Gustav Freytag

Freytag, Gustav (1816–95), German writer who, although best known as the author of sociological and historical novels, began his literary career as a dramatist, and became the German exponent of the well-made play. His best work was a comedy, Die Journalisten (1852), a good-humoured portrayal of party politics in a small town during an election; his attempts at serious problem-plays and a historical tragedy in verse are less attractive. In 1863 he published his Technik des Dramas, with its famous pyramid, or diagrammatic plot, of a ‘well-made’ play.

Gustav Freytag , 1816-95, German novelist and playwright. He taught at the Univ. of Breslau and edited the Grenzboten (1848-70). His most successful play, The Journalists (1855, tr. 1888), is an adroit comedy of small-town life and politics. Best known today are his realistic novels Soll und Haben (1855, tr. Debit and Credit, 1856), Die verlorene Handschrift (1864, tr. The Lost Manuscript, 1865), and his ambitious series of German historical novels, Die Ahnen (1873-81, tr. of selections Ingo and Ingraban, 1873).