German literature () comprises those

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...

texts written in the

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

. This includes literature written in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, the German parts of

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...

in Italy and to a lesser extent works of the

German diaspora The German diaspora (, ) consists of German people and their descendants who live outside of Germany. The term is used in particular to refer to the aspects of migration of German speakers from Central Europe to different countries around the ...

. German literature of the modern period is mostly in

Standard German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the umbrella term for the standard language, standardized varieties of the German language, which are used in formal contexts and for commun ...

, but there are some currents of literature influenced to a greater or lesser degree by

dialects A dialect is a variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standardized varieties as well as vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardized varieties, such as those used in developing countries or iso ...

(e.g. Alemannic). Medieval German literature is

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

written in Germany, stretching from the

Carolingian dynasty The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Franks, Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Pippinids, Arnulfi ...

; various dates have been given for the end of the German literary Middle Ages, the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

(1517) being the last possible cut-off point. The Old High German period is reckoned to run until about the mid-11th century; the most famous works are the ''

Hildebrandslied The ''Hildebrandslied'' (; ''Lay'' or ''Song of Hildebrand'') is a heroic lay written in Old High German alliterative verse. It is the earliest poetic text in German, and it tells of the tragic encounter in battle between a father (Hildebrand) ...

'' and a heroic epic known as the '' Heliand''.

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

starts in the 12th century; the key works include '' The Ring'' () and the poems of

Oswald von Wolkenstein Oswald von Wolkenstein (1376 or 1377 in Pfalzen – August 2, 1445, in Meran) was a poetry, poet, composer and diplomacy, diplomat. In his diplomatic capacity, he traveled through much of Europe to as far as Georgia (country), Georgia (as recoun ...

and

Johannes von Tepl Johannes von Tepl (c. 1350 – c. 1415), also known as Johannes von Saaz (), was a Bohemian writer of the German language, one of the earliest known writers of prose in Early New High German (or late Middle German—depending on the criter ...

. The Baroque period (1600 to 1720) was one of the most fertile times in German literature. Modern literature in German begins with the authors of

the Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a European intellectual and philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained through rationalism and empirici ...

(such as

Herder A herder is a pastoralism, pastoral worker responsible for the care and management of a herd or flock of domestic animals, usually on extensive management, open pasture. It is particularly associated with nomadic pastoralism, nomadic or transhuma ...

). The Sensibility movement of the 1750s–1770s ended with

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

's best-selling ''

The Sorrows of Young Werther ''The Sorrows of Young Werther'' (; ), or simply ''Werther'', is a 1774 epistolary novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, which appeared as a revised edition in 1787. It was one of the main novels in the ''Sturm und Drang'' ...

'' (1774). The

Sturm und Drang (, ; usually translated as "storm and stress") was a proto-Romanticism, Romantic movement in German literature and Music of Germany, music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s. Within the movement, individual subjectivity an ...

and

Weimar Classicism Weimar Classicism () was a German literary and cultural movement, whose practitioners established a new humanism from the synthesis of ideas from Romanticism, Classicism, and the Age of Enlightenment. It was named after the city of Weimar in th ...

movements were led by

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

and

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

German Romanticism German Romanticism () was the dominant intellectual movement of German-speaking countries in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, influencing philosophy, aesthetics, literature, and criticism. Compared to English Romanticism, the German vari ...

was the dominant movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Biedermeier refers to the literature, music, the visual arts and interior design in the period between the years 1815 (

Vienna Congress The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

), the end of the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, and 1848, the year of the European revolutions. Under the

Nazi regime Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

, some authors went into exile (''Exilliteratur'') and others submitted to censorship ("internal emigration", ''Innere Emigration''). The

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

has been awarded to German language authors fourteen times (as of 2023), or the third most often, behind only French language authors (with 16 laureates) and English language authors (with 32 laureates) with winners including

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss poet and novelist, and the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His interest in Eastern philosophy, Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophic ...

Günter Grass Günter Wilhelm Grass (; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gda ...

, and

Peter Handke Peter Handke (; born 6 December 1942) is an Austrians, Austrian novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director, and screenwriter. He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has ...

Periodization

Periodization In historiography, periodization is the process or study of categorizing the past into discrete, quantified, and named blocks of time for the purpose of study or analysis.Adam Rabinowitz.It's about time: historical periodization and Linked Ancie ...

is not an exact science but the following list contains movements or time periods typically used in discussing German literature. It seems worth noting that the periods of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

German literature span two or three centuries, those of early modern German literature span one century, and those of modern German literature each span one or two decades. The closer one nears the present, the more debated the periodizations become. * Medieval German literature **

Old High German literature Old High German literature refers to literature written in Old High German, from the earliest texts in the 8th century to the middle of the 11th century. Scope The term "literature" as it is used in connection with Old High German has a broader s ...

(750–1050) **

Middle High German literature Middle High German literature refers to literature written in German between the middle of the 11th century and the middle of the 14th. In the second half of the 12th century, there was a sudden intensification of activity, leading to a 60-year " ...

(1050–1350) ** Late medieval / Renaissance (1350–1500) * Early Modern German literature (see

Early Modern literature The history of literature of the early modern period ( 16th, 17th and partly 18th century literature), or early modern literature, succeeds Medieval literature, and in Europe in particular Renaissance literature. In Europe, the Early Modern ...

) **

Humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...

and

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

(1500–1650) **

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

(1600–1720) ** Enlightenment (1680–1789) * Modern German literature ** 18th- and 19th-century German literature *** ''Empfindsamkeit'' / Sensibility (1750s–1770s) *** ''Sturm und Drang'' / Storm and Stress (1760s–1780s) *** German Classicism (1729–1832) ****

(1788–1805) or (1788–1832), depending on Schiller's (1805) or Goethe's (1832) death ***

(1790s–1880s) *** Biedermeier (1815–1848) *** Young Germany (1830–1850) *** Poetic Realism (1848–1890) *** Naturalism (1880–1900) ** 20th-century German literature *** 1900–1933 ****

Fin de siècle "''Fin de siècle''" () is a French term meaning , a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom '' turn of the century'' and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. Without co ...

