Miss Sara Sampson

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's play 'Miss Sara Sampson', published in 1755 and first performed, is considered the first significant German "bourgeois tragedy", dealing with the fates of people from the middle class, the bourgeoisie, and the lower nobility. The characters are no longer at the mercy of an overpowering fate, but instead cause their own downfall. In place of social standing, "bourgeois tragedies" feature sensitivity and moral integrity.

In 'Miss Sara Sampson', Lessing presents a human tragedy revolving around the attractive but characterless and fickle Mellefont, whose former lover, the ruthless Marwood, as well as the young, innocent, and virtuous Sara Sampson.