ZwischenLieder. Zur politischen und poetologischen Funktion der Reyen in Daniel Casper von Lohensteins Sophonisbe, 1669/1680

Abstract This article deals with the structure of the tragedy ‚Sophonisbe‘ by Daniel Casper von Lohenstein. The aim is to show that the Reyen as textual components do not remain unconnected after the scenes, but integrate a further level of meaning into the play and combine the concerns of conveying historical material on the one hand and panegyric praise of the ruler on the other. The seemingly unavoidable dissimulation of the political world on the stage is not intended to lead to tyranny. The fate of the empire is to be determined by moral and integral negotiation, for which one thing is necessary: a rational but not dispassionate ruler, crowned by his subjects. Sophonisbe’s realisation that this goal is unattainable for Carthage and for herself becomes a tragedy; the course of history, which points to Austria and Silesia as part of the empire, becomes an appeal as praise of the ruler.