(c. 1900) **** Symbolism ****

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

(1910–1920) ****

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...

(1914–1924) ****

New Objectivity The New Objectivity (in ) was a movement in German art that arose during the 1920s as a reaction against German Expressionism, expressionism. The term was coined by Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub, the director of the ''Kunsthalle Mannheim, Kunsthalle' ...

(''Neue Sachlichkeit'') *** Well Known Writers of the 20th Century *** 1933–1945 **** National Socialist literature **** Exile literature *** 1945–1989 **** By country ***** Federal Republic of Germany ***** German Democratic Republic ***** Austria ***** Switzerland ***** Other **** By thematic or group ***** Post-war literature (1945–1967) *****

Group 47 Gruppe 47 (Group 47) was a group of participants in German writers' meetings, invited by Hans Werner Richter between 1947 and 1967. The meetings served the dual goals of literary criticism as well as the promotion of young, unknown authors. In a ...

***** Holocaust literature ** Contemporary German literature (1989–)

Middle Ages

Medieval German literature refers to

written in Germany, stretching from the

; various dates have been given for the end of the German literary Middle Ages, the

(1517) being the last possible cut-off point.

Old High German

The Old High German period is reckoned to run until about the mid-11th century, though the boundary to Early Middle High German (second half of the 11th century) is not clear-cut. The earliest texts date from the second half of the 8th century: translation aids ( glosses and glossaries) for those learning to read

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and translations of Latin Christian texts ( prayers, creeds, confessions) for use in

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

or pastoral work among the lay population. Translations and, later, adaptations of Latin Christian texts, continue throughout the period, and are seen in Otfrid's

gospel harmony A gospel harmony is an attempt to compile the canonical gospels of the Christian New Testament into a single account. This may take the form either of a single, merged narrative, or a tabular format with one column for each gospel, technically kn ...

in the 9th century and the extensive works of

Notker III Notker Labeo ( – 28 June 1022), also known as Notker the German () or Notker III, was a Benedictine monk active as a scholar and teacher. He was the first commentator on Aristotle active in the Middle Ages and translated the works of earlier L ...

in the early 11th century. The most famous work in OHG is the ''

'', a short piece of Germanic alliterative heroic verse which besides the '' Muspilli'' is the sole survivor of what must have been a vast oral tradition. Another important work, in the northern dialect of Old Saxon, is a life of Christ in the style of a heroic epic known as the '' Heliand''.

Middle High German

proper runs from the beginning of the 12th century, and in the second half of the 12th century, there was a sudden intensification of activity, leading to a 60-year "golden age" of medieval German literature referred to as the ''mittelhochdeutsche Blütezeit'' (1170–1230). This was the period of the blossoming of MHG lyric poetry, particularly ''

Minnesang (; "love song") was a tradition of German lyric- and song-writing that flourished in the Middle High German period (12th to 14th centuries). The name derives from '' minne'', the Middle High German word for love, as that was ''Minnesangs m ...

'' (the German variety of the originally French tradition of

courtly love Courtly love ( ; ) was a medieval European literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing various deeds or services for ladies b ...

). One of the most important of these poets was

Walther von der Vogelweide Walther von der Vogelweide (; ) was a Minnesänger who composed and performed love-songs and political songs ('' Sprüche'') in Middle High German. Walther has been described as the greatest German lyrical poet before Goethe; his hundred or s ...

. The same sixty years saw the composition of the most important courtly romances. These are written in rhyming couplets, and again draw on French models such as

Chrétien de Troyes Chrétien de Troyes (; ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on King Arthur, Arthurian subjects such as Gawain, Lancelot, Perceval and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's chivalric romances, including ''Erec and Enide'' ...

, many of them relating

Arthurian According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a leader of the post-Ro ...

material, for example, ''

Parzival ''Parzival'' () is a medieval chivalric romance by the poet and knight Wolfram von Eschenbach in Middle High German. The poem, commonly dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, centers on the Arthurian hero Parzival (Percival in English) ...

'' by

Wolfram von Eschenbach Wolfram von Eschenbach (; – ) was a German knight, poet and composer, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of medieval German literature. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry. Life Little is known of Wolfram's life. Ther ...

. The third literary movement of these years was a new revamping of the heroic tradition, in which the ancient Germanic oral tradition can still be discerned, but tamed and Christianized and adapted for the court. These high medieval heroic epics are written in rhymed strophes, not the alliterative verse of Germanic prehistory (for example, the ''

Nibelungenlied The (, or ; or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poetry, epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition of Germanic hero ...

''). The Middle High German period is conventionally taken to end in 1350, while the

Early New High German Early New High German (ENHG) is a term for the period in the history of the German language generally defined, following Wilhelm Scherer, as the period 1350 to 1650, developing from Middle High German and into New High German. The term is the ...

is taken to begin with the

German Renaissance The German Renaissance, part of the Northern Renaissance, was a cultural and artistic movement that spread among German thinkers in the 15th and 16th centuries, which developed from the Italian Renaissance. Many areas of the arts and sciences ...

, after the invention of movable type in the mid-15th century. Therefore, the literature of the late 14th and the early 15th century falls, as it were, in the cracks between Middle and New High German, and can be classified as either. Works of this transitional period include '' The Ring'' (c. 1410), the poems of

and

, the German versions of '' Pontus and Sidonia'', and arguably the works of Hans Folz and

Sebastian Brant Sebastian Brant (also Brandt; 1457/1458 – 10 May 1521) was a German humanist and satirist. He is best known for his satire '' Das Narrenschiff'' (''The Ship of Fools''). Early life and education Brant was born in either 1457 or 1458 in Strasbo ...

('' Ship of Fools'', 1494), among others. The ''Volksbuch'' (

chapbook A chapbook is a type of small printed booklet that was a popular medium for street literature throughout early modern Europe. Chapbooks were usually produced cheaply, illustrated with crude woodcuts and printed on a single sheet folded into 8, 1 ...

) tradition which would flourish in the 16th century also finds its origin in the second half of the 15th century.

