Grabbe, Christian Dietrich [key], 1801–36, German dramatist and journalist. Critical of “Shakespearomania,” Grabbe strove for a national German drama and wrote original, poetic historical tragedies. Hannibal (1835) and Hermannsschlacht [Hermann's battle] (1838) depict the genial individual shattered by others' lack of understanding. Napoleon (1831), Scherz, Satire, Ironie und tiefere Bedeutung (1822; tr. Comedy, Satire, Irony and Deeper Meaning, 1955), and Don Juan und Faust (1829) are among his other notable works.
See studies by R. A. Nicholl (1969) and C. D. Grabbe (1972).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: German Literature: Biographies
