Friedrich Maximilian Klinger
born Feb. 17, 1752, Frankfurt am Main
died March 9, 1831, Dorpat, Estonia
dramatist and novelist, a
representative of the German literary
revolt against rationalism in favour of
emotionalism known as the Sturm und
Drang movement. Indeed, it took its name
from his play Der Wirrwarr, oder Sturm
und Drang (1776; “Confusion, or Storm
and Stress”).
The reckless, rebellious style of
Klinger’s early life seems the very
embodiment of Sturm und Drang in its
simpler interpretation. His numerous
plays, written at top speed and in the
fury of inspiration, are usually built
around a Promethean hero, but they lack
probability, psychological depth, and
dramatic form. Many of their scenes and
incidents are borrowed from Shakespeare.
The best of these works, Die Zwillinge
(1776; “The Twins”), like Schiller’s Die
Räuber (“The Robbers”), deals with a
favourite theme of the period, the
enmity of brothers.
After touring for a few years as
theatre poet with a troupe of actors,
Klinger in 1780 entered the Russian army
and rose eventually to the rank of
general. He married a natural daughter
of the empress Catherine, filled several
important posts, and was curator of the
University of Dorpat (1803–17). In his
later years, having outgrown the angry
resentment of his early period, he wrote
two tragedies on the Medea theme and a
cycle of nine romances that express a
Rousseauan longing for simplicity and
idyllic nature.
