Complete Plays and Prose by Georg Büchner (review)

1965 BOOK REVIEWS 469 In Mr. Meyer's version this comes out as I'U be Kingl Emperorl One can see that the Meyer version sacrifices the rhythm and the alliteration of the original, both of which are preserved by Archer. The contraction in Meyer's translation may be attributed to a desire for colloquial ease, and the substitution of "Emperor" for "Kaiser" to a feeling that to the present day reader "Kaiser" bas connotations of a recently discredited grandeur that it did not have for either Ibsen or Archer. Of course, the Meyer line comes in a context of loosely rhythmical lines and, in that context, does not surprise the ear as it does in isolated comparison. In the interest of a fast-moving performance (for which the Meyer translation was designed) many speeches of the original play have been truncated. Fortunately, in the printed text we have a full translation, with cuts indicated by brackets. One can see, in a passage like the following-one of Herr von Eberkopf's speeches at the opening of the fourth act-how such deletions are handled and how a sacrifice of textual integrity in performance may be compensated for by a gain in pace: A measure Of spiritual contemplation, [A marvellous lack of chauvinism, A vision that can pierce the fog Of prejudice,] the ability To grasp Truth ill its higher aspect!t- [Added to which] an Ur-Natur, [An unspoilt nature, all this crowned] With a fine wealth of worltlly knowledgeMein herr, was that not what you meant? Yet a comparison of this passage with the corresponding one in Archer's transla· tion, leaves one with the feeling that Archer has caught perhaps even more effectively than Meyer the bombastic tone of the original: A dash, a tinge of free soul-contemplation, and cosmopolitanisation, an outlook through the cloudy rifts by narrow prejudice unhemmed, a stamp of high illumination, an Ur-Natur, with lore of life, to crown the trilogy, united. Nicht wahr, Monsieur, 'twas that you meant? Whether one prefers the Archer translation to that of Meyer does not, however, affect the fact that this new tramlation, forged in the practical workshop of the. atrical presentation, is an important centribution to the English speaking world's knowledge of Ibsen's richest, most joyous play. JOHN H. KELSON Eastern Montana State College COMPLETE PLAYS AND PROSE, by Georg BUchner, translated and with an in. troduction by Carl Richard Mueller, Hill and Wang, New York, 1963, xxxiii+ 177 pp. Price $1-7lj. This Mermaid Dramabook introduces itself as the first complete edition of the works of Georg BUchner in the English language. The fact that, with 177 pages, it really is complete reminds the reader of the grave loss which befell German 470 MODERN DRAMA February literature with Buchner's death at the age of 113 in 1837. There is an introduction into Buchner's life and work in which in less than 110 pages the editor has something essential to say about Buchner's works. He rightly asserts the importance of Buchner's drama to the modern theater, but it seems to me that in his remarks. the stress lies too heavily on the naturalistic aspect. For example, at the earliest stage of Woyzeck, this "barber" appeared as a "dogmatic atheist" in a scene which usually is dropped, but in this edition is inserted as scene XVI (p. 1119). The real Woyzeck, however, is rather a symbol of the deep sufferings infiicted on a humanbeing which is not fully explained by "Society, Environment, Circumstance" (p. xxv), but in the phrase: "Jeder Mensch ist ein Abgrund"-"Every man'. a chasm" (p. 123-1 would rather translate "Abgrund" with "abyss" as the editor did in "Lenz," p. 158). This "Abgrund" reveals itself in Woyzeck and his fellow men so convincingly that in my opinion there is no need for an "unauthorized" addition (p. xxxii) to the final scene of Woyzeck. implying the "dogmatic atheist 's" being brought to trial. Here the drama is the trial, and not only of Woyzeck_ This would render questionable the assertion that Buchner was certain that "Man is dirt, sand, and dung" (p. xxix). When some years...