Gottfried August Bürger

Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah)
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Gottfried August Bürger ranks – together with Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart and Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz – among the great lyrical poets during the brief creative outburst of young German writers between 1767 and 1786 known as

Sturm und Drang

. The epoch brought a wealth of aesthetic innovation as well as a turn toward popular subject matter and tone, often accompanied by a critique of absolutism and the oppression of the many by the ruling few. Bürger is one of the pioneers of the

Kunstballade

(lyrical ballad), a new form of action poetry in Germany which derived inspiration from the centuries-old, orally transmitted

Volksballade

(folk ballad) and a major impetus both from Johann Gottfried Herder’s championship of folk poetry and the rapidly growing influence of…

2392 words

Citation: Knapp, Gerhard P.. "Gottfried August Bürger". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 December 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5443, accessed 19 March 2024.]

5443 Gottfried August Bürger 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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