GRABBE, CHRISTIAN DIETRICH Ger man dramatist, was born at Detmold on Dec. 11, 1801. He lived an extremely irregular life, and though both Tieck and Immer mann tried to reform him, he died prematurely as a result of his excesses on Sept. 12, 1836. His tragic life provided the matter of a play by E. Johst, Der Einsame (1917) and a novel by P. Fried rich (1925). Many of Grabbe's dramas contain fine passages and a wealth of original ideas, though they are little suited to the requirements of the stage. The boldly conceived Don Juan and Faust (1829) and the historical dramas Friedrich Barbarossa (1829), Heinrich VI. (1830), and Napoleon oder die Hundert Tage (1831), the last of which places the battle of Waterloo upon the stage, are his best works.
Grabbe's works have been edited by O. Blumenthal (4 vols., 1875), E. Grisebach (4 vols., 1902) and by P. Zaunert (3 vols., Ig1o). See also K. Ziegler, Grabbes Leben and Charakter (1855) ; O. Blumenthal, Beitrage zur Kenntniss Grabbes (1875) ; C. A. Piper, Grabbe (18g8).