Freytag's Technique of the Drama: An Exposition of Dramatic Composition and Art

by Gustav Freytag

The Technique of the Drama was written in 1863, and passed through six editions before its translation into English. It has attained the rank of a first-class authority.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, German Literature

405 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1895

About the author

Gustav Freytag (13 July 1816 – 30 April 1895) was a German novelist and playwright.

Freytag was born in Kreuzburg (Kluczbork) in Silesia. After attending the gymnasium at Oels (Oleśnica), he studied philology at the universities of Breslau (Wrocław) and Berlin, and in 1838 received his degree with a dissertation titled De initiis poeseos scenicae apud Germanos (Über die Anfänge der dramatischen Poesie bei den Germanen, English: On the Beginnings of Dramatic Poetry among the Germans). He became member of the student corps Borussia zu Breslau.

In 1839, he settled in Breslau, as Privatdozent in German language and literature, but devoted his principal attention to writing for the stage, achieving considerable success with the comedy Die Brautfahrt, oder Kunz von der Rosen (1844). This was followed by a volume of unimportant poems, In Breslau (1845), and the dramas Die Valentine (1846) and Graf Waldemar (1847). He at last attained a prominent position by his comedy, Die Journalisten (1853), one of the best German comedies of the 19th century.

In 1847, he migrated to Berlin, and in the following year took over, in conjunction with Julian Schmidt, the editorship of Die Grenzboten, a weekly journal which, founded in 1841, now became the leading organ of German and Austrian liberalism. Freytag helped to conduct it until 1861, and again from 1867 till 1870, when for a short time he edited a new periodical, Im neuen Reich. In 1863 he developed what is known as Freytag's pyramid.

He died in Wiesbaden.

Reviews

[Katherine Cowley]

Aristotle talked about story as a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end, that includes both rising and falling action. And then it was Freytag that expanded upon it in the 1800s, with hundreds of page of deep analysis. This books is brilliant, and its theories on writing are the foundation for most of the modern writing structures that are taught in writing books and classes. I'm glad that I went back to it and read the book, rather than doing what I had done before (reading what other people had written about it).

[Mephistopheles]

This was incredible. His in depth discussion of dramatic structure was well-formulated and useful. I had learned a bastardized version of Freytag's triangle in English class. I was surprised to learn how off it was compared to the original. Some elements are dated, but overall this is an incredibly useful book. Highly recommended.

[simu]

the huzz appreciates it

[Josh Boardman]

Interesting for its thoughts on the transference of idea to writing and it's good concepts of play and counter-play. The five act discussion is indispensable, which is what I picked it up for. It's discussion of Greek structure, however, is lacking in cohesiveness. And when it gets moralistic, it's kind of hilarious.

[Ina]

Perhaps due to how Freytag's methods have become so overused, the pompous style of the book simply doesn't carry, especially not in the realm of insight over disgust-at-reading-arrogantia (albeit translated).

[Mia Krone]

A text that realy helps you understand a lot about the dramatic genre, a bit long to get through though...