Early Modern period

German Renaissance and Reformation

(1457–1521) * Thomas Murner (1475–1537) *

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

(1483–1546) *

Philipp Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, an intellectual leader of the ...

(1497–1560) *

Sebastian Franck Sebastian Franck (20 January 1499 Donauwörth, Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia – c. 1543 Basel, Switzerland) was a 16th-century Germany, German freethinker, humanism, humanist, and Radical Reformation, radical reformer. Biography Franck was born in 1 ...

(1500–1543) * Johann Fischart (1545–1591)

Baroque period

The Baroque period (1600 to 1720) was one of the most fertile times in German literature. Many writers reflected the horrible experiences of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, in

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

and

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

. Grimmelshausen's adventures of the young and naïve Simplicissimus, in the eponymous book ''

Simplicius Simplicissimus ''Simplicius Simplicissimus'' () is a picaresque novel of the lower Baroque style, written in five books by German author Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen published in 1668, with the sequel ''Continuatio'' appearing in 1669. Inspired b ...

'', became the most famous novel of the Baroque period. Martin Opitz established rules for the "purity" of language, style, verse and rhyme. Andreas Gryphius and Daniel Caspar von Lohenstein wrote German language tragedies, or ''Trauerspiele'', often on Classical themes and frequently quite violent. Erotic, religious and occasional poetry appeared in both German and Latin. Sibylle Ursula von Braunschweig-Lüneburg wrote part of a novel, ''Die Durchlauchtige Syrerin Aramena'' (''Aramena, the noble Syrian lady''), which when complete would be the most famous courtly novel in German Baroque literature; it was finished by her brother Anton Ulrich and edited by Sigmund von Birken.

18th century

The Enlightenment

Sensibility

''Empfindsamkeit'' / Sensibility (1750s–1770s) Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (1724–1803), Christian Fürchtegott Gellert (1715–1769), Sophie de La Roche (1730–1807). The period culminates and ends in

's best-selling '' Die Leiden des jungen Werthers'' (1774).

Sturm und Drang

''Sturm und Drang'' (the conventional translation is "Storm and Stress"; a more literal translation, however, might be ''storm and urge'', ''storm and longing'', or ''storm and impulse'') is the name of a movement in German literature and

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

taking place from the late 1760s through the early 1780s in which individual

subjectivity The distinction between subjectivity and objectivity is a basic idea of philosophy, particularly epistemology and metaphysics. Various understandings of this distinction have evolved through the work of countless philosophers over centuries. One b ...

and, in particular, extremes of emotion were given free expression in response to the confines of rationalism imposed by

and associated

aesthetic Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,'' , acces ...

movements. The philosopher

Johann Georg Hamann Johann Georg Hamann (; ; 27 August 1730 – 21 June 1788) was a German Lutheran philosopher from Königsberg known as "the Wizard of the North" who was one of the leading figures of post-Kantian philosophy. His work was used by his student J. G ...

is considered to be the ideologue of ''Sturm und Drang'', and

was a notable proponent of the movement, though he and

ended their period of association with it, initiating what would become

. The first ideas of

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

arose from this movement, directly criticizing the Enlightenment's position that humans can fully comprehend the world through

rationality Rationality is the quality of being guided by or based on reason. In this regard, a person acts rationally if they have a good reason for what they do, or a belief is rational if it is based on strong evidence. This quality can apply to an ab ...

alone, suggesting that

intuition Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without recourse to conscious reasoning or needing an explanation. Different fields use the word "intuition" in very different ways, including but not limited to: direct access to unconscious knowledg ...

and

emotion Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...

are key components of

insight Insight is the understanding of a specific causality, cause and effect within a particular context. The term insight can have several related meanings: *a piece of information *the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of se ...

and understanding. Published in 1774, "

" by Goethe began to shape the Romanticist movement and its ideals.

19th century

German Classicism

Weimar Classicism (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

“''Weimarer Klassik''” and “''Weimarer Klassizismus''”) is a

cultural Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and

literary movement Literary movements are a way to divide literature into categories of similar philosophical, topical, or aesthetic features, as opposed to divisions by genre or period. Like other categorizations, literary movements provide language for comparing ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and its central ideas were originally propounded by

and Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller during the period 1786 to 1805. The ''Weimarer Klassik'' movement began in 1771 when

Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (24 October 173910 April 1807), was a German princess and composer. She became the duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach by marriage, and was also regent of the states of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach from 1758 t ...

invited the Seyler Theatre Company led by Abel Seyler, pioneers of the movement, to her court in Weimar. The Seyler company was soon thereafter followed by

Christoph Martin Wieland Christoph Martin Wieland (; ; 5 September 1733 – 20 January 1813) was a German poet and writer, representative of literary Rococo. He is best-remembered for having written the first ''Bildungsroman'' (''Geschichte des Agathon''), as well as the ...

, then Goethe,

Johann Gottfried Herder Johann Gottfried von Herder ( ; ; 25 August 174418 December 1803) was a Prussian philosopher, theologian, pastor, poet, and literary critic. Herder is associated with the Age of Enlightenment, ''Sturm und Drang'', and Weimar Classicism. He wa ...

and finally Schiller. The movement was eventually centred upon Goethe and Schiller, previously also exponents of the movement, during the period of 1786–1805.

Romanticism

was the dominant movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. German Romanticism developed relatively late compared to its English counterpart, coinciding in its early years with the movement known as German Classicism or

, which it opposed. In contrast to the seriousness of English Romanticism, the German variety is notable for valuing humor and wit as well as beauty. The early German romantics tried to create a new synthesis of art, philosophy, and science, looking to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

as a simpler, more integrated period. As time went on, however, they became increasingly aware of the tenuousness of the unity they were seeking. Later German Romanticism emphasized the tension between the everyday world and the seemingly irrational and supernatural projections of creative genius.

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

in particular criticized the tendency of the early romantics to look to the medieval past for a model of unity in art and society. * G.W.F. Hegel *

Jean Paul Jean Paul (; born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, 21 March 1763 – 14 November 1825) was a German Romanticism, German Romantic writer, best known for his humorous novels and stories. Life and work Jean Paul was born at Wunsiedel, in the Ficht ...

