Jeppe on the Hill
Jeppe on the Hill; Or, The Transformed Peasant is a comedy by Ludvig Holberg, first staged in Copenhagen in 1722. It has a special status in Danish theater, although it is rarely known in the English-speaking world. Playing Jeppe has a similar status to playing Hamlet in English theater. In the play, Jeppe is a drunkard peasant who is abused by his wife, Nille. The Baron and his court find him in a drunken stupor and decide to play a joke on Jeppe.
A well-known quotation is from Jeppe's soliloquy early in the play, where he says, "Everybody says that Jeppe drinks, but nobody asks why Jeppe drinks", rationalizing his alcohol abuse as a sensible reaction to his miserable life.
