Sturm und Drang (literally: "storm and urge") was a revolutionary protest movement in
German literature during the latter half of the
18th century, so named after a play by
Friedrich Maximilian Klinger.
It marks the return of
romanticism to what was seen as an overly
rationalist literary tradition.
The period is variously characterized as having lasted from
1767 -
1785 (most common view),
1769 -
1786, or
1765 -
1795.
Its best known manifestation is the
1774 novel
Die Leiden des jungen Werthers (
The Sorrows of Young Werther) by
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Other notable works include:
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- Zum Schakespears-Tag (1771)
- Sesenheimer Lieder (1771)
- Götz von Berlichingen (1773)
- Prometheus (1773; revised 1777)
- Ganymed (1774)
Friedrich Schiller
- Die Räuber (1781)
- Kabale und Liebe (1784)
Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz[?]
- Der Hofmeister (1774)
- Die Soldaten (1776)
Johann Heinrich Voss
Christoph Heinrich Hölty[?]