Author : Gerald S. Argetsinger
Publisher : Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)
Book Synopsis Ludvig Holberg's Comedies by : Gerald S. Argetsinger
Download or read book Ludvig Holberg's Comedies written by Gerald S. Argetsinger and published by Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press. This book was released on 1983 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Often designated “The Molière of the North” and “The Father of Scandinavian Theatre,” Ludvig Holberg through the continued popularity of his comedies has dominated the Danish National Theatre for more than two hundred years. Of Norwegian birth, Holberg is claimed by Norway as their own great comic genius. Both the Danish and the Norwegian National Theatres are fronted by statues of Holberg overlooking their entrances. This book presents the first introduction to and analysis of Holberg’s thirty-three comedies in English and is the first book in any language to explain why they continue to be the most popular comedies in Scandinavia. After introducing Holberg and discussing how and why he could write such lively works, Argetsinger divides the plays into six general types: comedies of character, comedies of intrigue, comedies of special public occasions, topical comedies, philosophical comedies, and satires of dramatic forms, and provides a fully developed example of each type. He then examines those details that make the scripts comic and stageworthy. The essential elements of Holberg’s comedy are those of all successful comedy writers: comic situations, business, character, and dialogue.