* E.T.A. Hoffmann *

Friedrich Hölderlin Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a Germans, German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticis ...

* Heinrich von Kleist * Novalis (Friedrich von Hardenberg) *

Friedrich Schlegel Karl Wilhelm Friedrich (after 1814: von) Schlegel ( ; ; 10 March 1772 – 12 January 1829) was a German literary critic, philosopher, and Indologist. With his older brother, August Wilhelm Schlegel, he was one of the main figures of Jena Roma ...

August Wilhelm Schlegel August Wilhelm von Schlegel (Schlegel until 1812; ; ; 8 September 176712 May 1845) was a German Indologist, poet, translator and critic. With his brother Friedrich Schlegel, he was a leading influence within Jena Romanticism. His translations o ...

Friedrich Schleiermacher Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (; ; 21 November 1768 – 12 February 1834) was a German Reformed Church, Reformed theology, theologian, philosopher, and biblical scholar known for his attempt to reconcile the criticisms of the Age o ...

Ludwig Tieck Johann Ludwig Tieck (; ; 31 May 177328 April 1853) was a German poet, fiction writer, translator, and critic. He was one of the founding fathers of the Romanticism, Romantic movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Early life Tieck w ...

* Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué * Ludwig Uhland *

Arthur Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( ; ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the Phenomenon, phenomenal world as ...

* Joseph von Eichendorff

Biedermeier and Vormärz

Biedermeier refers to work in the fields of literature, music, the visual arts and interior design in the period between the years 1815 (

), the end of the

, and 1848, the year of the European revolutions and contrasts with the Romantic era which preceded it. Typical Biedermeier poets are Annette von Droste-Hülshoff,

Adelbert von Chamisso Adelbert von Chamisso (; 30 January 1781 – 21 August 1838) was a German poet, writer and botanist. He was commonly known in French as Adelbert de Chamisso (or Chamissot) de Boncourt, a name referring to the family estate at Boncourt. Life ...

, Eduard Mörike, and

Wilhelm Müller Johann Ludwig Wilhelm Müller (7 October 1794 – 30 September 1827) was a German lyric poet, best known as the author of ''Die schöne Müllerin'' (1821) and ''Winterreise'' (1823). These would later be the source of inspiration for two song cy ...

, the last three named having well-known musical settings by

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

Hugo Wolf Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf (; ; 13 March 1860 – 22 February 1903) was an Austrian composer, particularly noted for his art songs, or Lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Romantic music, so ...

and

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

respectively. Young Germany (''Junges Deutschland'') was a loose group of

Vormärz ' (; English: ''pre-March'') was a period in the history of Germany preceding the 1848 March Revolution in the states of the German Confederation. The beginning of the period is less well-defined. Some place the starting point directly after ...

writers which existed from about 1830 to 1850. It was essentially a youth movement (similar to those that had swept

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and originated in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

). Its main proponents were Karl Gutzkow,

Heinrich Laube Heinrich Laube (18 September 1806 – 1 August 1884), German dramatist, novelist and theatre-director, was born at Szprotawa, Sprottau in Prussian Silesia. Life He studied theology at university of Halle, Halle and university of Breslau, Breslau ...

, Theodor Mundt and Ludolf Wienbarg;

Ludwig Börne Karl Ludwig Börne (born Judah Löw Baruch; 6 May 1786 – 12 February 1837) was a German-Jewish political writer and satirist, who is considered part of the Young Germany movement. Early life Karl Ludwig Börne was born Loeb Baruch on 6 M ...

and

Georg Büchner Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büchn ...

were also considered part of the movement. The wider circle included Willibald Alexis, Adolf Glassbrenner and Gustav Kühne.

Realism and Naturalism

Poetic Realism (1848–1890): 19th-century German Realism in literature, emerging after 1848, focused on depicting everyday life with accuracy and restraint. Writers moved away from Romantic idealism, emphasizing the middle class, social norms, and personal morality. Rather than political upheaval, they portrayed quiet, internal conflicts and the subtle ironies of bourgeois life. This literary realism aimed for poetic realism, blending realistic detail with refined artistic form. Key authors include

Theodor Fontane Theodor Fontane (; 30 December 1819 – 20 September 1898) was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language Literary realism, realist author. He published the first of his novels, for which he i ...

, Gustav Freitag, Gottfried Keller, Wilhelm Raabe,

Adalbert Stifter Adalbert Stifter (; 23 October 1805 – 28 January 1868) was a Bohemian- Austrian writer, poet, painter, and pedagogue. He was notable for the vivid natural landscapes depicted in his writing and has long been popular in the German-speaking wo ...

, Theodor Storm. Their works reflect a belief in gradual societal progress, often with a sense of quiet resignation and irony, avoiding extremes of sentimentality or revolutionary zeal. Naturalism (1880–1900): German Naturalism in literature, emerging in the late 19th century, aimed to depict life with scientific objectivity and detailed realism. Influenced by French Naturalists like Émile Zola, it focused on the deterministic effects of environment, heredity, and social conditions on individuals, especially the marginalized. Naturalist writers rejected idealization, portraying poverty, disease, and moral decay with stark precision. Dialogue often mimicked actual speech patterns, including dialects. Prominent figures include Gerhart Hauptmann, whose play Before Sunrise exemplifies the movement. German Naturalism sought to expose societal injustices, emphasizing a mechanistic, cause-and-effect view of human behavior shaped by forces beyond individual control. Key authors include naturalistic writers were

Gerhart Hauptmann Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of Naturalism (literature), literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into h ...

Arno Holz Arno Hermann Oscar Alfred Holz (26 April 1863 – October 1929) was a German naturalist poet and dramatist. He is best known for his poetry collection ''Phantasus'' (1898). He was nominated for a Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel prize in litera ...

and

Johannes Schlaf Johannes Schlaf (21 June 1862 in Querfurt – 2 February 1941 in Querfurt) was a German playwright, author, and translator and an important exponent of Naturalism. As a translator he was important for exposing the German-speaking world to the wo ...

