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Document Details : Title: 'Den jammerlijcken val der eedelinghen dwaas' Subtitle: Kritische kanttekeningen bij de gebruikelijke interpretatie van de Geeraerdt van Velsen Author(s): MALJAARS, A. Journal: Spiegel der Letteren Volume: 41 Issue: 2 Date: 1999 Pages: 103-144 DOI: 10.2143/SDL.41.2.630112 Abstract : In this article a new interpretation of P.C.Hooft’s Geeraerdt van Velsen is given. The question asked is whether Hooft considers the personage of Floris V to be a real tyrant, as it is assumed until now. The conclusion drawn from an in-depth analysis, is that he views Floris as a monarch with a few notorious flaws in his character but not as a tyrant and that he strongly disapproves of the actions taken by the nobility because it is a resistance to the legal monarch. This different view on Floris brings along with it a different interpretation of other vital aspects of this play. Thus it is substantiated that the death of the rational soul in the chorus during act five bears no relation to Floris, but to Geeraerdt. The second part of the well-known fourth chorus is also interpreted differently. All this has some implications for answering the question on who should be considered as the leading person in the play. It turns out to be Floris and not the title character. The position of Geeraerdt van Velsen in the early Renaissance theatre is also revised. It is argued that this play shows more Aristotelian characteristics, than what is accepted at the moment. Finally it offers a correction of the accepted impression concerning Hooft’s political views at the thime when he wrote the drama: there prove to be some monarchical tendencies present. |
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