The Origin of German Tragic Drama

The Origin of German Tragic Drama
Cover of The Origin of German Tragic Drama
English cover
AuthorWalter Benjamin
LanguageEnglish
SubjectPhilosophy, literary criticism

The Origin of German Tragic Drama (German: Ursprung des deutschen Trauerspiels) was the postdoctoral major academic work (habilitation) submitted by Walter Benjamin to the University of Frankfurt in 1925, having been initially conceived in 1916 and embarked upon in the summer of 1923, though it was not published until 1928.[1] The book is a study of German drama during the baroque period and was meant to earn Benjamin the qualification of university instructor. Warned of the certainty of the work’s rejection, Benjamin withdrew it from consideration.[2] In spite of this early rejection, the book was rediscovered in the second half of the 20th century and has come to be considered a highly influential piece of philosophical and literary criticism.[3]

  1. ^ Introducing Walter Benjamin, Howard Cargill, Alex Coles, Andrey Klimowski, 1998, p. 112
  2. ^ Jane O. Newman, Benjamin's Library: Modernity, Nation, and the Baroque, Cornell University Press, 2011, p. 28: "... university officials in Frankfurt recommended that Benjamin withdraw the work from consideration as his Habilitation."
  3. ^ Walter Benjamín; John Osborne (2003). The origin of German tragic drama. Verso. ISBN 978-1-85984-413-7. Retrieved 20 August 2011.