Histrionics in the Dramas of Franz Grillparzer (Classic Reprint)

Book excerpt: Excerpt from Histrionics in the Dramas of Franz Grillparzer Grillparzer sometimes opens an act of a drama with a scene which is to create the atmosphere for the ensuing act. In Libussa, act II (viii, 134 the curtain rises on an animated, idyllic scene in the open. Men are laughing, talking, drinking, and playing checkers; dancing is going on in the background; a woman in the foreground is playing with a little child. Pres ently a number of farm laborers enter singing, and the next relay of men with joyous readiness leave the scene to take up the work in the fields. The game of checkers comes to a crisis, one of the players has staked all his money and lost, whereupon the other shoves back half of the heap, that they may go on playing. Now a young pair of dancers come forward; the old father of the girl, who is remonstrating at the love affair that is ourishing before his eyes, is then and there half won over to give his consent. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."