German writers, from Luther and Goethe to Heine, Brecht, and Gunter Grass, have had a profound influence on the modern world. This Very Short Introduction presents an engrossing tour of the course of German literature from the late Middle Ages to the present, focussing especially on the last 250 years. Emphasizing the economic and religious context of many masterpieces of German literature, it highlights how they can be interpreted as responses to social and political changes within an often violent and tragic history. The result is a new and clear perspective which illuminates the power of German literature and the German intellectual tradition, and its impact on the wider cultural world.

Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. The Bourgeois and the Official: A Historical Overview; 2. The Laying of the Foundations (to 1781); 3. The Age of Idealism (1781-1832); 4. The Age of Materialism (1832 to 1914); 5. Traumas and Memories (1914-); Further Reading & References; Index

Reviews

Boyle has a sure touch and an obvious authority...this is a balanced and lively introduction to German...literature. Ben Hutchinson, TLS