Emilia Galotti

Emilia Galotti (German pronunciation: [eˈmiːli̯a ɡaˈlɔti] ^ⓘ) is a play in five acts by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781), which premiered on 8 March 1772 in Brunswick (Braunschweig in German). The work is an example of German bürgerliches Trauerspiel (bourgeois tragedy).

The story concerns a virtuous young woman of the bourgeoisie; the arbitrary style of rule by the aristocracy is placed in stark contrast to the enlightened morality of her class. Feudal ideas of love and marriage thus come into conflict with the growing tendency to marry for love, rather than family tradition and power. It was made into a film in 1958.