Heinrich Leopold Wagner, Die Kindermörderin [The Child Murderess]

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Heinrich Leopold Wagner's play

Die Kindermörderin

[

The Child Murderess

, 1776] is one of the more important examples of

bürgerliches Trauerspiel

(domestic tragedy), especially because of its controversial reception history that sheds light on the German literary scene in the 1770s. Printed anonymously in the same year that two other

Sturm und Drang

tragedies were published – J. M. R. Lenz'

Die Soldaten

[

The Soldiers

] and F. M. Klinger's

Die Zwillinge

[

The Twin

s] –

Die Kindermörderin

gave rise to half a dozen reprints and a substantially revised version for the Berlin stage, before Wagner put his name to the title page (1777). Until this point, rumor had it that Lenz was the play's author since he had treated the very same theme – the seduction of a middle-class girl by an officer…

1329 words

Citation: Hoffmeister, Gerhart. "Die Kindermörderin". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 April 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=21644, accessed 29 March 2024.]

21644 Die Kindermörderin 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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