TY - JOUR
T1 - Apollo, Apollo!
T2 - An Ambiguous Call for Sophistication in Antwerp, 1561
AU - Kramer, Femke
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - This article explores the seemingly mixed messages in the Antwerp playwright Willem van Haecht’s Oordeel van Tmolus (Tmolus’ Verdict), based on Ovid’s tale of the metamorphosis of king Midas’ ears. Performed on the first evening of the 1561 Rederijkers’ theater competition in Antwerp, its first act reflects a call for “apollonian” aesthetics and a rejection of the genre of farce. The second act, however, seems to undermine this artistic stance. As this article clarifies, Van Haecht’s dramatization of the aftermath of the metamorphosis, in which a barber discovers Midas’ ears, testifies to the playwright's skillful mastery of “dionysian” farce techniques.
AB - This article explores the seemingly mixed messages in the Antwerp playwright Willem van Haecht’s Oordeel van Tmolus (Tmolus’ Verdict), based on Ovid’s tale of the metamorphosis of king Midas’ ears. Performed on the first evening of the 1561 Rederijkers’ theater competition in Antwerp, its first act reflects a call for “apollonian” aesthetics and a rejection of the genre of farce. The second act, however, seems to undermine this artistic stance. As this article clarifies, Van Haecht’s dramatization of the aftermath of the metamorphosis, in which a barber discovers Midas’ ears, testifies to the playwright's skillful mastery of “dionysian” farce techniques.
KW - grotesque realism
KW - Willem van Haecht
KW - rederijkers
KW - rhetoricians
KW - Het oordeel van Tmolus
KW - Landjuweel Antwerp 1561
M3 - Article
VL - 20
JO - European Medieval Drama
JF - European Medieval Drama
SN - 1287-7484
IS - 2016
ER -