Verse in Drama and Modern Theatre

“Everything that is to rise above the ordinary should be put down in verse, at least at the beginning.” Schiller’s claim required of drama is not likely to meet any acceptance from modern theatre. Literary theatre competes with post dramatic forms of performing. In this situation, however, verse is developing a productivity which is hardly perceived. This study examines the possibilities of an aesthetical activation of verse in modern drama by looking at the works of such authors as Hofmannsthal, Schnitzler, Benn, Kaiser, Brecht, Jahnn, Hacks, Müller, Jandl or Ostermaier. The study further designs a general aesthetics of drama verse as a model in the area of tension between literature studies and theatre science.