Absurda Comica or Mr. Peter Sequence
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| Title: | Absurda Comica Or Mr. Peter Squentz |
| Genus: | Swear game |
| Original language: | German |
| Author: | Andreas Gryphius |
| Publishing year: | 1657 |
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Absurda Comica or Mr. Peter Squenz is a game of abuse in three acts by Andreas Gryphius . The piece was first printed in 1657, and it was probably designed between 1648 and 1650. Today it is one of the most widely read and played German baroque comedies .
action
First elevator
Peter Sequence has learned that the king is a lover of all sorts of funny tragedies. That's why he calls a group of craftsmen together to rehearse a comedy. " Pyramus and Thisbe " a tragedy from Ovid's Metamorphoses is to be performed. Sequence distributes the roles to the people he thinks fit.
In order to impress the king, Peter Squenz draws up a long list of pieces to be presented to the king for selection. The last piece of the list is said to be "Pyramus and Thisbe" and the artisans suspect that the king will choose this and consider them to be highly learned people.
second elevator
After the king has been informed of the craftsmen's offer, Squenz calls in to the royal family. At the same time, Sequence is not entirely clear how he should behave and thereby disregards the ranking when he describes himself as the "most distinguished man in the whole world". When the king is asked to choose one of the pieces from the long list, he recognizes Sequence's exaggeration and asks for any other piece rather than "Pyramus and Thisbe". But for each piece, Sequence invents an excuse why he and the craftsmen couldn't play the piece. In the end, they agree on “Pyramus and Thisbe”. The court expects to be amused by the clumsiness of the group about Ssequence.
third elevator
After the craftsmen are late, there is a performance in which some “sows” (mistakes) happen, they get mixed up with the text, the rhyming words are replaced by others, one reacts to heckling from the audience and it comes between pickled herring and bulla-butan even to a fight on stage. The court, however, is having a great time, because the clumsiness of the craftsmen was already expected. In the end, the craftsmen are generously rewarded, because they receive 15 gold from the king for each “sow”.
History of origin
The Absurda Comica goes back to William Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595/96), in which the “rowdy game” about Peter Sequence's troupe is one of the three story arcs. According to Gryphius, the actual author is the Altdorf professor Daniel Schwenter (1585–1636), who also “took the play to the scene for the first time [...] he finally met my dearest friend / who equips him better / with new people increased / and [...] introduced ". Gryphius reworked the piece and then had it performed with his pieces.
structure
It is a game-within-a-game feature; H. A theatrical insert is inserted into the comprehensive stage plot, which is presented as a theater play not only to the audience but also to some stage characters, with other stage characters acting as actors.
Language and rhetoric
The group around Peter Squenz use a crude language in clumsy Knittel verse ("Oh Piramus you noble herb, how did you tear my heart apart") and thus violate high style. In addition, the craftsmen swear and abuse and quarrel several times in one piece.
Comic
The craftsmen who lose their role, their linguistic misconduct, as well as their amateurish acting portrayals create comedy. Linguistically, the group tries to adapt to the manners of the court, but this fails and their own level of education and status becomes visible. The unfinished Knittelverse becomes a kind of comic language.
The attempt to perform the tragic material is involuntarily turned into a laughing stock by the "swine". The fictional plot is unconsciously interrupted by the craftsmen due to these "swine" recurring.
The misconduct of the craftsmen only comes to bear comically through the distance to the educated courtly persons.
Intention and criticism
Discrimination against the common people (farmers, craftsmen); as soon as these characters strive for a higher position and do not have the necessary skills, a comedy arises at the expense of the lower class society.
Reference to the class clause of the 17th century and the baroque idea of the God-given world order.
expenditure
- Andreas Gryphius: Mr. Peter Sequence. Modernized edition. Reclams Universal Library , Ditzingen 2006, ISBN 978-3-15-000917-8 .
- Andreas Gryphius: Absurda Comica or Mr. Peter Squentz . Critical edition. Reclam, Ditzingen 2006, ISBN 978-3-15-007982-9 .
literature
- Nicola Kaminski: Andreas Gryphius . Reclam, Ditzingen 1998, ISBN 978-3-15-017610-8 .
- Dramas from the Baroque to the Enlightenment . Reclam, Ditzingen 2000, ISBN 978-3-15-017512-5 .
Web links
- Andreas Gryphius: Absurda Comica or Mr. Peter Squentz in the Gutenberg-DE project
- Table of contents and interpretations - University of Kiel ( Memento from July 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive )