Peter Handke - The Ride Across Lake Constance and Other Plays

But the stars in the heavens shall be plentiful like stars in the heavens.

But the people on earth shall be plentiful like people on earth.

A

And the rabbits will multiply like rabbits.

B

And the germs will multiply like germs.

C

And the poor will multiply like the poor.

D

And a man like you and me will be a man like you and me.

A

Daily bread will be needed like daily bread.

B

Blood will be red like blood.

C

The wind will be swift like wind.

D

Poison will be yellow like poison.

A

Molasses will be sticky like molasses.

B

The fool will be gentle like a fool.

C

Life will be complex like life.

D

The sieve will be holey like a sieve.

A

The ultimate things will be unutterable like ultimate things.

B

The razor’s edge will be sharp like a razor’s edge.

C

The universe will be infinite like a universe.

D

The picky eater will be skinny like a picky eater.

A

The barrel will be round like a barrel.

B

The nigger will be uppity like a nigger.

C

The father will be to the son as father to son.

D

The ride in the jalopy will be bumpy like a ride in a jalopy.

A

The Pope will be infallible like the Pope.

B

The novel will be fantastic like a novel.

C

The movie will be unreal like a movie.

D

The needle in the haystack will be hard to find like a needle in a haystack.

A

The night will be silent like the night.

B

Sin will be black like sin.

C

The soul will be inexhaustible like the soul.

D

The well will be deep like a well.

A

The sponge will be wet like a sponge.

B

The poet will be dreamy like a poet.

C

The others will be entirely like the others.

D

Death will be inevitable like death.

A

The morrow will be inevitable like the morrow.

B

The amen in the prayer will be inevitable like the amen in the prayer.

C

Something will be as inevitable as only something can be inevitable.

D

The peacock will be proud like a peacock.

ABCD

And the transformed will feel like those transformed.

And those who are turned into pillars of salt will stand there like ones turned into pillars of salt.

And those who are struck by lightning will fall like ones struck by lightning.

And the spellbound will listen like spellbound people.

And the paralyzed will stand like paralyzed people.

And the beckoned will come like beckoned people.

And the lame will stand like lame people.

And those struck by thunder will stand there like thunderstruck people.

And the sleeping will walk like sleepwalkers.

And those who have been called but not chosen will stand there like ones called but not chosen.

And the substitutes will feel like substitutes.

And the people by the mirror will look at themselves like people in front of the mirror.

And the newborn will feel like the newborn.

And the beaten will feel like beaten people.

And those who have been swallowed up by the earth will be like ones swallowed up by the earth.

A

The reality will become reality.

B

The truth will become truth.

AB

The ice will freeze like ice.

ABC

The ends will stand on end.

ABCD

The bottom will plunge to the bottom.

ABC

Nothingness will become nothing.

AB

The ashes will turn to ashes.

B

The air will turn to air.

A

The dust will turn to dust.

D

The weasel will be weasel-faced.

C

The feather will be feather-light.

B

Acid will be acid-fast.

A

Chalk will be chalk-white.

D

Butter will be butter-soft.

C

Lightning will be lightning-fast.

B

The hair will be a hairsbreadth thin.

A

Death will be deadly dull.

D

The dead will be deathly pale.

C

The dying will feel deathly ill.

B

Pitch will be pitch-black.

A

The heart will be heartsick.

D

The skin will be skin-deep.

C

The bloodsucker will be bloodthirsty.

B

The threads will be threadbare.

A

The stone will be stone-hard.

ABCD

Every day will be like every other.

Translated by Michael Roloff

although the number of people who may participate in this Sprechstück is unlimited, it requires a minimum of two speakers (male or female). the speakers’ objective is to show the way to the sought-after word HELP, a way that leads across many sentences and words. the speakers are playing the need for help without, however, being in a situation that really requires help; they are playing the need acoustically. while the way to the word help is being demonstrated, the sentences and words are not uttered with their usual meaning, but only to signify that help is being sought. while the speakers are seeking the word help they are in need of help; once having found the word help they no longer need any help. before they find the word they ask for help, whereas once they have found the word help they only speak help without needing to ask for help any longer. once able to shout help, they no longer need to shout for help; they are relieved that they can shout help. the word HELP has lost its meaning.

on their way to the word help, the speakers repeatedly approach the proximate meaning or only the acoustic proximity of the sought-after word: the respective NO-response that greets each attempt also changes according to the degree of proximity; the formal tension of the speaking increases; the course that this tension prescribes resembles, say, the rising and falling decibel curve during a soccer match; the closer one team gets to the goal of the other, the more the spectator noise increases, dying off again after each unsuccessful or impeded attempt to score, then swelling again, etc., until the word HELP is found during the final onslaught; then pure joy reigns among the speakers.

the spectators and listeners quickly recognize the speakers’ objective. however, should the spectators indicate to the speakers, as spectators are wont to during punch-and-judy shows, that they know what the speakers need, and should they shout HELP, in that event the speakers, like performers who are threatened by the crocodile in a punch-and-judy show, won’t understand what the spectators have in mind, but will understand the helpful shouts of HELP only as genuine distress calls, which only bother the speakers during their play. once the speakers have found the word help, it is repeated as a triumphant shout, so often that its meaning becomes an ovation to the word help. when the ovation becomes nearly unbearable, the mass chorus breaks off and a single speaker instantly speaks the word HELP by himself, neither expressing gladness with it nor that he is seeking help. the word HELP is uttered that way once.

the speakers also may drink COCA-COLA at intervals.

and in conclusion, while we think of all of you once more, we call on you and invite you to search with us for ways to mutual understanding, to deepened knowledge, to an open heart, to a fraternal life in the one truly world-embracing community of men: NO.

immediately after the assassination the authorities employed all available means to obtain a clear picture of the murder: NO. don’t worry too much but enjoy the good times: NO. the claim that these persons were compelled to enter the plane is made up of thin air: NO. the dangers of missing the boat in one’s profession are minimal at present: NO. those who come after you also want to use the towel: NO. the cripple can’t be blamed for being a cripple: NO.