mattia Pascal (1904). His first major play, Right You Are (if You Think You Are) (1917), explored the relativity of truth, a lifelong subject for Pirandello. Six Characters in Search of an Author (1921) contrasted art and life; it was followed by the tragedy Henry IV (1922). His other plays include Each in His Own Way (1924) and Tonight We Improvise (1930). He established the Teatro d'Arte in Rome and toured the world with his company (1925–27). Recognized as a major figure in 20th-century theatre, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1934.