SOURCE: Löb, Ladislaus. “Hebbel.” In From Lessing to Hauptmann: Studies in German Drama, pp. 239-87. London: University Tutorial Press, 1974.

In the following essay, Löb provides a thematic and stylistic overview of Hebbel's dramatic theory and his major dramatic works.

Life and Significance

Among Germany's outstanding dramatists Hebbel is one of the most debatable claimants to greatness. At their worst his plays abound in hysterical atmospheres, extravagant characters, hair-splitting arguments and contrived situations. At their best they rise to powerful tragic conflicts reflecting the perplexities of an unusual individual living at a time of social and intellectual upheaval. Even more than Büchner, Hebbel is caught between a new Realistic outlook and a longing for the lost idealistic age. He is a Realist in his presentation of the deterministic interaction of psychological and environmental forces within a framework of historical change, and in his frequent use of...