Agréable émotion, violento affetto, vero contento. Possibilità di gioia nelle tragedie di Metastasio

This article aims to explore the different forms of joy in Pietro Metastasio’s melodramas. Building on Descartes’s theory of emotions, the article focuses on Metastasio’s representation of joy through versification, syntax, and the characters’ gestures and words. By doing so, the article allows for a better understanding not only of joy and the reasons why it is rarely represented on stage, but also of Metastasio’s idea of tragedy