Luigi Pirandello

Master of modern Italian theatre, known for exploring the fluid nature of identity.

Chronology: 1867-06-28 – 1936-12-10

Origins & Early Life

Luigi Pirandello ( PIRR-ən-DEL-oh; Italian: [luˈiːdʒi piranˈdɛllo]; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer most noted for 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.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

== Biography == === Early life === Pirandello was born into an upper-class family in Girgenti (now Agrigento), Sicily, near the poor suburb of Porto Empedocle. His family's surname had originally been the Greek "Pirangelos" (Greek: Πυράγγελος), which had been phonetically corrupted. Pirandello was of Greek descent, as he noted himself in an interview to Kostas Ouranis in 1934. The area of his birth was called "Caos", from càusi, Sicilian for "trousers", after the shape of a nearby ravine. His father, Stefano Pirandello, belonged to a wealthy family involved in the sulphur industry, and his mother, Caterina Ricci Gramitto, was also of a well-to-do background, descending from a family...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

Source: Wikipedia