Völund Smed (literature)

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Holger Drachmann's melodramatic play Völund Smed ( Danish: Vølund Smed ) first appeared in 1894. It was premiered on March 13, 1898, with music by Fini Henriques at the Royal Theater in Copenhagen. Drachmann was part of the epoch of modern breakthrough in the circle of poets and writers around Georg Brandes , which was important for Scandinavia, but had already fallen out with this at the time Vølund Smed was created. Vølund Smed is based on the Wölund song from the songs of gods and heroes of the »Elder Edda«, which were handed down in the world-famous Old Norse Codex Regius .

content

Vølund Smed is about the blacksmith of the same name, Vølund, who settles in Thy-Land with his two Svenden Lysalf and Svartalf. The younger Svende, Lysalf, is a romantic, cheerful guy, Svartalf is morose and disappointed with life and especially with women. This largely decisive point of view becomes clear when the two talk to Vølund about Lysalf's late mother right at the beginning of the play.

First elevator

A little later, still in the first elevator , the three men discover a sleeping woman near their campsite, where Vølund also wants to build his house. He is immediately carried away by the stranger, but Svartalf remains the doubter.

Vølund takes the hand of the sleeper, she wakes up, her name is Hervør-Alvide. Vølund kisses her. Lysalf and Svartalf, who watch the scene, decide the first act.

second elevator

In the second elevator , Vølund's house has already been built, and Hervør-Alvide is Vølund's wife. But it turns out that Hervør-Alvide is a Valkyrie . She disappears with a crowd of women at sunset. King Niden appears with his entourage, Vølund is bound. The king asked Vølund about his name and origin. He also tries to find out how Vølund got to the king's land undetected. Vølund willingly provide information. The king then discusses with his daughter Bødvild and Rejgin how to deal with Vølund. Bødvild speaks out in favor of Vølund, while Rejgin advocates forcibly shearing him with knives. The king's sons carry out the proposal.

third elevator

Act three takes place in King Nidung's forge in Sævar-Holmen, the mutilated Vølund, Lsalf and Svartalf are in the king's captivity. Vølund complains of pain everywhere, he is bitter.

Lysalf tries to encourage his master, but he cannot be straightened up and he sinks to Hervør-Alvide in lovesickness. When Vølund falls asleep, exhausted, Lysalf calls on elves and dwarves for help. An interlude begins . A pair of dwarf kings, as well as elves and other mythical creatures (Puslinger and Smaapiger) advise how Vølund could be helped. A spell is supposed to bring Alvide back into her husband's arms. When Vølund wakes up, the interlude ends. The two royal sons Gramur and Grimur appear, but Vølund throws them out, he threatens them and when the two have disappeared, Vølund feels the spirits return. He wants revenge.

While Svartalf starts the hunt for the king's sons, an argument breaks out between Vølund and Lysalf. This wants to dissuade Vølund from a violent revenge. But Vølund cannot be changed, his anger is too great, which does not threaten to stop at Lysalf, who then takes off. Svartalf comes back with the heads of the two young men. Bødvild, the king's daughter comes to Vølund and asks him to repair the broken golden snake ring. Vølund agrees, but asks Bødvild to operate the bellows. In the glow of the fire she sees the heads, Vølund claims that they are bowls that he wants to occupy preciously. He offers her beer, which she also accepts, although she repeatedly cites her royal origins and emphasizes the lower position of the blacksmith. Vølund replies that she doesn't know who she is looking at and, when asked, begins to tell about his royal descent.

When the ring has been forged, the two of them cannot agree on a reasonable wage. Vølund tells Brødvild to leave, but Brødvild is stubborn. Vølund then locked the blacksmith's door and raped the king's daughter. The third elevator ends with a laughing Svartalf in front of the door to the forge.

Fourth elevator

In the fourth elevator , the royal family and all Jarlers of the country with their entourage gather in King Nnung's hall for Christmas, the people gather in front of the hall. A skald entertains the guests in the hall. Bödvild appears when the festival has already started and Rejgin asks the Jarle Ragnvald and Thyrse to free the king's daughter. They present their wishes to the king. After a while, Völund is asked to comment on the skald's claims. Völund enters the hall. He wears a large black hat and a large black coat. The king swears to leave Völund intact, even if there were a woman in the hall whom everyone knows who bears the fruit of Vølund's loins. The two Jarle reaffirm their freedom. Bödvild refuses the two, however, and declares that he wants to take Völund as husband.

