''Kierlighed uden Strømper: Et Sørge-Spil i Fem Optog'' (Love Without Stockings: A Tragedy in Five Acts) is a comedy by the Norwegian playwright

Johan Herman Wessel Johan Herman Wessel (6 October 1742 – 29 December 1785) was an 18th-century Danish-Norwegian poet, satirist and playwright. His written work was characterized by the use of parody and satiric wit. Biography Wessel was born and raised at Ve ...

, published in 1772.

History

The play was published in September 1772 and it was performed in an amateur theater that same year. It had its official premier at the

Royal Danish Theater Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

in March 1773.

Plot

The action takes place over the course of a day, and the main characters are all simple craftsmen. The heroine, Grete, is informed that she must get married during the day. As her beloved, Johan von Ehrenpreis, is away (he is a tailor, and has gone to mend a major's trousers), she turns to her former lover, Mads. Johan returns, but he has no stockings, and therefore he cannot marry. Johan steals Mads' stockings and is scolded by Mads—after which Johan takes his own life. Then everyone takes their own lives. In the play's epilogue, Mercury descends from the realm of the gods, bringing the characters back to life, after which they sing and dance. The play is a parody of classical

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

's rules for the form and content of

tragedy A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...

. The comic effect is particularly expressed in the mismatch between the high style of the lines and form, and the trivial content. The sumptuous music of the play, written in

aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

s by the Italian composer Paolo Scalabrini, also helps create a comic effect when juxtaposed with the absurd and trivial action. Scalabrini himself was unaware of the play's content. The text is in

Alexandrine Alexandrine is a name used for several distinct types of verse line with related metrical structures, most of which are ultimately derived from the classical French alexandrine. The line's name derives from its use in the Medieval French '' Ro ...

s. The name of the character Johan von Ehrenpreis can be seen as a jab at Johan Nordahl Brun, whose play ''Zarine'' (1772) won a tragedy competition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kierlighed uden Stromper Norwegian comedy plays 1772 plays