From the slave duo of Greco-Latin comedy to the pair of spurred boys of Quem tem farelos? by Gil Vicente. Tradition and dramatic potentialities of a classical motif

Abstract

The use of duos in comedy is as old as the genre itself. Considering the literary testimonies that the classical tradition has bequeathed to us, Aristophanes successfully rehearsed this comic procedure. Menander and Plautus were not indifferent to this procedure and recovered it in some of their plays. At the Portuguese theater, the duo formed by two young men from the play Quem tem farelos? (Who has crumbs?) by Gil Vicente is illustrative of the revival process to which the playwright of the 16th Century may have paid some attention. A singular case in Gil Vicente’s production, the pair made up of Apariço and Ordoño reacquires, in the first instance, the traits of the pairs of slaves of the ancient theater, but later reveals new features. Are these the result of a metamorphosis to which Gil Vicente has subjected the classic motif of the comic duo?