Pirandellian

comparative more Pirandellian · superlative most Pirandellian

1. Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the works of Luigi Pirandello (1867–1936), Italian dramatist and poet; especially describing drama in which actors become inseparable and indistinct from the characters that they play.

   There is nothing Pirandellian about this writing, nothing detached and ironic. His characters were not on the loose, searching out the author. They were on the loose, of course, but the author was their constant companion.

   2011, Studs Terkel, The Studs Terkel Reader: My American Century, The New Press, →ISBN, page 155

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   When we finally get to the obligatory scene involving Karma and a white policeman (Mr. Tigar again), “Revolving Cycles” has a Pirandellian nervous breakdown; it seems to be speaking to other plays and playwrights instead of to the audience.

   2018 September 19, Jesse Green, “Review: In ‘The Revolving Cycles,’ What Happened to Terrell?”, in New York Times