Hugh Barr Nisbet

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) is the foremost literary figure of the German Enlightenment. He is the founder of modern German literature, who urged his compatriots to look to Shakespeare and other English writers rather than France for inspiration. He was also a brilliant controversialist, and his thoughts on philosophy and religion, which challenged many traditional assumptions, gave rise to intense polemics. This book is the first comprehensiveaccount of Lessing's life, work, and thought for over a century. It contains numerous new new insights, and its German edition, published in 2008, was awarded two literary prizes. In keeping with Lessing'sown cosmopolitanism, it presents him in the intellectual, social, and cultural context of eighteenth-century Europe and now makes his achievement fully accessible to English-speaking readers.

His Life, Works, and Thought

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

This volume provides a valuable contribution to our knowledge of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century intellectual life inside and outside Germany. —Prof. Karl S. Guthke, Harvard University This elegant collection of essays ranges across eighteenth and nineteenth-century thought, covering philosophy, science, literature and religion in the ‘Age of Goethe.’ A recognised authority in the field, Nisbet grapples with the major voices of the Enlightenment and gives pride of place to the figures of Lessing, Herder, Goethe and Schiller. These eleven essays range widely in their compass of thought and intellectual discourse, dealing incisively with themes including the philosophical implications of literature and the relationship between religion, science and politics. The result is an accomplished reflection on German thought, but also on its rebirth, as Nisbet argues for the relevance of these Enlightenment thinkers for the readers of today. The first half of this collection focuses predominantly on eighteenth-century thought, where names like Lessing, Goethe and Herder, but also Locke and Voltaire, feature. The second has a wider chronological scope, discussing authors such as Winckelmann and Schiller, while branching out from discussions of religion, philosophy and literature to explore the sciences. Issues of biology, early environmentalism, and natural history also form part of this volume. The collection concludes with an examination of changing attitudes towards art in the aftermath of the ‘Age of Goethe.’ The essays in this volume have been previously published separately, but are brought together in this collection to present Nisbet’s widely-acclaimed perspectives on this fascinating period of German thought. It will be of interest to scholars and students of the intellectual life of Europe during the Enlightenment, while its engaging and lucid style will also appeal to the general reader.

Collected Essays

On the Literature and Thought of the German Classical Era

eine Biographie

Lessing

Louis Menand

A. Walton Litz

Glyn P. Norton

George Alexander Kennedy

Christa Knellwolf

Lawrence S. Rainey

Christopher Norris

Marshall Brown

Alastair J. Minnis

Claude Julien Rawson

Maynard Mack Professor of English Claude Rawson

Jessica Osborn

Ian Richard Johnson

Raman Selden

Rafey Habib

Christa Knellwolf King

This 1999 volume is the standard work of reference on early modern literary criticism in Europe.

The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism: Volume 3, The Renaissance

Hugh Barr Nisbet

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