"A German version of this book (Lessing: eine Biographie) translated from the English original by Karl S. Guthke was published in 2008 by the C. H. Beck Verlag, Munich. Since then, I have revised and updated the original manuscript to make it available to English-speaking readers."-- Preface. Includes bibliographical references (p. 673-712) and indexes.
Summary:
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) is the most eminent literary figure of the German Enlightenment and a writer of European significance. His range of interest as dramatist, poet, critic, philosopher, theologian, philologist and much else besides was comparable to that of Voltaire, Diderot, and Rousseau, with all of whose ideas he engaged. He contributed decisively to the emergence of German as a literary language and was the founder of modern German literature, urging his compatriots to look to England rather than France for literary inspiration. His major plays (including the classic drama on religious tolerance, Nathan the Wise) are still regularly performed. He was a brilliant controversialist, and his philosophical and religious writings profoundly shook traditional assumptions. This book sets his life and work in the context of the intellectual, social, and cultural background of eighteenth-century Europe.
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