GRABBE, CHRISTIAN DIETRICH (1801-1836)

This article appears in Volume V12, Page 306 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: GOA-GRA

GRABBE, CHRISTIAN DIETRICH (1801-1836) , German dramatist, was born at Detmold on the llth of December 18or. Entering the university of

Leipzig

LEIPZIG

in 1819 as a student of law, he continued the reckless habits which he had begun at Detmold, and neglected his studies. Being introduced into literary circles, he conceived the idea of becoming an actor and wrote the drama

Herzog

HERZOG, HANS (1819–1894)
HERZOG, JOHANN JAKOB (1805-1882)

Theodor von Gothland (1822). This, though showing considerable literary talent, lacks artistic form, and is morally repulsive. Ludwig Tieck, while encouraging the

young

author, pointed out its faults, and tried to reform Grabbe himself. In 1822 Grabbe removed to Berlin University, and in 1824 passed his advocate's examination. He now settled in his native town as a lawyer and in 1827 was appointed a Militarauditeur. In 1833 he married, but in consequence of his drunken habits was dismissed from his office, and, separating from his wife, visited Dusseldorf, where he was kindly received by Karl

Immermann

IMMERMANN, KARL LEBERECHT (1796-1840)

. After a serious quarrel with the latter, he returned to Detmold, where, as a result of his excesses, he died on the 12th of September 1836.
Grabbe had real poetical gifts, and many of his dramas contain fine passages and a wealth of

original

ORIGINAL

ideas. They largely reflect his own life and character, and are characterized by cynicism and indelicacy. Their construction also is defective and little suited to the requirements of the stage. The boldly conceived Don Juan and Faust (1829) and the historical dramas

Friedrich

FRIEDRICH, JOHANN (1836— )

Barbarossa

BARBAROSSA ("Redbeard")

(x829), Heinrich VI. (183o), and

Napoleon

NAPOLEON

Oder die Hundert Tage (1831), the last of which places the battle of Waterloo upon the stage, are his best works. Among others are the unfinished tragedies Marius and Sulla (continued by Erich Korn, Berlin, 1890); and Hannibal (1835, supplemented and edited by C. Spielmann,

Halle

, 1901); and the patriotic Hermannsschlacht or the battle between Arminius and Varus (posthumously published with a biographical notice, by E. Duller, 1838).
Grabbe's works have been edited by O. Blumenthal (4 vols., 1875), and E. Grisebach (4 vols., 1902). For further notices of his life, see K. Ziegler, Grabbes Leben and Charakter (1855); O. Blumenthal, Beitrage zur Kenntnis Grabbes (1875) ; C. A. Piper, Grabbe (1898), and A. Ploch, Grabbes Stellung in der deutschen Literatur (1905).

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