Georg Büchner, Dantons Tod: Ein Drama [Danton's Death: A Drama]

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 1835

Places

Germany (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

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Dantons Tod

Ein Drama

[

Danton's Death: A Drama

] is considered the prototype of the modern drama of revolution and one of the greatest historical plays in German literature. Although its reception by the public was greatly delayed and it was premiered on stage only in 1902, it served as a model for a number of plays in the nineteenth century and has influenced a multitude of playwrights in Modernism, including Romain Rolland, Bertolt Brecht, Aleksei Tolstoy, Peter Weiss, Heiner Müller, Tankred Dorst and others in the German-speaking countries and abroad.

Based on extensive research of contemporary historiographic sources, Büchner composed his drama from October 1834 to January 1835. He wrote the fair copy of Danton's Death within five weeks in January/February of 1835. This creative

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2099 words

Citation: Knapp, Gerhard P.. "Dantons Tod: Ein Drama". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 March 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=10375, accessed 26 April 2024.]

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