It’s funny how some things never change.

“There’s nothing you can think about without homework getting in the way!”

A rollercoaster through the tragedies of adolescence.

Ενα έργο που μιλάει για μια παρέα εφήβων που ανακαλύπτουν το σώμα τους, την σεξουαλικοτητα τους μέσα σε μια ασφυκτική κοινωνία που θεωρεί το γυμνό σώμα ντροπή. Βία, αυτοκτονία, έρωτας, ρομαντισμός μέσα σε αυτήν την κοινωνία που σε πνίγει. Γραμμένο το 1891,δυστυχώς φαντάζει σημερινό...

Would not recommend

Hänschen flushing the picture of a woman down the Toilette and the proceeding to roll in the grass with another boy and do gay things is my favourite part.
No cus I love this

Biting satire of society in its day, particularly of its approach to education. Depicting a tainted coming of age story in a system bent on keeping the morality of its youth through ignorance and discipline, in a forced simile of childhood innocence mixed with militaristic strictness, a moth which backfires in spectacular tragedy.
Highly subversive and influencial, its deeper themes have a relevance which has outlived the system which bred it, perhaps in testament to the eternal clash of generations and moralities. However, it is certainly a critique aimed at a particular society, and should be kept within its original context, as any attempt to forcefully update it would most likely only serve to blunt its points and reinforce its dated aspects.
I've rambled on too much in this review, but if anything is to be taken from it is that the play is certainly worth a read, albeit with a reminder of it being very much a product of its time, as innovative as it may have been.

My goodness.

I can't speak for how one would interpret this book if they only read it, and hadn't seen the show beforehand, but let me say, that when I read it, I see the play running through my mind's eye behind the words I read. It's mesmerizing as a show; loud and in your face with the music, though with incredibly tender moments. As a book though, you just fly through it, getting the little nuances that you missed or couldn't quite hear when you see it. Suddenly, the characters are left to your interpretation, rather than the actors'. Such a different experience and I think that everyone needs the book.

Of course, you have to see the show too. Now.

n  What good does it have to do? — We are fit for nothing more, neither good nor evil.n

Spring's Awakening is about mental and physical coming of age, hormone storm, sexual initiation as well as the hypocrisy of nineteenth-century bourgeois society.
This play was mired in controversy back in the day, due to its subject matter: abuse, suicide, homosexuality, rape. It is no surprise that it was banned and censored for a long time after being published.

The teenagers in the story are desperately trying to explore their sexuality and all the new, strange emotions they are feeling. Unfortunately the adults, that should be their moral compass, are not helpful whatsoever. This lack of parental guidance in repressed culture of nineteenth-century Germany leads to inevitable.

This play should be a mandatory read in schools, because it depicts the importance of self-acceptance in such a straightforward way.
It is so heartbreaking, but at the same time it didn't leave me in tears. It is that strange combination of dark and bright, sweet and sour, hopeful and devastating.

All the disturbing images illustrated in the story convey one clear, incredibly important, and not in any way outdated message.

A controversial play published in 1891, not performed until 1906, and adpated into a musical in 2006, Spring's Awakening is the story of children facing the beginning of adolescence within the repressed culture of 1892 Germany. This edition, translated and edited by Bentley, contains a number of mini-essays by the editor on everything from the play's timeline to some of its key themes. This commentary is interesting if artless (and, combined with the sprinkling of typos, begs for an editor), providing an adequate introduction to the play and plentiful food for thought. To those that have seen the Broadway adaptation, the original play will be familiar—and that does no harm to either version. The musical updates (without losing) the play's historical setting and rounds out the rest of the cast (in particular its women), making it more approachable, broadening and highlighting its essential truths: it's a catchy, intense, relevant performance and, with a few exceptions, a successful adaptation. The original play, meanwhile, is deeply invested in its historical setting and the youth of its characters, and offers stronger protagonists foiled by a shallower, utilitarian supporting cast; despite being blatantly controversial it relies on understatement and implication, a combination to gives the reader pause and the story depth.

And where the ending of the musical falters, dissolving into a saccharine musical number that simply shoves aside the play's themes, the original final scene is brilliant: Melchior's conversation with Mortiz and the Man in the Mask is a somewhat more concrete, much more ambiguous, complex conclusion which develops the play's themes—its relationships, social and biological, between life, sexual awakening, and death—while refusing to tie them up in a neat, completed package. This difference may be the reason to prefer, or at least explore, the source material, but familiarity with the musical is hardly the only reason to pick up the play: Spring's Awakening is a swift read (although I'd love the chance to see it performed on stage), but it lingers on the mind. It has its weaknesses, as do Bentley's essays, but the birth of life bringing all its dangers of death, the moribundity of society and the indescribable beauty that arises despite it, approached with irony, humor, and palpable love make Spring's Awakening a success—and it doesn't even need to be a show-stopping musical. I recommend it.

