Woyzeck (1879)

Wikipedia: Woyzeck is a stage play written by Georg Büchner. He left the work incomplete at his death, but it has been variously and posthumously "finished" by a variety of authors, editors and translators.
Based on the true story of Friedrich Johann Franz Woyzeck and related to the German expressionist style, Woyzeck concerns the dehumanizing effects of doctors, the military, and women on a young man's life. It is often seen as 'working class' tragedy and it's a difficult play to categorise.
Woyzeck has seen many translations, including an adaptation into an opera by Alban Berg (Wozzeck), a movie by Werner Herzog, and a musical by Robert Wilson and Tom Waits, the songs from which are on Waits's Blood Money album. Nick Cave has also written music for the Icelandic production of the play.
Woyzeck is a comment on social conditions as well as an exploration of complex themes such as poverty. Woyzeck is considered as morally lacking by other characters of higher status, such as the Captain, particularly in the scene in which Woyzeck shaves the Captain. The Captain links wealth and status with morality suggesting Woyzeck cannot have morals as he is poor.
It is the exploitation of the character Woyzeck by the Doctor and the Captain which ultimately pushes him over the edge.