Germany did not produce any notable litera­ture till the reign of Frederick the Great (1740-86) when an intellectual class made its appearance. Initially these intellectuals merely studied the ideas of French and English writers, but after 1763 they began to con­tribute their own ideas and thus provided a new turn to the Enlightenment movement. The leading role in ushering Enlightenment in Germany was played by Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717-68).

He wrote History of Ancient Art (1764) which won him great popularity in Europe. Within Germany he inspired the German people to emulate cultural ideas which had been realized in ancient Greece. Another notable literary figure who was greatly influenced by Winckelmann was Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) who produced Laokoon (1716), a fine work on art. His other works include Minna von Barnhelm (1767), Nathan der Weise (1779).

Johann Gottfried von Herder (1744-1808) was another intellectual of the age of Enlightenment. He encouraged the young Germans to throw aside the restrains of classicism and ushered in a literary movement called Sturm und Drang (Storm and Stress).

He discovered the beauties of primitive folk poetry and made heroes of strong men. Thus he prepared the way for the romantics of the- early nineteenth century. Johann Wolfgang von goethe (1749-1832) was another brilliant literary figure of Germany. He wrote Gotz von Bcrlichingcn (1773), Die Leiden des jungen Wcrthers (1774),

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Iphigenie auf Tauris (1787), and the great drama Faust( 1808)., In the promotion of literary activities Duke Charles Augustus of Saxe-Weimar, played an important role. He patronized scholars like Goethe, Herder and others and encouraged them to produce outstanding literature.