This is by far one of the most influential and moving pieces of literature i have ever read. Now, i will be honest- i saw the musical first. But, in my mind Spring Awakening the musical has it's own slot and Spring's Awakening the play has it's own as well. They are very very very different stories.

The play, despite being from a censored and cruel time in Germany's past, brings up many modern struggles. The tale of teens reaching puberty and discovering these bodies and emotions they didn't know they had is not only touching but strange beautiful.

Situations such as molestation, sex, rape, abortion, homosexuality, and suicide are brought up in this story. Because these children lived in a society where no one will explain what is happening to their bodies, they don't know what else to do but let go and let all hell break loose. But these are situations that still present themselves as problems or issues to overcome today. Acceptance was a word that was almost non existence, and it seems as though these vulnerable children could barely comprehend that concept.

One character i wished the musical had included was the masked man. His presence was symbolic and prudent. He was by far my favorite character because he didn't stand for an individual, but an idea and mind set. He is not so much a person, but the voice within us all. The voice of maturity and the one that changes us from children to men and women.

This story will always have a very deep effect on me. It is such a raw description of teens lost within themselves, and it's heart breaking.

Creo que mantendré 4 estrellas.

Ahora que lo pienso, quizá releer la historia no te mueva tanto como la primera vez, pero se debe tener en cuenta (y mucho) el esfuerzo, la capacidad y la fuerza del autor al escribir una obra como esta.

Incluso me gusta casi casi la autoestima de ser el propio autor esa figura la final que guía al que se podría considerar protagonista en la historia, con un mensaje como "la muerte no es la solución".

En las producciones la parte lgbt-gay son dos compañeros de escuela que descubren su amor el uno por el otro. Lo cual es genial y más para la época de la historia, pero... lamentablemente esto solo dura menos de 2 páginas.

A eso obviamente agregamos tantos tabúes presentes incluso hoy en día; tanto "realizar" como "hablar dé" embarazo juvenil, aborto, sexualidad, masoquismo, uicidio y ateísmo. En mi caso que no soporto a viejitos queriendo instigarte y escudarse en la religión para soltar veneno.

Y hay una crítica concisa a la academia y su incapacidad para lidiar con la juventud, al igual que el clérigo y lo nefasto que es el dictar acciones de otros. También tenemos lo cruel que es ver-leer-escuchar a padres y madres "decepcionados" de sus hijos.

Y mantengo que quizá esta es una lectura PARA ser leída por padres de familia y moverles algo, algo que les haga ir, sentarse con sus hijos y hablar con ellos o escucharlos. No solo es una lectura para adolescentes.

n  Io ho un sogno.n
Essere trasportato a Berlino nel 1929, e vedere dal vivo Peter Lorre in Risveglio di primavera. (E poi tornare nel mio tempo e luogo tipo velocissimo, grazie.)
Ho conosciuto questo dramma grazie al musical di Broadway, e ora sarei molto curioso di vederlo rappresentato nella sua versione originaria. Ci credo, che sia stato censurato fin da subito! Alcune parti della trama sono oggi preistoria, come l'ansia di Wendla per l'abbandono dei vestiti infantili (gonna corta per le ragazze, pantaloncini per i ragazzi), ma nella sostanza è un'opera che racconta l'ABC dell'adolescenza senza peli sulla lingua: gli adulti sono traditori; il sesso è dovunque come il babadook; sapere le cose in teoria non significa avere la maturità per metterle in pratica; una bocciatura è la vera fine del mondo (da grandi ridiamo, ma allora...) e se ti metti con qualcuno del tuo stesso sesso può pure andarti meglio che agli altri. Una specie di 13 Reasons Why con pedigree. Tutto questo nel 1890.
L'adulto mascherato dell'ultimo atto viene introdotto senza spiegazioni, per un pelo, un po' come il marinaio che salva i ragazzi superstiti ne Il signore delle mosche. È una figura simbolica, che dà una chiusura necessaria e un filo di speranza. Può rappresentare la vita adulta ovviamente, magari nella forma di un genitore adottivo, o addirittura una versione adulta del protagonista, o ancora può essere l'incappucciato per eccellenza, la morte, che pure lo incita a crescere e vivere, e incontrarlo quando sarà tempo, nel modo giusto.
Moritz da fantasma è una di quelle figure incantevoli e spettrali che si incontrano nel decadentismo, soprattutto tedesco, esili come un giglio e con il suo stesso profumo inquietante, con una giocosità da fuoco fatuo, simile alle poesie di Trakl. È lui a recitare l'ultima parola del dramma: «Sorrido».


Ah sì, dimenticavo. Battiato ha fatto una canzone con lo stesso titolo. Parla un po' di altre cose, ma hey.