Die Entdeckung Shakespeares auf der deutschen Bühne des 18. Jahrhunderts

The study is concerned with the way the love of Shakespeare evinced by the German theatre and its audiences began and developed in the 18th century. In fact, this is a history of 'love at second sight'. When the German stages discovered Shakespeare in the second half of the 18th century, they initially performed the dramas in a heavily adapted form so as to arouse the enthusiasm of their audiences for the Elizabethan dramatist. The study provides a detailed description of pre-romantic Shakespeare adaptations, performance practice, audience responses, and also of an aspect that is frequently overlooked: the impressive commitment to Shakespeare displayed by many protagonists of German cultural life.