20th century

1900 to 1933

(c. 1900) * Weimar literature (1919–1933) * Symbolism *

(1910–1920) *

(1914–1924) *

(Neue Sachlichkeit)

Well known writers of the 20th century

A well-known writer of

German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy ...

was

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...

. A Kafka novel, ''

The Trial ''The Trial'' () is a novel written by Franz Kafka in 1914 and 1915 and published posthumously on 26 April 1925. One of his best-known works, it tells the story of Josef K., a man arrested and prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority, wi ...

'', was ranked #3 on

Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century The 100 Books of the Century () is a list of the hundred most memorable books of the 20th century, regardless of language, according to a poll performed during the spring of 1999 by the French retailer Fnac and the Paris newspaper ''Le Monde''. ...

. Kafka's iconic writing style that captures themes of bureaucracy and existentialism resulted in the coining of the term “Kafkaesque.” Kafka's writing allowed a peek into his melancholic life, one where he felt isolated from all human beings, one of his inspirations for writing. Kafka is therefore widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature with his work been interpreted as exploring themes of alienation, existential anxiety, guilt, and

absurdity Absurdity is the state or condition of being unreasonable, meaningless, or so unsound as to be irrational. "Absurd" is the adjective used to describe absurdity, e.g., "Tyler and the boys laughed at the absurd situation." It derives from the Lat ...

. His best-known works include the novella ''

The Metamorphosis ''The Metamorphosis'' (), also translated as ''The Transformation'', is a novella by Franz Kafka published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, ''The Metamorphosis'' tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes to find himself inex ...

'' (1915) and the novels ''

'' (1924) and '' The Castle'' (1926).

Nazi Germany

*National Socialist literature: see Gelöbnis treuester Gefolgschaft,

Blut und Boden Atrocity is a German Heavy metal music, metal band from Ludwigsburg that formed in 1985. History First started in 1985 as Instigators and playing grindcore, Atrocity arose as a death metal band with their debut EP, ''Blue Blood'', in 1989, foll ...

Nazi propaganda Propaganda was a tool of the Nazi Party in Germany from its earliest days to the end of the regime in May 1945 at the end of World War II. As the party gained power, the scope and efficacy of its propaganda grew and permeated an increasing amou ...

Under the Nazi regime, some authors went into exile ('' Exilliteratur'') and others submitted to censorship (" inner emigration", ''Innere Emigration'') *''Inner Emigration'': Gottfried Benn, Werner Bergengruen,

Hans Blüher Hans Blüher (17 February 1888 – 4 February 1955) was a German writer and philosopher. He attained prominence as an early member and "first historian" of the Wandervogel movement. He was aided by his taboo breaking rebellion against schools and ...

, Hans Heinrich Ehrler, Hans Fallada,

Werner Finck Werner Finck (2 May 1902 – 31 July 1978) was a German ''Kabarett'' comedian, actor and author. Not politically motivated by his own admission but just a "convinced individualist", he became one of Germany's leading cabaret artists under the co ...

, Gertrud Fussenegger, Ricarda Huch,

Ernst Jünger Ernst Jünger (; 29 March 1895 – 17 February 1998) was a German author, highly decorated soldier, philosopher, and entomology, entomologist who became publicly known for his World War I memoir ''Storm of Steel''. The son of a successful busin ...

Erich Kästner Emil Erich Kästner (; 23 February 1899 – 29 July 1974) was a German writer, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known primarily for his humorous, socially astute poems and for children's books including ''Emil and the Detectives'' and '' Lisa an ...

, Volker Lachmann, Oskar Loerke, Erika Mitterer, Walter von Molo, Friedrich Reck-Malleczewen, Richard Riemerschmid, Reinhold Schneider, Frank Thiess,

Carl von Ossietzky Carl von Ossietzky (; 3 October 1889 – 4 May 1938) was a German journalist and Pacifism, pacifist. He was the recipient of the 1935 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in exposing the clandestine German rearmament. As editor-in-chief of the magazin ...

, Ernst Wiechert * in exile:

Ernst Bloch Ernst Simon Bloch (; ; July 8, 1885 – August 4, 1977; pseudonyms: Karl Jahraus, Jakob Knerz) was a German Marxist philosopher. Bloch was influenced by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Karl Marx, as well as by apocalyptic and religious thinker ...

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

, Hermann Broch,

Alfred Döblin Bruno Alfred Döblin (; 10 August 1878 – 26 June 1957) was a German novelist, essayist, and doctor, best known for his novel '' Berlin Alexanderplatz'' (1929). A prolific writer whose œuvre spans more than half a century and a wide variety of ...

Lion Feuchtwanger Lion Feuchtwanger (; 7 July 1884 – 21 December 1958) was a German Jewish novelist and playwright. A prominent figure in the literary world of Weimar Republic, Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht. ...

, Bruno Frank, A. M. Frey, Anna Gmeyner,

Oskar Maria Graf Oskar Maria Graf (22 July 1894 – 28 June 1967) was a German-American writer who wrote several narratives about life in Bavaria, mostly autobiographical. In the beginning, Graf wrote under his real name Oskar Graf. After 1918, his works for ne ...

, Heinrich Eduard Jacob, Hermann Kesten, Annette Kolb, Siegfried Kracauer, Emil Ludwig,

Heinrich Mann Luiz Heinrich Mann (; March 27, 1871 – March 11, 1950), best known as simply Heinrich Mann, was a German writer known for his sociopolitical novels. From 1930 until 1933, he was president of the fine poetry division of the Prussian Academy ...

, Klaus Mann,

, Balder Olden,

Rudolf Olden Rudolf Olden (14 January 1885 in Stettin – 18 September 1940) was a German lawyer and journalist. In the Weimar Republic, Weimar period he was a well-known voice in the political debate, a vocal opponent of the Nazis, a fierce advocate of h ...

, Robert Neumann, Erich Maria Remarque, Ludwig Renn, Alice Rühle-Gerstel,

Otto Rühle Karl Heinrich Otto Rühle (; 23 October 1874 – 24 June 1943) was a German Marxist active in opposition to both the First World War, First and Second World Wars as well as a Council communism, council communist theorist. Early years Otto was ...

