The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Raupach, Ernst Benjamin Salomo

RAUPACH, row'päH, Ernst Benjamin Salomo, German dramatic poet: b. Straupitz, near Liegnitz, 21 May 1784; d. Berlin, 18 March 1852. He studied theology at Halle, afterward went as a tutor to Russia, and in 1816 obtained a chair in the philosophical faculty of the University of Saint Petersburg; but quitted the country in 1822, and after various changes finally settled, in 1824, in Berlin, where he employed himself chiefly in writing for the stage. His dramatic works have been collected and published in two divisions, the one containing his comic pieces, under the name of ‘Dramatische Werke komischer Gattung’ (1828-35); and the other, ‘Dramatische Werke ernster Gattung’ (1830-43). In his earlier works he was an imitator of Schiller, and some of the tragedies belonging to this period, such as ‘Die Erdennacht,’ show much real power. His popular success was considerable; but his dramas became more and more trivial in content. They display, however, considerable knowledge of stage effect, great creative power and a wealth of verbal wit. His early plays include ‘The Princess Chawansky’ (1818); ‘Die Gefesselten’ (1821); ‘Der Liebel Zauberkreis’ (1824); ‘Isidar und Olga’ (1826); and ‘Die Tocuter der Luft’ (1829); his comedies ‘Die Schleickhändler’; ‘Der Zeitgeist,’ and ‘Das Sonnett’; his farces ‘Deuken Cäsar,’ and ‘Schelle im Monde’; his posthumous works ‘Jacobine von Holland,’ ‘Der Kegelspider,’ ‘Mulier tacat in Ecclesia’ (1853), and ‘Seed and Fruit’ (1854). A life of the dramatist was published by Pauline Raupach (1853).