Humor and the Revision of Myth in Patrizia Monaco’s Play Penelopeide

In recent years, Italian playwright Patrizia Monaco has used humor to present to the public a different and critical view of various myths, linking them to current themes of social interest. This article studies the play Penelopeide (2008), considering the characteristics of the revision of myth through humor typical of the postmodern age. It analyses the ironic/parodic treatment of the heroic and the juxtaposition of voices, spaces and times to arrive at the construction of a different female identity, that of Penelope, which subverts dominant thinking and is presented in the first person.

Patrizia Monaco; Penelopeide; Revising Myths; Subversive Humor