the uprising was a common social form in the life of the lower classes in the Early Modern Age. According to theory, no independent political action was to be expected from the "ignorant rabble", although according to Freud the entire "Western European culture" could be described as a product of "fear of the uprising of the oppressed". However, the dramatists of the period had to react to the "gestures of the folk uprising", because the tragedy was considered "the school of kings". Thus, plays evolved which disregarded political and poetic theory and presented the "people in revolt" in action. This study illustrates how this developed using prominent examples from the 16th to 18th centuries.