Senex iratus
Encyclopedia
The senex iratus or heavy father figure is a comic archetype
character who belongs to the alazon
or impostor group in theater, manifesting himself through his rages and threats, his obsessions and his gullibility.
His usual function is to impede the love of the hero and heroine
, and his power to do so stems from his greater social position and his increased control of cash. In the New Comedy, he was often the father of the hero and so his rival. More frequently since, he has been the father of the heroine who insists on her union with the bad fiancé; as such, he appears in both A Midsummer's Night Dream, where he fails and so the play is a comedy, and Romeo and Juliet
, where his acts are successful enough to render the play a tragedy.
Pantalone
in Commedia dell'arte
acts as a senex iratus.
In his Anatomy of Criticism
, Northrop Frye
considered all blocking humors in comedy to be variations on the basic function of the senex iratus.
Archetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
character who belongs to the alazon
Alazon
In the theatre of ancient Greece, alazôn is one of three stock characters in comedy. He is the opponent of the eirôn. The alazôn is an impostor that sees himself as greater than he actually is. The senex iratus and the miles gloriosus are two types of alazôn.-Sources:* Carlson, Marvin. 1993...
or impostor group in theater, manifesting himself through his rages and threats, his obsessions and his gullibility.
His usual function is to impede the love of the hero and heroine
Lovers (character)
Lovers are stock characters whose efforts to get together, despite the blocking effect of other characters, constitute the plot of the story.The lovers are eiron figures, and it has been noted that they often are coloress creatures, sometimes even ingenues next to the blocking figures, the alazons...
, and his power to do so stems from his greater social position and his increased control of cash. In the New Comedy, he was often the father of the hero and so his rival. More frequently since, he has been the father of the heroine who insists on her union with the bad fiancé; as such, he appears in both A Midsummer's Night Dream, where he fails and so the play is a comedy, and Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, where his acts are successful enough to render the play a tragedy.
Pantalone
Pantalone
Pantalone, or Pantalone del bisognosi, Italian for 'Pantalone of the needy', is one of the most important principal characters found in commedia del arte...
in Commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened...
acts as a senex iratus.
In his Anatomy of Criticism
Anatomy of Criticism
Herman Northrop Frye's Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays attempts to formulate an overall view of the scope, theory, principles, and techniques of literary criticism derived exclusively from literature...
, Northrop Frye
Northrop Frye
Herman Northrop Frye, was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of the 20th century....
considered all blocking humors in comedy to be variations on the basic function of the senex iratus.