August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767-1845) published Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature containing 30 lectures given in Vienna in 1809. Schlegel states "My purpose was to give a general view, and to develope those ideas which ought to guide us in our estimate of the value of the dramatic productions of various ages and nations." This series of lectures shows the in depth study August Schlegel has made of his subject matter. Essays include Euripides--His Merits and Defects--Decline of Tragic Poetry through him, Criticisms on Shakspeare's Comedies, Comparison of the English and Spanish Theatres--Spirit of the Romantic Drama--Shakspeare--His Age and the Circumstances of his Life, and Structure of the Stage among the Greeks--Their Acting--Use of Masks-False comparison of Ancient Tragedy to the Opera--Tragical Lyric Poetry.

Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature is a classic of literary criticism and theory. August Wilhelm Schlegel, a leading Romantic critic and translator, explores the nature of tragedy, epic poetry, and other forms of drama, drawing on examples from ancient Greece to contemporary Europe. His lectures are a valuable resource for anyone seeking to understand the art and theory of drama, as well as the history of Western literature. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Excerpt from Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature I was at Vienna when W. Schlegel gave his public course of Lectures I expected only good sense and instruo tion, where the object was merely to convey information: I was astonished to hear a critic as eloquent as an orator, and who, far from falling upon defects, which are the eternal food of mean and little jealousy, sought only the means of reviving a creative genius. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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