Kasperl among the savages
| Data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Kasperl among the savages |
| Genus: | Punch and Judy story |
| Original language: | German |
| Author: | Franz von Pocci |
| Publishing year: | 1859 |
| Place and time of the action: | African island area |
| people | |
|
|
Kasperl unter den Wilden , also known as a cultural-historical drama in two acts , is a puppet show by Franz von Pocci in which Kasperl is stranded on an island inhabited by ogres. It first appeared in the Lustige Komödienbüchlein in 1859 , after Pocci first published it as a narrative in 1853 in his book What you want .
action
prehistory
The prehistory is told in the first person by Kasperl himself, with which Pocci consciously ignores the theory of drama and turns his Kasperl character into a kind of solo entertainer . In addition, the start of his shipwreck is very unrealistic and hardly feasible on stage. The tendency towards surreal worlds in puppet theater continued after Pocci and was expanded to include the Augsburger Puppenkiste .
content
After Kasperl had trouble with his Gretl, a misunderstanding turned him into a sailor. But when the ship catches fire and goes down, Kasperl has to save himself to the shore of a lonely island, where he meets the self-important professor Gerstlmaier, who at first thinks he is a bird. After Kasperl Gerstlmaier has offered his services, he is kidnapped by the savages, from whom he can only escape through a (false) oath to the sea god Neptune, who lets him return to his homeland with the help of a dolphin and a bird. When he arrives at night there, he causes fear and confusion, which is why the night watchman calls a major alarm on the orders of the mayor. Finally the misunderstanding clears up, the alarm is set, Kasperl goes to a pub for a beer and will probably reconcile with Gretl afterwards.
particularities
The wild ones speak a kind of fantasy language made up of scraps of German words and invented elements.
Spißi, Funi, Kasperladi,
Hicki, Hacki,
Karbonadi , Trenschi, Transchi, Apetiti,
Fressi, Frassi, Fetti, Fitti.
With this fantasy language they resemble Punch and Judy and its changing dialects and ways of speaking.
Kasperl also characterizes himself by describing himself as a servant figure and revealing his love of eating and drinking. Even meta-gags as saying that he had already come into the world with his jacket (ergo a finished doll, or puppet ), among special moments in history.
Differences between puppetry and storytelling
During the Prussian government steamer which brings the self-important scholars Gerstl Maier on the deserted island, the fun comedy book under the name of Aquila was performed, he carried in his handwriting (the narrative poem) nor the historical name Windebötel . In the print version there is no joke that Pocci probably gave up because of the challenging lewdness.
Recurring motifs from Pocci
Typical elements Pocci uses in many of its puppet stories include the interrogation gag in which the puppet like repeatedly interrogated (So he understands speci instead species or hell instead cave ). Different dialects or language variations are also among the recurring motifs: Kasperl sometimes speaks dialect, then High German and finally an "affected High German". Unusual stage directions such as the illusion- breaking aside or the typical violent, drinking and eating pleasure of the Punch and Judy keep coming back in Pocci's stories. Word jokes, ambiguities, natural coarseness or twisted words are also recurring motifs in Pocci's works.
Kasperl in comparison
The two-act Punch and Judy is the beginning of a series of Pocci's Punch and Judy stories in which the petty bourgeois hero breaks out of his familiar surroundings and experiences adventures in foreign countries. The Kasperl in Kasperl also seems a little more civilized among the savages : The sexual innuendos are eliminated, while the gluttony, the consumption of alcohol and the violence are retained. As a boozy, hungry as well as uneducated and lazy figure, Poccis Kasper is also reminiscent of the Bayern Kasper, whereas the lust for murder, which is also evident in Kasperl in Turkey , is based on the Hamburger Kasper.
Expenses (selection)
- Pocci, Franz von (1999): Punch and Judy Comedies . Stuttgart: Reclam. ISBN 3-15-005247-5 .
Literature (selection)
- Holland, Hyacinth (1890): Franz Graf Pocci: a poet and artist's life . Bamberg: Buchner.
- Minuth, Johannes (1996): The puppet theater and its history of development: from the antics to the art of puppetry . Frankfurt am Main: dolls & masks.
- Pocci, Franz von (1909): Funny comedy book . Berlin: Scherl.
- Pocci, Franz von (1981): Kasperl's heroic deeds: Nineteen puppet comedies and puppets . Berlin: Carl Hanser Verlag.
- Schott, Georg (1911): Count Pocci's puppet shows. Your sources and your style . Frankfurt am Main: H. Chr. Schack.
- Technau, Sikle (1992): A visit to the Punch and Judy: Forays into the fair in the puppet theater . Frankfurt am Main: dolls & masks.
- Valenta, Reinhard (1991): Franz von Poccis Munich cultural rebellion: alternative theater in the time of bourgeois realism . Munich: Ludwig.