Walter Benjamin, Der Ursprung des deutschen Trauerspiels [The Origin of German Tragic Drama]

Kate Armond (University of Essex)

Ed. by Jennifer Marston William, Purdue University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1928

Places

Germany (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Commentary / Criticism (literary)

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The

Ursprung des deutschen Trauerspiels

[The Origin of German Tragic Drama] was first read by the University of Frankfurt in 1925 as the text for Benjamin’s Habilitationschrift, the qualification that he hoped would allow him to lecture at universities in Germany. This engagement with academia floundered when the University of Frankfurt rejected this original but intricate study in the same year.

Ursprung

was first published in Germany in 1928, then disappeared only to re-emerge as one of the most meticulous, pertinent and insightful studies of philosophical, historical and literary analysis for the twentieth century. It was the first in a succession of monographs to bring the baroque and the twentieth century into dialogue in new and rewarding ways. These include Omar Calabrese’s

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2497 words

Citation: Armond, Kate. "Der Ursprung des deutschen Trauerspiels". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 May 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5619, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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Walter Benjamin, Der Ursprung des deutschen Trauerspiels [The Origin of German Tragic Drama]

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