German literature

Table of Contents

Introduction
Origins and Middle Ages
- Pre-Christian and early Christian periods
- High courtly literature: Middle High German Classicism
  - The lyric poetry of courtly love
  - Courtly romance
    - Hartmann von Aue
    - Wolfram von Eschenbach
    - Gottfried von Strassburg
    - Nibelungenlied
- Post-Classical Middle High German literature
Late Middle Ages and early Renaissance
- Reformation
- The Baroque
The 18th century
- Age of Enlightenment
  - Rationalism
  - Early Enlightenment
  - Enlightenment
    - Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
    - Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock and Christoph Martin Wieland
    - Johann Gottfried von Herder
  - Late Enlightenment (Sturm und Drang)
- Weimar Classicism: Goethe and Schiller
- Post-Classicism
  - Goethe and the Romantics
  - Jean Paul, Friedrich Hölderlin, and Heinrich von Kleist
The 19th century
- The Romantic Movement
- Realist modes
  - Bourgeois Realism
  - Theodor Fontane
  - 19th-century drama
  - Naturalism
- Fin de siècle movements
  - Friedrich Nietzsche
  - Aestheticism
The 20th century
- German Modernism
  - Expressionism
  - Franz Kafka
  - Other works of German Modernism
- The post-1945 period: “Stunde Null”
- The late 1950s and the ’60s
- The 1970s and ’80s
- Postmodernism
- After reunification
- The turn of the 21st century

References & Edit History Related Topics

Videos

How Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's love affairs inspired his work

An exploration of Theodor Storm's The Dykemaster

Read Next

Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”

Well-balanced of stones on the top of boulder

What’s the Difference Between Morality and Ethics?

Fresh vegetables, carrots, cabbage, broccoli, peppers, tomato, squash

8 of History’s Most Famous Vegetarians

Philosophers to Know, Part II

poem. A poet in a Heian period kimono writes Japanese poetry during the Kamo Kyokusui No En Ancient Festival at Jonan-gu shrine on April 29, 2013 in Kyoto, Japan. Festival of Kyokusui-no Utage orignated in 1,182, party Heian era (794-1192).

World Poetry Day

Discover

All Saints Day. All Souls Day. Candles in cemetery in Poland on All Saints Day, November 1. All Souls Day, November 2. Christian church, All Hallows, Solemnity of All Saints, Feast of All Saints, purgatory, Roman Catholic church

7 Unique Burial Rituals Across the World

Candles Burning On Table In Church

What Is the Most Widely Practiced Religion in the World?

Submerged sperm whale off east Sri Lanka coast, mammal

How Did the Sperm Whale Get Its Name?

Marriage. A couple getting married during a church wedding ceremony. (religion, ceremony, bride, groom)

The Seven Sacraments of the Roman Catholic church

Mona Lisa, oil on wood panel by Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1503-06; in the Louvre, Paris, France. 77 x 53 cm.

Why Is the Mona Lisa So Famous?

Statue of Nostradamus

Nostradamus and His Prophecies

Ahura Mazda - relief of the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda at the ancient ruins of Persepolis in Iran. Also known as Ormazd Zoroastrianism,

Which Religion Is the Oldest?

German literature: Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Videos

How Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's love affairs inspired his work

An exploration of Theodor Storm's The Dykemaster

See All Videos →

Topics

Büchner Prize Old High German literature Middle High German literature Old Saxon literature Poetic Realism Etzel German language literature Western literature English literature French literature African literature American literature Arabic literature Italian literature Spanish literature Japanese literature Latin American literature Chinese literature

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Arno Schmidt

German author

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

German author

Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche

German philosopher

Friedrich Schiller, painting by Anton Graff, c. 1785.

Friedrich Schiller

German writer

Gotthold Lessing, detail of an oil painting by Georg May, 1768; in the Gleimhaus, Halberstadt, Ger.

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

German author

Rainer Maria Rilke

Rainer Maria Rilke

Austrian-German poet

Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka

German-language writer

Thomas Mann

Thomas Mann

German author

Heinrich Heine, c. 1827.

Heinrich Heine

German author

Oskar Kokoschka

Oskar Kokoschka

Austrian painter and writer

Friedrich Hölderlin

Friedrich Hölderlin

German poet

Bertolt Brecht

Bertolt Brecht

German dramatist

Gerhart Hauptmann

Gerhart Hauptmann

German writer

Franz Grillparzer

Austrian dramatist

Ludwig Meidner

German artist and writer

Heinrich von Kleist, drawing by Wilhelmina von Zenge, 1801; in the Staatsbibliothek Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin.

Heinrich von Kleist

German author

Günter Grass

Günter Grass

German writer

Fallada, Hans

Hans Fallada

German author

Hermann Hesse

Hermann Hesse

German writer

Hofmannsthal, photograph by Thea Sternheim, 1911; in the Schiller-Nationalmuseum, Marbach, Ger.

Hugo von Hofmannsthal

Austrian author

Quiz

4:043 Dickinson, Emily: A Life of Letters, This is my letter to the world/That never wrote to me; I'll tell you how the Sun Rose/A Ribbon at a time; Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul

Famous Poets and Poetic Form

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) only confirmed photograph of Emily Dickinson. 1978 scan of a Daguerreotype. ca. 1847; in the Amherst College Archives. American poet. See Notes:

Poetry: First Lines

List

Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”