One of the most independent thinkers in German intellectual history, the Enlightenment author Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) contributed in decisive and lasting fashion to literature, philosophy, theology, criticism, and drama theory. Lessing invented the brgerliches Trauerspiel (bourgeois tragedy) and wrote one of the first successful German tragedies as well as one of the finest German comedies. In his final dramatic masterpiece, Nathan der Weise, he writes of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, of religious tolerance and intolerance and the clash of civilizations. Lessing's dramas are the oldest German theater pieces still regularly performed (both in Germany and internationally), and both his plays and his drama theory have influenced such writers as Goethe, Schiller, Hebbel, Hauptmann, Ibsen, Strindberg, Schnitzler, and Brecht. Addressing an audience ranging from graduate students to seasoned scholars, this volume introduces Lessing's life and times and places him within the broader context of the European Enlightenment. It discusses his pathbreaking dramas, his equally revolutionary theoretical, critical, and aesthetic writings, his original fables, his innovative work in philosophy and theology, and his significant contributions to Jewish emancipation. The volume concludes by examining 20th-century reception of Lessing and his oeuvre. Contributors: Barbara Fischer, Thomas C. Fox, Steven D. Martinson, Klaus L. Berghahn, John Pizer, Beate Allert, H. B. Nisbet, Arno Schilson, Willi Goetschel, Peter Hyng, Karin A. Wurst, Ann Schmiesing, Reinhart Meyer, Hans-Joachim Kertscher, Hinrich C. Seeba, Dieter Fratzke, Helmut Berthold, Herbert Rowland. Barbara Fischer is associateprofessor of German and Thomas C. Fox is professor of German, both at the University of Alabama.

Excerpt from Gotthold Ephraim Lessing: His Life and His Works An English 'Life of Lessing' requires little in the way of preface or apology. It is only astonishing that the task of preparing such a work has not been undertaken long ere this, and that this peculiar good fortune should have been reserved to me. My main purpose has been to exhibit Lessing as the intellectual pioneer of our present culture, no less in this country than in his own; to show how few are the departments into which he did not penetrate, or in which his influence is not felt. I have tried to depict him as a centre of these manifold intellectual interests; a pathfinder in aesthetics, religion, and poetry; to paint his revolt against authority as such; and to exhibit his death-dealing onslaught on the Gallic and pseudo-classical tradition. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

This is a reproduction of the original artefact. Generally these books are created from careful scans of the original. This allows us to preserve the book accurately and present it in the way the author intended. Since the original versions are generally quite old, there may occasionally be certain imperfections within these reproductions. We're happy to make these classics available again for future generations to enjoy!

Excerpt from The Life and Works of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Vol. 1: From the German To the cultivators of German literature Lessing needs no introduction, so entirely is he identified with its res toration and growth in what may be called its second classical period. His career begins precisely in the middle of the last century, and extends over thirty years of incessant activity and warfare against the meanness and barbarism into which German letters were then sunk. Indeed, at that time Germany had no national literature. The heroic songs of the Nibelungen and the sentimental lays of the Minnesingers were forgotten, or known only to be despised. From the era of the Reformation, poetry ceased to be national, and became servilely and drearily imitative. Even Opitz, in his famous Baa/z van der teatsclzen Poeterey presented to his countrymen little more than a compilation of maxims drawn from foreign models, which he declared it impossible to sur pass. Critics like Bodmer and Breitinger, and poets like Von Haller and Gellert, had made honest and patri otic efforts to resist the prevalent Gallomania; but their opposition was radically feeble, and also too remote to effect much against the powerful influence of Gottsched. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.