[2] This collection of 101 short essays represents one of the first sustained critical engagements with the potential of theater as a vehicle for the advancement of humanistic discourse.
[3] During the time Lessing wrote the Hamburg Dramaturgy, there was a new movement of German theatre, based on self-reflection.
One of Lessing's most famous and renowned quotes from the compilation considers the responsibilities of the actor and the playwright: “The great discernment of the drama critic lies in his ability to distinguish, whenever he feels pleasure or displeasure, to what extent that feeling should be credited to the writer or to the actor”[5] The idea of a journal with Lessing as a dramatic critic to reflect on the Hamburg National Theater's efforts was conceived by the theatre's founder Johann Friedrich Löwen, and Abel Seyler, "the power behind the throne," who at first reluctantly agreed, but was eventually won over by the journal's success.
[6][7] Because the plays of the new German Bourgeoisie theatre became more detailed and complicated, the audience often felt confused or left out; Lessing’s development of the Hamburg Dramaturgy was in part a reaction to this.
[14] Translators Wendy Arons and Sara Figal, with editor Natalya Baldyga, are producing a new, complete, and fully annotated translation of the text; the essays are being published online at MediaCommons Press and will be published in print form by Routledge.