
Woyzeck
'Woyzeck' Summary
Franz Woyzeck, a lonely soldier stationed in a provincial German town, is living with Marie, the mother of his child who is not blessed by the church as the child was born out of wedlock. Woyzeck earns extra money for his family by performing menial jobs for the Captain and agreeing to take part in medical experiments conducted by the Doctor. At one of these experiments, the Doctor tells Woyzeck that he must eat nothing but peas. Woyzeck's mental health is breaking down and he begins to experience a series of apocalyptic visions. Meanwhile, Marie grows tired of Woyzeck and turns her attentions to a handsome drum major who, in an ambiguous scene taking place in Marie's bedroom, sleeps with her.
With his jealous suspicions growing, Woyzeck confronts the drum major, who beats Woyzeck up and humiliates him. Finally, Woyzeck stabs Marie to death by a pond. While a third act trial is claimed by some, notably A. H. J. Knight and Fritz Bergemann, to have been part of the original conception (what may be the beginning of a courtroom scene survives), the fragment, as left by Büchner, ends with Woyzeck disposing of the knife in the pond while trying to clean himself of the blood.
Here Franzos inserted the stage direction "ertrinkt" (he drowns), and although this emendation according to Knight "almost amounts to a forgery", most versions employ drowning as an appropriate resolution to the story.
Book Details
Authors

Georg Büchner
Germany
Karl Georg Büchner was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher L...
Books by Georg BüchnerDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
Related books

The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe
The Jew of Malta (1589) is an original story of religious conflict, intrigue, and revenge, set against a backdrop of the struggle for supremacy betwee...

Mary Stuart by Friedrich Schiller
Mary Stuart is a verse play by Friedrich Schiller that depicts the last days of Mary, Queen of Scots. The play consists of five acts, each divided int...

Falstaff's Wedding by William Kenrick
Falstaff's Wedding is a play written by William Kenrick in the 18th century. It serves as a sequel to Shakespeare's works Henry IV, Part 2 and The Mer...

Cyrano de Bergerac (Hooker translation) by Edmond Rostand
Cyrano de Bergerac is a celebrated play by Edmond Rostand that explores themes of love, identity, and self-worth. Set in 17th century France, the stor...

Fidele by William Shakespeare
Fidele, a character from Shakespeare's play *Cymbeline*, is a young woman disguised as a boy named Fidele. She is the daughter of the banished king, P...

The Twin-Rivals by George Farquhar
Two sets of twins, one love triangle, and a whole lot of chaos - what could go wrong? The Twin-Rivals is a hilarious comedy of manners by George Farq...

Justice by John Galsworthy
Justice is a 1910 play by the British writer John Galsworthy. It was part of a campaign to improve conditions in British prisons.

The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith by Arthur Wing Pinero
What happens when a notorious woman falls in love with a rising politician? The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith by Arthur Wing Pinero is a Victorian melodram...

An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen
An Enemy of the People, an 1882 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, followed his previous play, Ghosts, which criticized the hypocrisy of his s...

Will and No Will or a Bone for the Lawyers by Charles Macklin
“Will and No Will” is a short play, or “afterpiece,” written by Charles Macklin. The play is a comedic exploration of the themes of inheritance, greed...
Reviews for Woyzeck
No reviews posted or approved, yet...