Final answer:
The primary audience of Commedia dell'Arte was the poor and middle class. This form of theater, with its masked stock characters and improvised plots, catered to the tastes of everyday people during a time of social change in Europe.
Step-by-step explanation:
The typical audience of Commedia dell'Arte was b) The poor and middle class. Commedia dell'Arte was a form of theatre originating in Italy, characterized by masked stock characters and improvised performances based on a set of dramatic scenarios.
This style of theatre rose to prominence during a time when society was experiencing a significant shift: the noble class was losing economic power while the middle class and self-made men were on the rise.
Commedia plays often featured a range of characters including the boisterous Capitano, the clever servants known as zanni (such as Arlechino, better known as Harlequin), the greedy old man Pantalone, and the foolish Dottore. The humor in these plays relied on comedic devices such as misunderstandings and mistaken identities, which were very much enjoyed by the common people.