Alice Schwarz-Gardos Alice Schwarz-Gardos (; 31 August 1916 in Vienna – 14 August 2007 in Tel Aviv) was an Austrian-born Israeli journalist and author. She was noted for her work as an editor for German-language newspapers in Israel, and was editor-in-chief of the ...

, Anna Seghers, B. Traven,

Bodo Uhse Bodo Uhse (12 March 1904 – 2 July 1963) was a German writer, journalist and political activist. He was recognised as one of the most prominent authors in East Germany. Early years Uhse came from a Prussian Junker family with a long tradition ...

Franz Werfel Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of '' The Forty ...

, Arnold Zweig,

Stefan Zweig Stefan Zweig ( ; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian writer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular writers in the world. Zweig was raised in V ...

, Joseph Roth.

1945 to 1989

* Post-war literature of

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

(1945–1967): Heinrich Böll,

; Holocaust literature (

Paul Celan Paul Celan (; ; born Paul Antschel; 23 November 1920 – c. 20 April 1970) was a German-speaking Romanian poet, Holocaust survivor, and literary translation, literary translator. He adopted his pen name (an anagram of the Romanian spelling Ancel ...

, Edgar Hilsenrath) * GDR Literature in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

: Johannes R. Becher, Jurek Becker, Wolf Biermann,

, Uwe Johnson, Sarah Kirsch, Günter Kunert, Reiner Kunze,

Heiner Müller Heiner Müller (; 9 January 1929 – 30 December 1995) was a German (formerly East German) dramatist, poet, writer, essayist and theatre director. His "enigmatic, fragmentary pieces" are a significant contribution to postmodern drama and postd ...

Ulrich Plenzdorf Ulrich Plenzdorf (; 26 October 1934 – 9 August 2007) was a German author and dramatist. Life Born in Berlin, Plenzdorf studied Philosophy in Leipzig, but graduated with a degree in film. He found work at DEFA. He became famous in both East Ge ...

, Anna Seghers,

Christa Wolf Christa Wolf (; Ihlenfeld; 18 March 1929 – 1 December 2011) was a German novelist and essayist. She is considered one of the most important writers to emerge from the former East Germany.Ingeborg Bachmann Ingeborg Bachmann (; 25 June 1926 – 17 October 1973) was an Austrian poet and author. She is regarded as one of the major voices of German-language literature in the 20th century. In 1963, she was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature b ...

, Thomas Bernhard,

Friedrich Dürrenmatt Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant- ...

Max Frisch Max Rudolf Frisch (; 15 May 1911 – 4 April 1991) was a Swiss playwright and novelist. Frisch's works focused on problems of identity (social science), identity, individuality, Moral responsibility, responsibility, morality, and political commi ...

, Elfriede Jelinek,

Postmodern literature Postmodern literature is a form of literature that is characterized by the use of metafiction, unreliable narration, self-reflexivity, and intertextuality, and which often thematizes both historical and political issues. This style of experimen ...

Christian Kracht Christian Kracht (; born 29 December 1966) is a Swiss author. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages. Early life and education Kracht was born in Saanen in the Canton of Bern. Kracht's father, Christian Kracht Sr., was chie ...

, Hans Wollschläger,

Christoph Ransmayr Christoph Ransmayr (; born 20 March 1954) is an Austrian writer. Life Born in Wels, Upper Austria, Ransmayr grew up in Roitham near Gmunden and the Traunsee. From 1972 to 1978 he studied philosophy and ethnology in Vienna. He worked there as ...

, Marlene Streeruwitz, Rainald Goetz, Clemens J. Setz, Oswald Wiener * W.G. Sebald *

Arno Schmidt Arno Schmidt (; 18 January 1914 – 3 June 1979) was a German author and translator. He is little known outside of German-speaking areas, in part because his works present a formidable challenge to translators. Although not among Germany's mo ...

21st century

Much of contemporary poetry in the German language is published in literary magazines. DAS GEDICHT, for instance, has featured German poetry from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Luxemburg for the last twenty years. *Science-Fiction, Fantasy: Andreas Eschbach, Frank Schätzing, Wolfgang Hohlbein, Bernhard Hennen, Walter Moers * Pop Literature:

Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre (born 27 January 1975) is a German writer, journalist and television presenter. Life and career Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre was born in Bremen on 27 January 1975. He is the son of a pastor and belongs to the noble fam ...

Migrant literature Migrant literature, sometimes written by migrants themselves, tells stories of immigration. Settings Although any experience of migration would qualify an author to be classed under migrant literature, the main focus of recent research has been on ...

: Wladimir Kaminer, Feridun Zaimoglu,

Rafik Schami Rafik Schami () (born Suheil Fadel ()Clauer, Markus (n.d.) (trans. by Jonathan Uhlaner) Goethe Institut. 23 June 1946) is a Syrian-German author, storyteller and critic. Biography Born in Syria in 1946, Schami is the son of a baker from a Chr ...

*Poetry: Jürgen Becker, Kerstin Becker, Marcel Beyer, Theo Breuer, Rolf Dieter Brinkmann, Marc Engelhard,

Hans Magnus Enzensberger Hans Magnus Enzensberger (11 November 1929 – 24 November 2022) was a German author, poet, translator, and editor. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Andreas Thalmayr, Elisabeth Ambras, Linda Quilt and Giorgio Pellizzi. Enzensberger was regarde ...

, Aldona Gustas, Ernst Jandl, Thomas Kling, Uwe Kolbe, Friederike Mayröcker, Durs Grünbein, Kurt Marti, Karl Krolow, Elke Erb, Ulrike Draesner, Ann Cotten, Monika Rinck, Judith Zander *Aphorists: Hans Kruppa *Thriller: Ingrid Noll, Zoë Beck *Novel: Wilhelm Genazino,

Herta Müller Herta Müller (; born 17 August 1953) is a Romanian-German novelist, poet, essayist and recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature. She was born in Nițchidorf (; ), Timiș County in Romania; her native languages are German and Romanian. Si ...

