Magill’s view that Goethe lacked talent in the comedic genre can be found in nearly every essay or editorial remark on Der Groß-Cophta and the other revolutionary comedies.
18 For a critical assessment of Goethe’s work in the comedic genre that has shaped the reception of the play, see Charles Philip Magill, “ Der Groß-Cophta and the Problem a German Comedy,” in German Studies: Presented to Walter Horace Bruford on his retirement by his pupils, colleagues and friends (London: G.G. Harrap, 1962), 102–11. Magill’s view that Goethe lacked talent in the comedic genre can be found in nearly every essay or editorial remark on Der Groß-Cophta and the other revolutionary comedies.