Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
The Burghers of Calais
References
Britannica AI Icon

The Burghers of Calais

work by Kaiser
Also known as: “Die Bürger von Calais”
Written by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last updated

Quick Summary

Georg Kaiser's play, The Burghers of Calais (1914), is an Expressionist drama that served as an appeal for peace during World War I. The play is inspired by the historical event of the Siege of Calais in 1346-1347, where six prominent citizens offered themselves as hostages to King Edward III of England to save their city from starvation. This historical event was famously depicted in Auguste Rodin's sculpture, The Burghers of Calais. Kaiser's work uses trenchant language to explore themes of sacrifice and humanity amidst conflict.123

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
3 Britannica Sources
  1. Georg Kaiser
  2. Siege of Calais
  3. Auguste Rodin

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.