Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Minna von Barnhelm oder Das Soldatenglück [Minna of Barnhelm, or Soldiers' Fortune]

Friederike von Schwerin-High

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
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 1767

Places

Germany (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

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Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s earlier comedies (

Der Freigeist

[

The Free Spirit

Die Juden

[

The Jews

]) gained him a fair amount of immediate success, but

Minna von Barnhelm

, the last comic play he ever wrote, is considered his most accomplished comedy. Presenting the year of the play’s composition, “verfertigt im Jahre 1763”, the title page emphasizes the timeliness and topicality of

Minna von Barnhelm

. Whereas Lessing’s other famous plays all use devices of

éloignement

, i. e. historical and geographical distancing –

Emilia

takes place in Italy and is the reworking of an ancient Roman story,

Sara

unfolds in England and uses elements from the Medea myth,

Nathan

is a crusade piece drawing on a novella by Boccaccio –

Minna

is set in Lessing’s present-day world, the immediate…

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2633 words

Citation: von Schwerin-High, Friederike. "Minna von Barnhelm oder Das Soldatenglück". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 November 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16333, accessed 26 April 2024.]

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