Weise, Christian

Weise, Christian (krĭs`tyän vī`zə), 1642–1708, German didactic poet and dramatist. He wrote more than 60 plays, many of them written for production in schools. Perhaps the best-known are the comedy Bäurischer Macchiavellus [the village Machiavelli] (1679) and the tragedy Masaniello (1688). His plays are marked by realism and the use of natural dialects. He also wrote novels, mostly political satires, e.g., Die drei argsten Erznarren [the three archest fools] (1672).