It was this banishment that inspired him to return to theatre to portray his views and wrote Nathan the Wise. Lessing was a poet, philosopher and critic. His theoretical and critical writings are remarkable for their often witty and ironic style and their unerring polemics.
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Hereby the stylistic device of dialogue met with his intention of looking at a thought from different angles and searching for elements of truth even in the arguments made by his opponents. For him this truth was never solid or something which could be owned by someone but always a process of approaching.
Early in his life, Lessing showed interest in the theatre. In his theoretical and critical writings on the subject—as in his own plays—he tried to contribute to the development of a new type of theatre in Germany. With this he especially turned against the then predominant literary theory of Gottsched and his followers. Lessing's Hamburgische Dramaturgie ran critiques of plays that were performed in the Hamburg Theatre, but after dealing with dissatisfied actors and actresses, Lessing redirected his writings to more of an analysis on the proper uses of drama. Lessing advocated the outline of drama in Aristotle's Poetics.
He believed The French Academy had devalued the uses of drama through their neoclassical rules of form and separation of genres. His repeated opinions on this issue influenced theatre practitioners who began the movement of rejecting theatre rules known as Sturm und Drang, or "storm and stress". He also supported serious reception of Shakespeare's works. He worked with many theatre groups e. In Hamburg he tried with others to set up the German National Theatre.
Today his own works appear as prototypes of the later developed bourgeois German drama. His theoretical writings Laocoon and Hamburg Dramaturgy Hamburgische Dramaturgie set the standards for the discussion of aesthetic and literary theoretical principles. Lessing advocated that dramaturgs should carry their work out working directly with theatre companies rather than in isolation. In his religious and philosophical writings he defended the faithful Christian's right for freedom of thought. He argued against the belief in revelation and the holding on to a literal interpretation of the Bible by the predominant orthodox doctrine through a problem later to be called Lessing's Ditch.
Lessing outlined the concept of the religious "Proof of Power": How can miracles continue to be used as a base for Christianity when we have no proof of miracles? Historical truths which are in doubt cannot be used to prove metaphysical truths such as God's existence. As Lessing says it: In the final leg of his life, Lessing threw himself into an intense evaluation of theology and religion.
Education and first dramatic works.
He did much of his studying by reading manuscripts he found while working as a librarian. While working for the Duke, he formed a close friendship with a family by the name of Reimarus. The family held an unpublished manuscript that provided a complete attack on the historicity of Christian revelation. Despite discouragement from his brother, Karl, Lessing began publishing pieces of the manuscript in pamphlets known as Fragments from an Unnamed Author.
Believing that Gottsched had misunderstood the German soul, Lessing felt that the Germans had much more in common with the English.
Toshimasa Yasukata
Shakespeare was, therefore, a much more appropriate model for German writers than French tragedians such as Pierre Corneille. In , Lessing published a collection of fables and a treatise on their structure and content. After serving as secretary to General Bogislaw von Tauentzien, the governor of Breslau Wroclaw, Poland from , Lessing returned to Berlin and published two of his most important works: Laokoon and Minna von Barnhelm A major aesthetic document of Enlightenment Germany, Laokoon discusses the differences in form and content between literature and the visual arts.
Minna von Barnhelm , considered to be the first modern comedy in German literature, has been praised for its convincing depiction of the period following the Seven Year War and for its realistic characters. In the play, Major Tellheim, a Prussian officer unjustly accused of a crime, feels that his honor has been besmirched and cancels his engagement to Minna, a lively, strong-willed woman from Saxony.
Using her resourcefulness and insight into human nature, Minna succeeds in resolving the conflict.
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing - Wikipedia
Though the venture proved to be unsuccessful, it gave Lessing occasion to write his Hamburg Dramaturgy , a collection of reviews and short essays on fundamental principles of the drama. In his work, Lessing attacks the German preoccupation with French culture, and he offers suggestions for a uniquely German theater: Although he had the chance to discover several hidden treasures in the library, Lessing never really felt comfortable working under conditions imposed by the Duke of Braunschweig.
By , both his child and his wife had died. It was here that his relationship with Karoline Neuber , a famous German actress, began. He translated several French plays for her, and his interest in theatre grew. During this time, he wrote his first play, The Young Scholar. Neuber eventually produced the play in From to , Lessing lived in Leipzig and Berlin. He began to work as a reviewer and editor for the Vossische Zeitung and other periodicals. Lessing formed a close connection with his cousin, Christlob Mylius, and decided to follow him to Berlin.
The publication ran only four issues, but it caught the public's eye and revealed Lessing to be a serious critic and theorist of drama.
In he took his master's degree in Wittenberg. It was during this time that he wrote his famous Laocoon, or the Limitations of Poetry. In Lessing returned to Berlin, leaving in to work for three years at the Hamburg National Theatre.
Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim
Actor-manager, Konrad Ackermann, began construction on Germany's first permanent theatre in Hamburg. The owners hired Lessing as the theatre's critic of plays and acting, which would later be known as dramaturgy based on his own words , making Lessing the very first dramaturge. The theatre's main backer was Abel Seyler , a former currency speculator who since became known as "the leading patron of German theatre. His work in Hamburg formed the basis of his pioneering work on drama, titled Hamburgische Dramaturgie.
Unfortunately, because of financial losses due to pirated editions of the Hamburgische Dramaturgie , the Hamburg Theatre closed just three years later. His tenure there was energetic, if interrupted by many journeys. In , for example, he accompanied Prince Leopold to Italy. She died in after giving birth to a short-lived son. On 15 February , Lessing, aged 52, died during a visit to the wine dealer Angott in Brunswick. Lessing was also famous for his friendship with Jewish-German philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. A recent biography of Mendelssohn's grandson, Felix , describes their friendship as one of the most "illuminating metaphors [for] the clarion call of the Enlightenment for religious tolerance ".
He began publishing heated pamphlets on his beliefs which were eventually banned. It was this banishment that inspired him to return to theatre to portray his views and to write Nathan the Wise.
Early in his life, Lessing showed interest in the theatre. In his theoretical and critical writings on the subject—as in his own plays—he tried to contribute to the development of a new type of theatre in Germany. With this he especially turned against the then predominant literary theory of Gottsched and his followers. Lessing's Hamburgische Dramaturgie ran critiques of plays that were performed in the Hamburg Theatre, but after dealing with dissatisfied actors and actresses, Lessing redirected his writings to more of an analysis on the proper uses of drama.
Lessing advocated the outline of drama in Aristotle's Poetics. He believed the French Academy had devalued the uses of drama through their neoclassical rules of form and separation of genres. His repeated opinions on this issue influenced theatre practitioners who began the movement of rejecting theatre rules known as Sturm und Drang "Storm and Stress". He worked with many theatre groups e. In Hamburg he tried with others to set up the German National Theatre.