Assessment
His mastersongs were not published, being intended solely for the use of the Nuremberg Meistersinger school, of which Sachs was the leading spirit. His fame rests mainly on the “spoken poems” (German: Spruchgedichte) which include his dramatic writings. His “tragedies” and “comedies” are, however, little more than stories told in dialogue, and divided at convenient pauses into a varying number of acts. Sachs had little idea of the essentials of dramatic construction or the nature of dramatic action.
The subjects are drawn from the most varied sources, the Bible, the classics and the Italian novelists being specially laid under contribution. He succeeds best in the short anecdotal Fastnachtsspiel or Shrovetide play, where characterization and humorous situation are of more importance than dramatic form or construction.
Some of his farces have been played on the modern stage. Among these are:
- Der fahrende Schüler im Paradies (1550)
- Das Wildbad (1550)
- Das heiss Eisen (1551)
- Der Bauer im Fegefeuer (1552)
Read more about this topic: Hans Sachs
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