Twaynes World Authors Series Germany

Scaramuzza, Scaramouche: the commedia dell'arte figure made a triumphal entry into German literature in the plays of Caspar Stieler (1632&–1707). Transformed into a master of language and languages, Scaramutza&—social critic, voluptuary, and mouthpiece for his author&—ushers in a new type of comedy that depends more on the happy ending than on laughter for its effect. This study should both establish the significance of the long-neglected dramatic works of Caspar Stieler, already regarded as an important lyric poet of the German Baroque, and serve to initiate a reevaluation of German comedy and of the standard definition of the comic genre used by Germanists as Aikin explores the heroic or romantic comedy as a subgenre of literary merit. The study includes a discussion of Stieler's important contributions to the development of the German-language Singspiel and opera.

An encyclopedia covering the political, social, intellectual, religious and cultural history of the German- and Dutch-speaking medieval world, between 500 and 1500. Entries cover individuals and their deeds as well as broader historical topics.