Völund informs the king that he murdered his sons and made drinking bowls for the king and his wife out of the heads. The two of them drank from these bowls throughout the evening. He also says that Bödvild has been sneaking up to him at night for a long time and is expecting a child from him. The king then collapses on his high seat. He cannot let Völund take hold because he has given him his oath. Rejgin therefore orders Völund to be seized, who throws off his coat and hat, he is dressed all over in golden armor and draws his sword. Nobody can grab him, the Valkyries rush to his aid and Völund flies out of the hall of the Hervör-Alvide towards him.

Final game

A final game follows the escape . In front of Vølund's house lies the wounded Vølund in a snow-covered landscape. Hervør is sitting with him. The spirits seem to be fading from Vølund. So the two lie until dawn and with this the snow disappears and it becomes summer. Lysalf appears with a group of mythical creatures, the dwarves crown Vølund as king. Supported by Hervør, he goes to his forge with the whole crowd and a voice from Valhalla ends the game with the sentence:

shape

Drachmann's play is not timed by the author himself, the place of the action is Thy-Land. ("Handlingen foregaar i Thy-Land - paa den Tid, man selv tænker sig.") The piece consists of 4 acts and is framed by a pro and epilogue.

Content:
Prologue: Saa synger den graanede Skjald.
Vølund tager sig Viv.
Adskillelsen.
Vølund paa Holmen (with interlude).
I Kongsgaarden (with final game).
Epilogue: Saa kvæder den liten Pilt.

Vølund Smed is a melodrama in the classical sense. Only in cinematic melodrama does it become common for the protagonist to be female. The musical element comes to light in the stage direction when the initially simple blacksmith Vølund reveals his royal descent. For this monologue, Drachmann calls for “en ledsagende Musik”. The allusions to romanticism that often appear in modern lyrical drama can be found here in Svenden Lysalf and in the often rhymed dialogues that take place almost exclusively between Lysalf and Vølund or in the interlude in the middle of the piece. Vølund, on the other hand, stands for the sadness and tragedy of modern people, but also for their awareness of their own mortality, which was also typical of modern lyrical drama. (Wodtke, 1965)

people

  • Vølund, a skilled blacksmith.
  • Svartalf and Lysalf, his two Svende.
  • King Niden, ruler of Thy land.
  • Bødvild, his daughter.
  • Grimur and Gramur, his two sons.
  • Rejgin, King Hirdmand.
  • Ragnvald, Jarl.
  • Thyrse, Jarl.
  • King skalds.
  • Hervør-Alvide, Valkyrie.

As well as some dwarves, elves and other mythical creatures. Also other extras.

worldview

Drachmann dedicates his piece to young art. In Denmark at the end of the 19th century, a clear commitment to the literature of the modern breakthrough. Here, as a counter-movement to naturalism, the content of the lyrical dramas of romanticism was used. Drachmann goes back another, also well-known way and uses a template from the codex regius , namely the Wölundlied. "Vølund Smed" is created with a few changes in content and much more extensive than the 41 stanzas model. In his play, Drachmann also makes great use of the inner-soul actions. It is therefore absolutely in the tradition of the literary melodrama of the time.

literature

  • Title of the first edition: Drachmann, Holger: Vølund Smed. København, 1894.
  • edition used here: Drachmann, Holger: Vølund Smed. Tredie Oplag. København, 1898.
  • Wodtke, Friedrich Wilhelm: Lyrical drama. Merker, Paul / Stammler, Wolfgang (ed.): Reallexikon der deutschen Literaturgeschichte. Second volume L – O. Second edition ed. v. Kohlschmidt, Werner and Mohr, Wolfgang. Berlin, 1965. pp. 252-258.
  • Krause, Arnulf: The songs of gods and heroes of the older Edda. Stuttgart, 2004.