La farce rétrospective – revoir la farce au xvie siècle

Abstract

The consideration for farce during the Renaissance appears deeply ambiguous. Although the humanists tend to disapprove the farce as a medieval leftover, some of them do write farces; most of the preserved farces date from the 16th century and several farces are still published at the beginning of the 17th century; also, at the time, the representation of a tragedy is usually followed by a farce. The theoretical rejection of this genre for its lack of Greco-Roman models is counterbalanced by the fascination for its indigenous origins, as farce is considered an eminently French tradition. Nevertheless, some authors (such as Amyot) seem to implicitly legitimate farce inscribing it within the universalia of theatrical history.