Betti, Ugo << BEHT tee, OO gaw >> (1892-1953), was one of the leading Italian playwrights of the 1900’s. Betti was a deeply religious and intellectual dramatist. Most of his 25 plays are tragedies. He wrote chiefly about the human capacity for evil. His plays concern the brutality of totalitarian governments and the individual’s unrestrained sexual urges and desire for power. But Betti offers a suggestion of hope because his major characters recognize and face up to their guilt, as in Corruption in the Palace of Justice (1944), Crime on Goat Island (1948), and The Burnt Flower Bed (1951-1952).
Betti was born on Feb. 4, 1892, in Camerino, near Fabriano. He was a lawyer and then a judge. The themes of guilt and justice so important to his plays may reflect his experiences in court. He died on June 9, 1953.
