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How did Gotthold Ephraim Lessing interpret Aristotle’s idea of catharsis?

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German dramatist and critic Gotthold Lessing — Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Gotthold Lessing, detail of an oil painting by Georg May, 1768; in the Gleimhaus, Halberstadt, Germany.

In his influential work Hamburgische Dramaturgie (1767–69), the German author Gotthold Ephraim Lessing offered a distinct interpretation of Aristotle’s concept of catharsis.

Lessing argued that the cathartic emotions of pity and fear are experienced by the audience rather than by the characters within the drama. He held that this process serves to convert these excess emotions into virtuous dispositions, effectively interpreting Aristotle’s theory through the lens of Christian middle-class virtues.12

By emphasizing compassion and pity, Lessing moved away from earlier, more rigid interpretations of the Poetics—such as those held by Gottsched—which limited tragedy to highborn figures. Instead, Lessing’s perspective helped establish the bürgerliches Trauerspiel (bourgeois tragedy), demonstrating that tragedy could resonate with the experiences of common people and serve an ethically meaningful purpose.1