I've only read Woyzeck, which remains one of my favorite plays I've had to study. A man goes insane because all he eats are peas (not really, but I suppose that is one excuse) and submits himself to endless and ridiculous medical studies. The scenes are fragmentary, so we don't know which came first, making for liberal interpretations as different productions mix and match depending on what they choose to emphasize. The German movie with Klaus Kinski is excellent. ( )

I've only read Woyzeck, which remains one of my favorite plays I've had to study. A man goes insane because all he eats are peas (not really, but I suppose that is one excuse) and submits himself to endless and ridiculous medical studies. The scenes are fragmentary, so we don't know which came first, making for liberal interpretations as different productions mix and match depending on what they choose to emphasize. The German movie with Klaus Kinski is excellent. ( )

“…only I don’t know who I am — which by the way shouldn’t surprise anybody, as I haven’t the remotest idea what I’m talking about, indeed I don’t even know that I don’t know, which makes it highly probable that somebody else is doing the talking and I’m only an arrangement of pipes and bellows” (spoken by Valerio in Leonce and Lena (p. 101).

I believe this snippet of dialogue pretty much sums up Büchner’s literary contribution.

Despite what Victor Price (translator) writes in the Introduction, and despite what I know of Georg Büchner’s tragically short-lived career (he died at the age of only 23), I couldn’t find anything of value in these three works. To me, the dialogue merely sounded illogical and disjointed — and represented, at best, an effort to dazzle with words.

Georg Büchner was no dummie; that much we know. And while I understand that theatrical plays are meant to be played in order to be properly appreciated, one can still evaluate a playwright’s talents on the page. I just didn’t see any here — and yet I’m more than willing to say that this failing to find genius in Büchner’s work was my failure as a reader rather than his as a writer.

RRB
01/02/14
Brooklyn, NY
( )

German plays tend toward a little talky for the average American audience; this is particularly the case with Danton's Death, as Robespierre makes long speeches with little pause. That is not meant as a criticism; while the snappy dialogue style common on the modern American stage has its place, the long dialogue is better for certain types of work. The plays in this collection are interesting and dark (Leonce and Lena is actually more of a romantic comedy; it seems odd coupled with the other two). Woyzeck is an unfinished work; Buchner died young and left it unfinished. Worth reading. ( )