Naval
Encounter is J.M. Ritchie and J. D. Stowell’s English
translation of Reinhard Goering’s (1887-1936) Expressionist play titled Seeschlacht. It was written in late 1916 and
early 1917. The play is set during the
Battle of Jutland (Skagerrakschlacht)
that actually occurred May 31 and into June 1, 1916. This encounter is
considered to be the major sea battle of the twentieth century. It was between the British Royal Navy and the
German High Seas Fleet. Neither side won this battle since it was considered a
draw, however, both sides claimed victory.
Goering clearly marks his
script with references to this battle. The sailors are aboard a German war ship
and are manning a gun-turret. During the first segment of this One-Act play,
the sailors continually refer to the time of day. Shortly after the play
commences, the time of four o’clock in the afternoon is established. Time
continues to be referenced in the play until that moment when the actual Battle
of Jutland had commenced.
Goering also refers to the location of the ship at specific
times. “The Second Sailor: “Quarter to five. We must be close to the Skagerrak
now.” Goering places the warship, at this moment in the drama, in the area of
the Jutland peninsula.
During this first segment
of the play, one begins to think that the play will be a story about the Battle
of Jutland. Before the battle, the
sailors attempt to go to sleep. When The Fifth Sailor who cannot sleep begins
talking to himself, the focus of the dialogue quickly shifts. He is joined by The
First Sailor and the two engage in a lengthy philosophical discussion about “Our
fate lies within ourselves” verses “If one’s country commands, then it has to
be done.”
The next segment of the
play occurs when The Second, The Third and The Fourth sailors wake-up. They
join in the discussion and the possibility of a mutiny is discussed. The naval encounter commences and the sailors’
attention are dominated by their work as gunners along with their thoughts of
death. After a brief lull in the battle that marks the first loss of life in
the turret, the battle resumes. Within a
short time, the gunners in this turret are either dead or dying.
Once the philosophical
discussion commences, it is obvious the focus of the drama is not the actual
sea battle. This play emphasizes a number of other issues relating to warfare during
World War One. Goering is illustrating modern warfare that no longer is the
romantic/heroic vision of singlehandedly destroying one’s opponent. This
situation illustrates war in the industrial society and man’s feelings when
placed in such circumstances. It further
emphasized this idea when The Third Sailor is killed and his body is removed.
Within a couple of minutes, The Seventh Sailor enters the gun-turret as the
replacement.
Goering also demonstrates how passion during battle may overcome
reason and the individual becomes heroic. The final speech of the
play illustrates that point clearly. The
Fifth Sailor, who took over the gunner’s position when everyone else is either
dying from an earlier explosion or feeling the effects of a gas bomb, states as
he is about to die: “I make a good gunner, eh? I’d have made a good mutineer,
too! But firing a gun came easier? Eh? Must just have come easier?”
The most obvious elements
of the expressionist style have undoubtedly become evident to you. The characters are identified by a number instead
of having a proper name. This devise
reduces them from possessing developed individual personalities. An individual’s
identity marker is frequently assumed by another sailor when the first one dies
or cannot contribute to the mission. An
obvious example of this occurs when The Fourth Sailor becomes incapacitated by
the gas attack and The Fifth Sailor begins to shout commands.
There is also a
considerable amount of shouting and screaming in this play from the opening
moment to near the end. Many
Expressionist plays are labeled “Scream plays” since they contain a lot of
shouting, loud exclamations or actual screaming.
The first publication of Seeschlacht appeared in December, 1917. This edition was published in Berlin by S.
Fischer Vertag. Only a few thousand copies were printed for each subsequent edition.
In 1926 the thirteenth edition was printed. The number of editions demonstrate
that there was a continuing interest in this script. Part of the interest may
have been spurred when Seeschlacht
won the 1922 Schiller Prize.
Several editions of Seeschlacht were also published in
English between the years 1958-1969. The
German title has been translated as Sea
Fight, Naval Encounter, Naval Engagement or Seabattle.
Seeschlacht
premiered on February 10. 1918 before an invited matinee audience composed of
members from the Dresden Literary Society. This was a test audience before
staging Seeschlacht for public
consumption. The initial performance unleashed commentary that this play was not
appropriate material for audiences to experience during that particular time of
the war. The February 24th opening for the Dresden performances was
canceled.
Another production of Seeschlacht was in rehearsal at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. Max
Reinhardt (1873-1943) was preparing a production that was scheduled for a March
3, 1918 closed matinee performance. This performance was sponsored by a group
of the theatre’s patrons to allow Reinhardt’s theatre to avoid the military
censor when preparing Expressionist dramas. Once again this drama came under
attack after the preview and the play was not presented for the general public.
Seeschlacht was staged in other cities throughout Germany: August 1918 in the small city
of Bad Pyrmont, 1918 Munich, 1919 Hanover and 1919 in Jena by the University’s
drama society. Seeschlacht eventually
played in Berlin during 1928 and periodically was produced in other German
cities into the 1960s.
Reinhard Goering’s health was fragile during
the time of heated debate about his war play. He was out of the mainstream of
activity since he was convalescing in Davos, Switzerland at the Waldsanatorium. He wrote several more
plays despite the controversy over Seeschlacht,
but it is this drama that is considered by many scholars as Goering’s
masterpiece.
REFERENCE:
Davis, Robert Chapin. Final Mutiny: Reinhard Goering, His Life and Art.
Stanford German Studies, Vol.21. New York: Peter Lang, 1987.
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