Siegfried Lenz Siegfried Lenz (; 17 March 19267 October 2014) was a German writer of novels, short stories and essays, as well as dramas for radio and the theatre. In 2000 he received the Goethe Prize on the 250th Anniversary of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's b ...

Charlotte Link Charlotte Link (born 5 October 1963) is a German writer. She is among the most successful contemporary authors writing in German. Life Charlotte Link is the daughter of well-known German writer and journalist Almuth Link. She wrote her first w ...

, Rainald Goetz, Anna Kaleri,

Norbert Scheuer Norbert Scheuer (born December 16, 1951, in Prüm, West Eifel, Westeifel, Rhineland-Palatinate, Rheinland-Palatinate) is a German author. He earns a living as an IT system programmer for Deutsche Telekom and now lives in Keldenich, Kall, North Rhi ...

Dietmar Dath Dietmar Dath (born 3 April 1970) is a German author, journalist and translator. Life Born in Rheinfelden, Dath grew up in Schopfheim, West Germany, and finished high school in Freiburg. After civilian service he studied German studies and phys ...

, Kathrin Schmidt, Burkhard Spinnen, Robert Menasse, Martin Walser, Andreas Mand,Twenty-Third Annual Bibliography
Max Kade Center for Contemporary German Literature at the Washington University, in St. Louis,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, Retrieved 13 December 2011

Zsuzsa Bánk Zsuzsa Bánk (born 24 October 1965 in Frankfurt am Main) is a German writer. Early life and education Her parents moved to Germany after the Hungarian revolution of 1956 and she studied journalism, political science and literature at the Johan ...

, Marc Degens, Jenny Erpenbeck, Klaus Modick,

, Elfriede Jelinek,

Daniel Kehlmann Daniel Kehlmann (; born 13 January 1975) is a German-language novelist and playwright of both Austrian and German nationality.Franzobel, Clemens J. Setz, Julya Rabinowich, Olga Flor * Literaturport (in German): audio clips of contemporary literature, many read out by the authors themselves * German-American literature: Paul-Henri Campbell, Walter Abish

Children's literature

The

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm (1786–1859), were Germans, German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of Oral tradit ...

( or ),

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

(1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were

academics who together collected and published

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of folktales, popularizing stories such as "

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

" ("), "

The Frog Prince "The Frog Prince; or, Iron Henry" (, literally "The Frog King or the Iron Henry") is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in Grimms' Fairy Tales, ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 1). Traditionally, it is the fir ...

" (""), "

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). Hansel and Gretel are siblings who are abandoned in a forest and fall into the hands of a witch ...

" ("), " Town Musicians of Bremen" (""), "

Little Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" () is a fairy tale by Charles Perrault about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th-century European Fable, folk tales. It was later retold in the 19th-century by the Broth ...

" (""), "

Rapunzel "Rapunzel" ( ; ; or ) is a German fairy tale most notably recorded by the Brothers Grimm and it was published in 1812 as part of '' Children's and Household Tales'' (KHM 12). The Grimms' story was developed from the French literary fairy tale ...

", "

Rumpelstiltskin "Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of ''Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about an imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a woman's firstborn child. Plot I ...

" (""), "

Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...

" (""), and "

Snow White "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...

" (""). Their first collection of folktales, '' Children's and Household Tales'' (), was first published in 1812. The rise of

in 19th-century Europe revived interest in traditional folk stories, which to the Brothers Grimm represented a pure form of national literature and culture. With the goal of researching a scholarly treatise on folktales, they established a methodology for collecting and recording folk stories that became the basis for

folklore studies Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

. Between 1812 and 1857 their first collection was revised and republished many times, growing from 86 stories to more than 200. In addition to writing and modifying folktales, the brothers wrote collections of well-respected Germanic and Scandinavian

mythologies Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

, and in 1838 they began writing a definitive German dictionary (), which they were unable to finish. The popularity of the Grimms' collected folktales has endured. They are available in more than 100 translations and have been adapted by renowned filmmakers, including

Lotte Reiniger Charlotte "Lotte" Reiniger (2 June 1899 – 19 June 1981) was a German film director and the foremost pioneer of silhouette animation. Her best known films are ''The Adventures of Prince Achmed'', from 1926, the oldest surviving feature-length a ...

and

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

, in films such as ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...

''.

German women's literature

File:Roswitha of Gandersheim.jpg, Hrotsvitha File:Hildegard von Bingen.jpg,

Hildegard of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen Benedictines, OSB (, ; ; 17 September 1179), also known as the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictines, Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mysticism, mystic, visiona ...

File:Ausstellung 'Der Zeit voraus - Drei Frauen auf eigenen Wegen' - Stadtmuseum Rapperswil - Marianne Ehrmann-Brentano 'Kleine Fragmente für Denkerinnen', Isny 1789, Porträt M.E. 2015-09-05 16-19-24 -crop-.JPG, Marianne Ehrmann File:Caroline von Wolzogen.jpg, Caroline von Wolzogen File:Droste-Hülshoff 2.jpg, Annette von Droste-Hülshoff File:G-63-11113 Postkarte-Portraetfotografie-E-Hennings-ONLINE.jpg,

Emmy Hennings Emmy Hennings (born Emma Maria Cordsen, 17 January 1885 – 10 August 1948) was a German poet and performing artist, and co-founder of the Dadaist Cabaret Voltaire with her second husband Hugo Ball. Known as the "star of the show," Hennings h ...

File:Nelly Sachs 1966.jpg,

Nelly Sachs Nelly Sachs (; 10 December 1891 – 12 May 1970) was a German–Swedish poet and playwright. Her experiences resulting from the rise of the Nazism, Nazis in World War II Europe transformed her into a poignant spokesperson for the grief and yearn ...

File:Anne Frank passport photo, May 1942 (cropped).jpg,

Anne Frank Annelies Marie Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – February or March 1945)Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new li ...

