Topic summary
Trauerspiel
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Tragedy.
Bourgeois
Bourgeois tragedy, known in German as Bürgerliches Trauerspiel, emerged in 18th-century Europe as a product of the Enlightenment and the rise of the bourgeoise. This genre of tragedy is distinguished by its focus on ordinary citizens as protagonists, deviating from the classical emphasis on nobility. The first true bourgeois tragedy was English playwright, George Lillo's 1731 play, The London Merchant; or, the History of George Barnwell.Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's play Miss Sara Sampson, which was first produced in 1755, is said to be the earliest Bürgerliches Trauerspiel in Germany.