The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-03-28
From the Sublime to the Ridicu-
louS.


louS.
The April Atlantic is enriched by paper
from Elizabeth Robins giving the genesis of
the stage buffoon. 1t appears by this gene
illogical account that he is descendant of
the devil. In the medieval mysteries and
miracle plays we have the beginning of the
modern drama, and in them Satan was the
jester and the most conspicuous character.
The grotesque demon with horns and cloyen
feet who grinned from cathedral walls. and
the carved gargoyles that spouled Waterfront
the roofs, represented the same mischieyous
ssGod's apesn that were made familiar to
the people by the sacred plays which often
took place in the churches themselves. Sin
gulary enough, it was in the ages when Sat
an was most feared that he was most tray
estied and carcatured. A curious survival
of this feeling is found in Spain, the most
dyeout of all Catholic countries, where To-
day the comic demon is retained in
the passion play although he is omitted
at Oberammergau. In Germany the devil
was so popular as jester that in
mystery of the fifteenth century as many as
eight were introduced in single perform
ance. Hans Sachs retained the devil in his
sacred plays, and there is extant a bill of a
painter who was employed at the playhouse
in the Dutch town of Alkmaar, giving such
iters as these: Inaprimts. made for the
clerks hell; item, the pavilion of Satan;
item, two pairs of DEVILS breeches: item. A
shield for Christian knight; item, have
painted the devils whenever they PLAYED;
item, some arrows and other small matters.
Even after the clown took the DEVILS
place on the English stage, there were some
regrets for the old favorite. Ben Jonson
makes one of his characters exclaim: "My
husband, Timothy Tattle-God rest his poor
soul!-was wont to say. there was no play
without fool and a devil init; he was for
the devil still, God bless himl The devil for
his money, he would say. would fam see
the devil" The sight of one devil thrashing
another was considered irresistibly laugha-
bic, and the mere mention of the flames of
hell made the demon-jesters "readie to
burste with laughter
In the plays called the .'moraIities," which
succeeded the miracle plays, having the vic
es and virtues personified by way of actors,
Vice itself took the place of the devil and
was teased and badgered by evil This is
supposed to be the origin of the scene in the
puppet show in which Punch makes off with
the devil. The custom of associating jolity
and laughter with Satan led to the still more
remarkable habit of associating them with
Death, and in dances, satires and pictures
Death became the favorite jester Such was
the origin of the DdaSe Mdcabre which has
come down to us in many paintings and en-
cravings under the name of the Dance of
Death.
After the disappearance of the sacred
plays and the moralities the reviving drama
demanded a merryman for the stage, and
the clown was invented. He still survives
in the circus and as s'Brudder Bones in the
minstrel shows. In Spain the role fell upon
Gracioso, a facetious and familiar servant,
whose special function was 'sto swear in a
manner that wonld have satisfied Panurge
in his wrath against TronilIogau.'' In Eng
land the words of Hamlet to the PLAYERS
show that the license to the merrymen was
already in Shakespeare's time being cur
tailed: sLet those that play your clowns
speak no more than is set down for Them
In Germany as early as 1885 Duke Albert
of Prussia forbade by decree the appearance
of s.stage devils, fools and other abominable
Masks" while in France tragedy and com
edy were completely separated, and only in
the latter was the buffoon allowed to ap-
pear. In Italy the old Zany and the Mines,
which had survived as fayorite carniyal
characters, were in the 18th century intro
duced upon the comic stage, and new varie-
ties of testers soon appeared. Every theate-
had its Capitano Spavento-a bloodthirsty
coward-or its Bobadil. The Neapolitans
invented Tartaglia, who amused people by
being fat and stupid, and Pantaleone-
"wholly lion"-took his place as a ludic-
rous pretender.
GTwo Of the italian testers -Puicinelio and
Harlequin-have been pretty well domesti-
Gated in Europe and America, in puppet
shows and pantomimes. The former is the
well known Punch, husband of Judy and
godfather of the literary periodical that
bears his name. 'In Germany Punch is Of
ten replaced by the national buffoon Hans
warst, or Jackpudding, to whom part was
given in the old popular version of Faust"
Harlequin was at first stupid and STUN
bling valet, but in England he became
more important character than Columbine
or Pantaloon. In later times the clio n has
overshadowed all three, and as ''the last sur
Vival Of 'goodlie and merrie companie,' he
has combined in his one person almost all
the traits of his predecessors