File:Lesung "Atemschaukel", Potsdam, Juli 2010.jpg,

File:Cornelia Funke, Frankfurter Buchmesse 2023.jpg,

Cornelia Funke Cornelia Maria Funke (; born 10 December 1958) is a German author of children's fiction. Born in Dorsten, North Rhine-Westphalia, she began her career as a social worker before becoming a Book illustration, book illustrator. She began writing no ...

Nobel Prize laureates

The Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to German-language authors fourteen times (as of 2020), tying with French-language authors, or the second most often after English-language authors (with 32). The following writers are from Germany unless stated otherwise: *1902

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; ; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th ce ...

*1908

Rudolf Christoph Eucken Rudolf Christoph Eucken (; ; 5 January 184614 September 1926) was a German philosopher. He received the 1908 Nobel Prize in Literature "in recognition of his earnest search for truth, his penetrating power of thought, his wide range of vision, a ...

*1910

Paul Heyse Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse (; 15 March 1830 – 2 April 1914) was a German writer and translator. A member of two important literary societies, the '' Tunnel über der Spree'' in Berlin and '' Die Krokodile'' in Munich, he wrote novels, poetry ...

*1912

*1919 Carl Spitteler (Swiss) *1929

*1946

*1966

*1972 Heinrich Böll *1981

Elias Canetti Elias Canetti (; 25 July 1905 – 14 August 1994; ; ) was a German-language writer, known as a Literary modernism, modernist novelist, playwright, memoirist, and nonfiction writer. Born in Ruse, Bulgaria, to a Sephardi Jews, Sephardic Jewish fam ...

(Bulgarian, later British) *1999

*2004 Elfriede Jelinek (Austrian) *2009

(Romanian by birth, later naturalized in West Germany) *2019

(Austrian)

References

Literature

English

*''Cambridge History of German Literature''. Watanabe-O’Kelly, Helen, ed. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997. *Konzett, Matthias Piccolruaz. ''Encyclopedia of German Literature''. Routledge, 2000. *''The Oxford Companion to German Literature'', ed. by Mary Garland and Henry Garland, 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, 1997 * Grange, William, ed. ''Historical dictionary of German literature to 1945'' (2011
online
* Pasley, Malcolm, ed. ''Germany: A Companion to German Studies''. Methuen & Co., 1972 (2nd ed. 1982) * * * Ed.: Alexandra Merley Hill, Hester Baer. German Women's Writing in the Twenty-first Century. United Kingdom, Camden House, 2015.

German

*Bernd Lutz, Benedikt Jeßing (eds.): Metzler Lexikon Autoren: Deutschsprachige Dichter und Schriftsteller vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart, Stuttgart und Weimar: 4., aktualisierte und erweiterte Auflage 2010 * Theo Breuer, Aus dem Hinterland. Lyrik nach 2000, Sistig/Eifel : Edition YE, 2005, * Theo Breuer, Kiesel & Kastanie (ed.): Von neuen Gedichten und Geschichten, Sistig/Eifel : Edition YE, 2008, * Jürgen Brocan, Jan Kuhlbrodt (eds.), Umkreisungen. 25 Auskünfte zum Gedicht, Leipzig: Poetenladen Literaturverlag, 2010 * Manfred Enzensperger (ed.), Die Hölderlin-Ameisen: Vom Finden und Erfinden der Poesie, Cologne: Dumont, 2005 * Peter von Matt, Die verdächtige Pracht. Über Dichter und Gedichte, Munich tc.: Hanser, 1998 * Joachim Sartorius (ed.), Mimima Poetica. Für eine Poetik des zeitgenössischen Gedichts, Cologne : Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 1999

Anthologies

*German poetry from 1750 to 1900, ed. by Robert M. Browning. Foreword by Michael Hamburger, New York : Continuum, 1984, 281 pp. (German Library), *Twentieth-Century German Poetry: An Anthology, edited by Michael Hofmann, New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2008 (Paperback Edition), 544 pp., *

Heinz Ludwig Arnold Heinz Ludwig Arnold (29 March 1940 – 1 November 2011) was a German literary journalist and publisher. He was also a leading advocate for contemporary literature. Early years Heinz Ludwig Arnold attended schools in Bochum and, subsequentl ...

(ed.), TEXT+KRITIK: Lyrik des 20. Jahrhunderts (1999). *Verena Auffermann, Hubert Winkels (ed.), Beste Deutsche Erzähler (2000–) * Hans Bender (ed.), In diesem Lande leben wir. Deutsche Gedichte der Gegenwart (1978) *Hans Bender, Was sind das für Zeiten. Deutschsprachige Gedichte der achtziger Jahre (1988) * Christoph Buchwald, Uljana Wolf (ed.), Jahrbuch der Lyrik 2009 (2009) * Karl Otto Conrady (ed.), Der Große Conrady. Das Buch deutscher Gedichte. Von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart (2008). *

Hugo von Hofmannsthal Hugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal (; 1 February 1874 – 15 July 1929) was an Austrian novelist, libretto, librettist, Poetry, poet, Playwdramatist, narrator, and essayist. Early life Hofmannsthal was born in Landstraße, Vienna, th ...

(ed.), Deutsche Erzähler I (1912, 1979) * Marie Luise Kaschnitz (ed.), Deutsche Erzähler II (1971, 1979) *Boris Kerenski & Sergiu Stefanescu, Kaltland Beat. Neue deutsche Szene (1999) * Axel Kutsch (ed.), Versnetze. Deutschsprachige Lyrik der Gegenwart (2009) * Andreas Neumeister, Marcel Hartges (ed.), Poetry! Slam! Texte der Pop-Fraktion (1996)

External links

*
Sophie
– A digital library of works by German-speaking women * {{DEFAULTSORT:German Literature

Periodization

Middle Ages

Old High German

Middle High German

Early Modern period

German Renaissance and Reformation

Baroque period

18th century

The Enlightenment

Sensibility

Sturm und Drang

19th century

German Classicism

Romanticism

Biedermeier and Vormärz

Realism and Naturalism

20th century

1900 to 1933

Well known writers of the 20th century

Nazi Germany

1945 to 1989

21st century

Children's literature

German women's literature

Nobel Prize laureates

See also

References

Literature

English

German

Anthologies

External links