The Reine des Sylphes (queen of the Sylphs) declares her love to Polichinelle. The latter is taken into her palace in the air and praised by a Suivante (lady-in-waiting), a Comédien (comedian), a Poète (poet) and a Musicien (musician). Each provides opportunities to mock Parisian people’s immorality and idiosyncrasies. The Reine joins Polichinelle: together, they attend a divertissement danced by the Sylphes (Sylphs), and the final vaudeville.

Rod and string marionette

Not specified

France

Paris

Printed

Germanic mythology

Fairy

Parisian life

Immorality

Unfaithfulness

Love

Life of the theatres

Fantasy

Comical

Satirical

Manuscrit of Polichinelle roi des Sylphes (BnF, Ms Fr 9312).

French

Polichinelle

Queen

Lady-in-waiting

Actor

Poet

Musician

Sylph

Invisible character

Off-stage voice

Dancing entertainment

Final song

Play with drawers

Aria

Polichinelle roi des Sylphes

Polichinelle king of the Sylphs

Apollo has fled the wretchedness of German literature for the land of Utopia. Mercury relates how German poets have turned the Parnassus into a brothel and reminds Apollo of his responsibilities. They go to the Parnassus and find that Minerva has been raped and is on the verge of hanging herself. Then, Apollo dispenses justice and punishes muses and the members of their cult: he transforms them into pigs, donkeys, dung beetles, spittoons and dustbins, and serves the rest up to journalists. Once their work is complete, they will be hung by their feet.

Schink Johann Friedrich

Germany

Berlin

Greek mythology

Gods

Poetry

Wonderland

Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock

Gottfried August Bürger

Popular literature

Sturm und Drang

Preromantic

Triviality

Scatology

Rousseauism

Philosophy

Stench

Burlesque

Engraving from the original publication of Marionettentheater (1778)

German

Apoll

Eine dramatsche Fantasei

Fantaisie

Apollo

Mercury

Minerva

Muse

Grâce

Prologue

Allegory

Song

Allusion to current literary events

Hanging scene

Chorus

Sung scenes

Versified passages

Foul language register

Parodic trial

Defecation on stage

Metamorphosis

Epilogue

Der Staupbesen

The Broom

On the stage, the Interpreter, who is a kind of demiurge, makes Earth appear and disappear into space. He then announces that the tree Yggdrasil will appear, along with three boxes. From the first box emerge gods from different religions, from the second one come out mythological and historical heroes as well as demons. The third box does not open up, but it moves, revealing that the box contains a being. The Interpreter calls him “the Messiah” and declares that he will come to “damn creation” - it is the announcement of the birth of the future main character of the Drama for Fools: Cockatrice.

Craig Edward Gordon

Italy

Rapallo

Latin Mythology

Cosmos

Pre-Columbian mythology

Hero

Divinities

Heroic

English

Something Prophetic

Amon

Divinity

Erebus

Cronos

Brahma

Eros

Jehovah

Quetzalcoatl

Kneph

Zeus

Jesus

Momus

Odin

Vishnu

Shiva

Poseidon

Maira Monan

Osiris

Baldr

Thor

Vulcan

Mars

Bacchus

Buddha

Hercules

Charlemagne (King)

King Arthur

Joan of Arc

Julius Caesar

Alexander The Great

Minamoto no Yoshitsune

Samurai

Agamemnon

Ulysses

Pompey

Aeneas

Achilles

Irin-Mage

Napoleon

Horatio Nelson

Apparition

Announcer

Fight

Apparition of a monster

Hidden character

Signes annonciateurs

The Second Prologue

Le deuxième prologue