SOURCE: “Proportion and Disproportion in Grillparzer's Der arme Spielmann,” in The Germanic Review, Vol. LIII, No. 2, Spring, 1978, pp. 41-9.

In the following essay, Reeve examines the theatrical staging and spatial relationships in Der arme Spielmann.

In his psychologically oriented Franz Grillparzer oder das abgründige Biedermeier, Heinz Politzer noted with reference to the position of the violin and the cross in the final scene of Der arme Spielmann: “Der Abstand, der sich zwischen der Welt des Glaubens und dem Reich der Kunst aufgetan hat, wird im Raum offenbar. Die ganze Breite des Zimmers trennt die eine von dem anderen.”¹ Not satisfied with Politzer's interpretation of “mit einer Art Symmetrie”² mentioned by the narrator in the same episode, James L. Hodge responded with an article entitled “Symmetry and Tension in Der arme Spielmann” in which he further explored the symbolic significance of what amounts to an example of skilful...