Joseph Marius Babo (January 14, 1756 in

Ehrenbreitstein Ehrenbreitstein Fortress (german: Festung Ehrenbreitstein, ) is a fortress in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the east bank of the Rhine where it is joined by the Moselle, overlooking the town of Koblenz. Occupying the position of an ...

– February 5, 1822 in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

). As a dramatist, Babo preferred action based on history. In '' Otto von Wittelsbach'', written in 1781, he followed the path blazed by

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

in '' Götz von Berlichingen''. Sometimes one could see he was acquainted with

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. He filled a variety of pedagogical and bureaucratic roles related to the theater over his life.

Works

*''Arno'' (1776) *''Das Lustlager'' (1778, probable author) *''Das Winterquartier in Amerika'' (1778) *''Dagobert der Franken König'' (1779; English edition: Dagobert, King of the Franks, 1800) *''Reinhold und Armida'' (1780) *''Die Römer in Teutschland'' (1780) *''Otto von Wittelsbach'' (1782), a play based on the life of

Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria Otto II (7 April 1206 – 29 November 1253), called the Illustrious (german: der Erlauchte), was the Duke of Bavaria from 1231 and Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1214. He was the son of Louis I and Ludmilla of Bohemia and a member of the Witt ...

(1206–1253), and Count Palatine of the Rhine *''Die Maler'' (1783) *''Die Fräulein Wohlerzogen'' (1783) *''Ueber Freymaurer. Erste Warnung'' (1784) *''Nöthige Beylage zur Schrift: Über die Freymaurer „erste Warnung“'' (1784) *''Gemälde aus dem Leben der Menschen'' (1784) *''Vollständiges Tagebuch der merkwürdigsten Begebenheiten und Revolutionen in Paris'' (1789, translated from French) *''Die Strelitzen'' (1790) *''Bürgerglück'' (1792) *''Anleitung zur Himmelskunde in leichtfaßlichen astronomischen Unterhaltungen'' (1793) *''Schauspiele'' (1793) *''Neue Schauspiele'' (1804) *''Der Puls'' (1805) *''Albrechts Rache für Agnes'' (1808)

Bibliography

* Pfeuffer, Ludwig: ''Joseph Marius Babo als Leiter des Münchener Nationaltheaters 1799–1810''. München, Univ., Diss., 1913 * Wurst, Jürgen: ''Joseph Marius Babo''. In: Wurst, Jürgen und Langheiter, Alexander (Hrsg.): Monachia. München: Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, 2005. S. 163.

References

* * Portions of this article are based on translations from the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia), ...

. *

Carl Schurz Carl Schurz (; March 2, 1829 – May 14, 1906) was a German revolutionary and an American statesman, journalist, and reformer. He immigrated to the United States after the German revolutions of 1848–1849 and became a prominent member of the new ...

, ''Lebenserinnerungen bis zum Jahre 1852'', Berlin: Georg Reimer, 1906 and 1911. As a student in a gymnasium in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

(Chapter 3), Schurz was in the care of a locksmith who took him to plays occasionally. Schurz writes: “The taste of my friend the locksmith ran to knight dramas ... The first piece I saw at the side of my locksmith was ''Otto von Wittelsbach'', at that time a famous knight play in which the hero meets King

Philipp of Swabia Philip of Swabia (February/March 1177 – 21 June 1208) was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Germany from 1198 until his assassination. The death of his older brother Emperor Henry VI in 1197 meant that the Hohenstaufen rule (whi ...

, who cheats him in a

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

game. With an armored fist, the hero strikes the chess board so the pieces fly over the stage, and then strikes the king down with a blow from his sword.”

External links

*
''Bürgerglück''
in Google Books.
Anleitung zur Himmelskunde in leichtfaßlichen astronomischen Unterhaltungen
in Google Books. 1756 births 1822 deaths German male dramatists and playwrights 18th-century German dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German male writers 19th-century German writers 18th-century German male writers {{Germany-writer-stub