Bourgeois Tragedy (Bürgerliches Trauerspiel) is a form of tragedy, which developed in 18th century Europe. It was a fruit of the enlightenment and the emergence of the bourgeois class and its ideals. It is characterized by the fact that its protagonists are ordinary citizens.

The prohibition against ordinary citizens as tragic heroes

While ordinary people had always been the subject of comedies it was long thought unsuitable to have commoners appear as tragic heroes. The root of this belief can be found in Aristotle's ars poetica and in later antique writings on drama and poetics. Based on these old writings, 16th and 17th century theoreticians like the inflkuential German Martin Opitz developed the theory that only members of the higher classes were capable of suffering harm serious enough to deserve dramatic reenactment. This rule was followed throughout Europe for a long time: Only princes and members of the nobility like Andreas Gryphius' Carolus Stuardus, Jean Racine's Phèdre or William Shakespeare's Hamlet were allowed to meet their fate on stage.

Bourgeois tragedies in England and France

There are a few examples of tragic plays with non noble protagonists from 17th century England, but only in the 18th century the general attitude changed. The first true bourgeois tragedy was an English play: George Lillo's The London Merchant; or, the History of George Barnwell, which was first perfomed in 1731. In France, the first tragédie bourgeoise was Sylvie by Paul Landois , which came out in 1755. Only a few years later came two plays by Denis Diderot: Le fils naturel was first staged in 1757 and Le père de famille in the following year.

German Bürgerliches Trauerspiel

In Germany, where the new genre was called Bürgerliches Trauerspiel, it was especially successfull. Usually, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's play Miss Sara Sampson, which was first produced in 1755, is said to be the ealiest Bürgerliches Trauerspiel in Germany. However, Christian Leberecht Martini 's drama Rhynsolt und Sapphira is slightly older. Lessing's Emilia Galotti of 1771 is a classic example of the German Bürgerliches Trauerspiel. Lessing also offered a thorough theoretic justification for his disregard of the old rules in his Hamburgische Dramaturgie. Other important examples of German Bürgerliche Trauerspiele are Die Soldaten by Johann Michael Reinhold Lenz (1776) and Friedrich Schiller's Kabale und Liebe (1784).

General characteristics of Bourgeois Tragedies

Bourgeois tragedies tend to propagate the values of the bourgeois class to which their heroes belong. Their ideal is the virtuous citizen, who is excluded from state affairs and whose intentions are focused on his private life and the life of his family. Values like virtue, humanity, individuality and true feelings are cherished in bourgeois tragedies.