The volume assembles papers delivered at an international conference organized in 1999 to essay a rapprochement between Romantic drama and the latest concerns of research into Romanticism. Central to the joint endeavour is the appropriate appreciation of a generic constellation frequently neglected in comparison with the contemporary 'classical' tradition, a constellation whose specific constitutive features call for adequate perspectivization in terms of literary history. The studies address the problem of the constitution of subject-matter, the theory of Romantic drama, and structures in Romantic comedy. They comprise interpretations centering on works and authors (Novalis, Tieck, Brentano, Arnim, Eichendorff), consideration of the historical context of the dramas (Schiller, Kleist) and of aspects of the history of their impact (Nestroy, Keller, Hofmannsthal, Pirandello).