Die Taufe - Alphons Müller
The picture shows a vignette with a matronly woman and a young woman bringing sausages to an officer wearing a pointed helmet, under Hanswurst's watchful eye.

Printed

7 pages

Author(s)

Die Taufe

Idyllisches Lustspiel in einem Akt

Alphons Müller | The collection published in 1878 (second edition) | Frankfurt, Germany
Genre (as defined by the author)
Idyllisches Lustspiel
Characters
Hans, Liesel, Ein ungetauftes Kind, Schmalhans, Polizeidiener
Number of acts
5
Note

Alphons Müller’s comedies have been compiled in the collection Sechs neue Lust-Spiele für das Porcinell-Theater. They use puppet theatre (Porcinell-Theater, or Polichinelle theatre) to deal with themes related to folk life in the countryside. The texts are in part written in verse, in a style similar to ballads. Die Taufe – ironically subtitled Idyllisches Lustspiel in einem Akt (a One-Act Idyllic Comedy) – makes use of Punch motifs, with a father beating his child at the beginning of the play and a hanging scene towards the end. But it focuses more on the text than on the manipulation of the puppet.

Plot summary

An irresponsible father

Hans is a happy new father but when the infant screams, he beats it. His wife Liesel worries, but she is in denial. Then Hans wants to baptise the child in beer. They quarrel again and eventually agree to call the infant Stiefele (boot), so that it will always have good shoes. The innkeeper Schnallans must prepare a feast, but they do not agree on the menu and Hans beats him to death. A police officer grabs him and wants to hang him, but Hans hangs him instead. Liesel worries because of the double murder which weights on her husband’s conscience and, above all, because there is no one to prepare the feast anymore. Hans settles the matter by fetching a whole Swiss cheese.

Related works
The Tragical Comedy, or Comical Tragedy, of Punch and Judy, Giovanni Piccini, John Payne Collier1827
Hans und der betrunkene Nachtwächter, Alphons MüllerCollection published in 1878 (second edition)
Composition date
The collection published in 1878 (second edition)

Publications and translations

Publication

Alphons Müller: Sechs neue Lust-Spiele für das Porcinell-Theater, 2. Auflage, Frankfurt am Main: Jaeger, 1878

Language
German
Literary tones
Farcical, Comical
Audience
Not specified
Licence
Public domain

Key-words

Theatrical techniques

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Written by

Jean Boutan