Although Lessing acknowledges the Aristotelian use of ugliness, he
perceives of ugliness as a focalizer. Lessing discusses ugliness in the
context of Homer's Iliad and the comic figure of Thersites: "Er [Thersites]
wird aber nicht durch seine blofie HaiSlichkeit lacherlich; denn
Hafilichkeit ist Unvollkommenheit, und zu dem Lacherlichen wird ein
Kontrast von Vollkommenheiten und Unvollkommenheiten erfordert"
(Lessing 1964). He maintains that there are two forms of ugliness:
humorous and terrible, for which he uses the examples of Thersites and
Richard III to explain the differences. The laughable form creates a
contrast between perfection and imperfection.
Lessing asserted that ugliness is able to engage the emotions;
specifically, the quality of emotions it creates remained problematic for
him. He describes the ugliness of Thersites as harmless, whereas
Richard III encapsulates the idea of harmful ugliness. In the
Hamburgische Dramaturgie, Lessing discusses Shakespeare's Richard III.
Richard, according to Lessing, becomes unforgettable: "Denn Richard der
Dritte [...] ist unstreitig das grofete, abscheulichste Ungeheuer, das
jemals die Buhne getragen" (Lessing 1981). The power of such a monster
as Richard III is his ability to engender pity in the audience, and to
awaken the passions. The monstrosity of his actions and the affect they
make on the audience makes Richard terrifying and horrific.
Shakespeare, whose oeuvre much of the German intelligentsia perceived
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