Friedrich Schiller completed his Sturm und Drang five-act play Luise Millerin in July 1783 in Bauerbach/ Meiningen. Upon the advice of the actor and fellow-playwright August Wilhelm Iffland (1759-1814), the author changed the title to the catchier Kabale und Liebe. Ein bürgerliches Trauerspiel [Cabal and Love. A Bourgeois Tragedy]. The premiere took place in Frankfurt/Main on 13 April 1784, subsequent performances in Mannheim on 15 April and elsewhere, the text having already been published in March 1784. Initial reception was mixed. No lesser an authority than Karl Philipp Moritz –greatly disturbed by the dramatic conflict and the play’s language – wrote two scathing reviews, the later concluding: “ich wasche meine Hände von diesem Schillerschen Schmutze, und werde mich wohl hüten, mich je wieder damit zu befassen” [“I wash my hands of this Schillerian dirt and...
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Citation: Knapp, Gerhard P.. "Kabale und Liebe. Ein bürgerliches Trauerspiel". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 June 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=19938, accessed 09 June 2026.]
