Grillparzer, Franz (fränts grĭl`pärtsər), 1791–1872, Austrian dramatist. His work combines German classicism and exuberant lyricism. Considered Austria's greatest playwright, he wrote Der Traum: ein Leben (1817–34, tr. A Dream is Life, 1946), which influenced Hauptmann and Maeterlinck; a trilogy, Das goldene Vliess (1822, tr. The Guest-Friend, The Argonauts, Medea, 1942); the historical tragedy König Ottokars Glück und Ende (1825, tr. King Ottocar, His Rise and Fall, 1938); the lyric tragedy Des Meeres und der Liebe Wellen (1831, tr. Hero and Leander, 1938); Libussa (1844, tr. 1941); and Die Jüdin von Toledo (1855, tr. The Jewess of Toledo, 1953). Grillparzer was also a master of lyric poetry and prose. His finely wrought novella, Der arme Spielmann (1844, tr. The Poor Minstrel, 1915) contains autobiographical elements.

Bibliography

See studies by F. E. Coenen (1951), G. A. Wells (1969), and W. E. Yates (1972).

Grillparzer, Franz

(born Jan. 15, 1791, Vienna—died Jan. 21, 1872, Vienna) Austrian dramatist. He spent much of his life in government service. His early tragedies include The Ancestress (1817), Sappho (1818), and the pessimistic The Golden Fleece (1821). The Waves of Sea and Love (1831) is often considered his greatest tragedy; another masterpiece is A Dream Is Life (1834), an Austrian Faust. Three other tragedies were found among his papers after his death. His works were belatedly recognized to be among the greatest works of the Austrian stage.