Walter Benjamin The Origin of German Tragic Drama
The intrigue alone would have been able to bring about that allegorical totality of scenic reorganization, thanks to which one of the images of the sequence stands out, in the image of the apotheosis, as different in kind, and gives mourning at one and the same time the cue for its entry and its exit. The powerful design of this form should be though through to its conclusion; only under this condition is it possible to discuss the idea of the German Trauerspiel. In the ruins of great buildings the idea of the plan speaks more impressively than in lesser buildings, however well preserved they are; and for this reason the German Trauerspiel merits interpretation. In the spirit of allegory it is conceived from the outset as a ruin, a fragment. Others may shine resplendently as on the first day; this form preserves the image of beauty to the very last. p.235
