Grillparzer, Franz [key], 1791–1872, Austrian dramatist. His work combines German classicism and exuberant lyricism. Considered Austria's greatest playwright, he wrote Der Traum: ein Leben (1817–34, tr. A Dream is Life, 1946), which influenced Hauptmann and Maeterlinck; a trilogy, Das goldene Vliess (1822, tr. The Guest-Friend, The Argonauts, Medea, 1942); the historical tragedy König Ottokars Glück und Ende (1825, tr. King Ottocar, His Rise and Fall, 1938); the lyric tragedy Des Meeres und der Liebe Wellen (1831, tr. Hero and Leander, 1938); Libussa (1844, tr. 1941); and Die Jüdin von Toledo (1855, tr. The Jewess of Toledo, 1953). Grillparzer was also a master of lyric poetry and prose. His finely wrought novella, Der arme Spielmann (1844, tr. The Poor Minstrel, 1915) contains autobiographical elements.
See studies by F. E. Coenen (1951), G. A. Wells (1969), and W. E. Yates (1972).
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