The Political Tinker

The Political Tinker
Wilhelm Marstrand painting of the protagonist's Collegium Politicum
Written by	Ludvig Holberg
Date premiered	25 September 1722
Place premiered	Lille Grønnegade Theatre, Copenhagen, Denmark
Original language	Danish
Genre	Comedy
Setting	Hamburg

The Political Tinker (Danish: Den politiske kandestøber) is a five-set satirical play published by Norwegian-Danish playwright Ludvig Holberg in 1722.

Production history

It premiered at Lille Grønnegade Theatre in Copenhagen on 25 September 1722. It premiere at the Royal Danish Theatre was on 13 February 1750.

Themes

The play was his first comedy. The play theme is from recent political incidents in Hamburg, Germany. Holberg ridicules the political involvement of a group of craftsmen. Some interpreters see a clear anti-democratic tendency in the play, but there is also ambiguity in the way the story of class conflicts and political rebellion is told.

English translations

Further information: List of Holberg's plays in English translation

• Holberg, Ludvig (1885b). The Blue-apron Statesman. Translated by Weber, T. Copenhagen: E. Flensborg. OCLC 19690501.
• —— (1914). Comedies by Holberg: Jeppe of the hill, The Political Tinker, Erasmus Montanus. Translated by Campbell, Oscar James; Schenck, Frederick. New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation. OCLC 477029781.
• —— (1990). Jeppe of the Hill and Other Comedies. Translated by Argetsinger, Gerald S.; Rossel, Sven Hakon. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 978-0-8093-1480-5. OCLC 1156867790.

External links

• "Den Politiske Kandstøber. Comœdie"
• Source