To achieve his goals at the Spanish court, the ambitious and talented Clavigo abandons his beloved Marie Beaumarchais. Marie falls ill from grief, her brother learns of it and comes to take revenge. He demands an explanation and brings Clavigo to a dead end, who, tormented by guilt, repents and asks Marie for marriage again.

Everything suggests a favorable outcome, but with the intervention of his ruthless friend, Carlos, who convinces him that this marriage will lead to the ruin of his career, Clavigo is shaken and betrays Marie for a second time. Marie dies, Clavigo accidentally attends her funeral, and, crazed with guilt, duels with her brother and is killed.

A strictly Aristotelian structured urban drama, Clavigo is based on a true incident from the life of the contemporary of Goethe, the French playwright, Beaumarchais.