A Companion to the Works of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
A Companion to the Works of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

Author: Barbara Fischer

Publisher: Camden House

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 438

ISBN-13: 9781571132437

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One of the most independent thinkers in German intellectual history, the Enlightenment author Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) contributed in decisive and lasting fashion to literature, philosophy, theology, criticism, and drama theory. Lessing invented the brgerliches Trauerspiel (bourgeois tragedy) and wrote one of the first successful German tragedies as well as one of the finest German comedies. In his final dramatic masterpiece, Nathan der Weise, he writes of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, of religious tolerance and intolerance and the clash of civilizations. Lessing's dramas are the oldest German theater pieces still regularly performed (both in Germany and internationally), and both his plays and his drama theory have influenced such writers as Goethe, Schiller, Hebbel, Hauptmann, Ibsen, Strindberg, Schnitzler, and Brecht. Addressing an audience ranging from graduate students to seasoned scholars, this volume introduces Lessing's life and times and places him within the broader context of the European Enlightenment. It discusses his pathbreaking dramas, his equally revolutionary theoretical, critical, and aesthetic writings, his original fables, his innovative work in philosophy and theology, and his significant contributions to Jewish emancipation. The volume concludes by examining 20th-century reception of Lessing and his oeuvre. Contributors: Barbara Fischer, Thomas C. Fox, Steven D. Martinson, Klaus L. Berghahn, John Pizer, Beate Allert, H. B. Nisbet, Arno Schilson, Willi Goetschel, Peter Hyng, Karin A. Wurst, Ann Schmiesing, Reinhart Meyer, Hans-Joachim Kertscher, Hinrich C. Seeba, Dieter Fratzke, Helmut Berthold, Herbert Rowland. Barbara Fischer is associateprofessor of German and Thomas C. Fox is professor of German, both at the University of Alabama.

Dramatic Theory
Dramatic Theory

Author: David Coley

Publisher: Waveland Press

Published: 2024-06-18

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 1478653183

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Dramatic Theory takes readers on a comprehensive journey through the rich and varied landscape of dramatic theory. Organized by key topics and presented chronologically, this book connects writers and theorists across different eras, revealing how their discussions have evolved and intertwined. Six fundamental questions are explored, ranging from the nature and purpose of theatre to the implications of performance on society. Each chapter delves into these essential questions, offering insights into how theoretical discourse has influenced theatrical styles and practices over time. From Aristotle's foundational Poetics to avant-garde movements of the twentieth century, Dramatic Theory covers a wide array of perspectives and debates. Issues of identity, the political implications of performance, and the subjective nature of theatrical quality are thoroughly examined. The book also investigates how meaning is constructed on stage and explores modern performance theory's redefinition of theatre. By engaging with the vibrant, never-ending conversations of dramatic theory, this text inspires a deeper understanding and appreciation of the performing arts.

Theatre/Theory/Theatre
Theatre/Theory/Theatre

Author: Daniel Gerould

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2003-11-01

Total Pages: 523

ISBN-13: 1476848807

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From Aristotle's Poetics to Vaclav Havel, the debate about the nature and function of theatre has been marked by controversy. Daniel Gerould's landmark work, Theatre/Theory/Theatre, collects history's most influential Eastern and Western dramatic theorists – poets, playwrights, directors and philosophers – whose ideas about theatre continue to shape its future. In complete texts and choice excerpts spanning centuries, we see an ongoing dialogue and exchange of ideas between actors and directors like Craig and Meyerhold, and writers such as Nietzsche and Yeats. Each of Gerould's introductory essays shows fascinating insight into both the life and the theory of the author. From Horace to Soyinka, Corneille to Brecht, this is an indispensable compendium of the greatest dramatic theory ever written.

Johnson's and Lessing's Dramatic Critical Theories and Practice with a Consideration of Lessing's Affinities with Johnson
Johnson's and Lessing's Dramatic Critical Theories and Practice with a Consideration of Lessing's Affinities with Johnson

Author: Emma Hawari

Publisher: Peter Lang Group Ag, International Academic Publishers

Published: 1991

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13:

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Lessing displays a remarkable familiarity with the English literary scene and shows himself especially aware of Samuel Johnson's literary output and his dramatic critical achievement in neo-classical England. The study traces and examines affinities of Lessing's ideas with those of Johnson and a certain impact of Johnson on Lessing's ideas in the field of dramatic critical theory and practice. The investigation centres on Johnson's Rambler, his Dictionary, and his edition of The Plays of William Shakespeare and on Lessing's Laokoon and the Hamburgische Dramaturgie. Plays studied are Irene, Miss Sara Sampson, Emilia Galotti and Minna von Barnhelm.

Sources of Dramatic Theory: Volume 2, Voltaire to Hugo
Sources of Dramatic Theory: Volume 2, Voltaire to Hugo

Author: Michael J. Sidnell

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1991

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 9780521326957

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This is the second volume in the series Sources of Dramatic Theory. This volume includes the major theoretical writing on drama and theatre from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, focusing on issues that are still relevant to our understanding of drama and theatre. Among the writers represented by their own essays or substantial extracts from longer works are: Voltaire, Diderot, Goldoni, Dr Johnson, Lessing, Goethe, Schiller, Hegel, and Coleridge.Many of the texts have been newly translated for this volume and all have been newly annotated and introduced.Recurrent topics and allusions are traced by a system of cross-references.

The Hamburg Dramaturgy by G.E. Lessing
The Hamburg Dramaturgy by G.E. Lessing

Author: Natalya Baldyga

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-10-26

Total Pages: 526

ISBN-13: 1135099278

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While eighteenth-century playwright and critic Gotthold Ephraim Lessing made numerous contributions in his lifetime to the theater, the text that best documents his dynamic and shifting views on dramatic theory is also that which continues to resonate with later generations – the Hamburg Dramaturgy (Hamburgische Dramaturgie, 1767–69). This collection of 104 short essays represents one of the eighteenth century’s most important critical engagements with the theater and its potential to promote humanistic discourse. Lessing’s essays are an immensely erudite, deeply engaged, witty, ironic, and occasionally scathing investigation of European theatrical culture, bolstered by deep analysis of Aristotelian dramatic theory and utopian visions of theater as a vehicle for human connection. This is the first complete English translation of Lessing's text, with extensive annotations that place the work in its historical context. For the first time, English-language readers can trace primary source references and link Lessing’s observations on drama, theory, and performance not only to the plays he discusses, but also to dramatic criticism and acting theory. This volume also includes three introductory essays that situate Lessing’s work both within his historical time period and in terms of his influence on Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment theater and criticism. The newly translated Hamburg Dramaturgy will speak to dramaturgs, directors, and humanities scholars who see theater not only for entertainment, but also for philosophical and political debate.

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

Author: Hugh Barr Nisbet

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2013-09-26

Total Pages: 749

ISBN-13: 0199679479

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"Sets [Lessing's] life and work in the context of the intellectual, social, and cultural background of eighteenth-century Europe."--Provided by publisher.