Five Italian Renaissance Comedies: La Mandragola (The Mandrake), Lena, Il marescalco (The Stablemaster), Gl'ingannati (The Deceived), The Faithful Shepherd

The plays in this volume all represent in some way the sophistication and subtlety of the Renaissance. From Machiavelli's sharp satire on corrupt clergy to Guarini's robust pastoral; from Ariosto's and Aretino's vivid and suggestive portraits of Ferrara and Mantua, which reveal the many themes and relationships of those ducal courts.