| The Mandrake | |
|---|---|
 Illustrated title page of the 1556 edition | |
| Written by | Niccolò Machiavelli |
| Characters |
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| Date premiered | Carnival season, 1526 |
| Place premiered | Florence, Italy |
| Original language | Italian |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Setting | The Florentine Republic, 1504 |
The Mandrake (Italian: La Mandragola [la manˈdraːɡola]) is a satirical play by Italian Renaissance philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli. Although the five-act comedy was published in 1524 and first performed in the carnival season of 1526, Machiavelli likely wrote The Mandrake in 1518 as a distraction from his bitterness at having been excluded from the diplomatic and political life of Florence following the 1512 reversion to Medici rule. Some scholars read the play as an overt critique of the House of Medici; and some scholars assert that the play is a mirror to his political treatises.[1] However, Machiavelli set the action in 1504 during the period of the Florentine Republic in order to express his frustrations without fear of censure from patrons already ill-disposed towards him and his writing.[2]
- ^ Sullivan, Vickie B. (2000). The Comedy and Tragedy of Machiavelli: Essays on the Literary Works. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300087970.
- ^ Prunster, Nicole (1995). Lesley Henderson (ed.). "The Mandrake: Overview" in Reference Guide to World Literature. New York: St. James Press. Literature Resource Center.