What dose harlequin mean? ?
According to The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre: “Harlequin, young lover of Columbine in the English harlequinade. His name, though not his status, derives from the Arlecchino of the commedia dell’arte, where he was one of the quick-witted, unscrupulous serving-men; and so he remained in Italy. But in France Marivaux turned him into a pretty simpleton, while in the English harlequinade he was first a romantic magician and later a languishing, lackadaisical lover, foppishly dressed in a close-fitting suit of bright silk diamonds (derived from the patches on his original rags), sometimes with lace frill and ruffles. He retained from his origins the small black cat-faced mask, and a lath or bat of thin wood which acted as a magic wand (see TRANSFORMATION SCENE). One of the first English Harlequins was Joseph Haines (?–1701), in Ravenscroft’s adaptation of Molière’s Les Fourberies de Scapin (1677).” This answer was provided by Enquire, a 24-hour, live question answering and enquir
