Scaramutza in Germany: The Dramatic Works of Caspar Stieler

By Judith Popovich Aikin

Scaramuzza, Scaramouche: the commedia dell'arte figure made a triumphal entry into German literature in the plays of Caspar Stieler (1632-1707). Transformed into a master of language and languages, Scaramutza--social critic, voluptuary, and mouthpiece for his author--ushers in a new type of comedy that depends more on the happy ending than on laughter for its effect. This study should both establish the significance of the long-neglected dramatic works of Caspar Stieler, already regarded as an important lyric poet of the German Baroque, and serve to initiate a reevaluation of German comedy and of the standard definition of the comic genre used by Germanists as Aikin explores the heroic or romantic comedy as a subgenre of literary merit. The study includes a discussion of Stieler's important contributions to the development of the German-language Singspiel and opera.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0271006560
• ISBN13: 9780271006567
• Release Date: October 1990
• Publisher: Penn State University Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.2" x 0.7" x 6.1"