Bourgeois tragedy (German: Bürgerliches Trauerspiel) is a form of tragedy that developed in 18th-century Europe. It is 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.
Read more about Bourgeois Tragedy: In England and France, Heroes in Classical Tragedy, In Germany, General Characteristics
Famous quotes containing the words bourgeois and/or tragedy:
“The bourgeois stands like a question mark,
Speechless, like the hungry cur,
The ancient world stands there behind him,
A mongrel dog, afraid to stir.”
—Alexander Blok (1880–1921)
“One swiftly forgets his intolerable writing, his mirthless, sedulous, repellent manner, in the face of the Athenian tragedy he instills into his seduced and soul-sick servant girls, his barbaric pirates of finances, his conquered and hamstrung supermen, his wives who sit and wait. He has, like Conrad, a sure talent for depicting the spirit in disintegration.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)