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Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, German dramatist, critic, and writer on philosophy and aesthetics. He helped free German drama from the influence of classical and French models and wrote plays of lasting importance. His critical essays greatly stimulated German letters and combated conservative dogmatism.

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, (born Jan. 22, 1729, Kamenz, Upper Lusatia, Saxony—died Feb. 15, 1781, Braunschweig, Brunswick), German playwright and critic. After writing several light comedies, he became a theatre critic in Berlin in 1748. His play Miss Sara Sampson (1755) was the first German domestic tragedy.

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (January 22, 1729 – February 15, 1781) was a German writer, philosopher, publicist, and art critic, was one of the most outstanding representatives of the Enlightenment era. His theoretical and critical writings are remarkable for their often witty and ironic style, and he often worked his ...

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing - Enlightenment, Dramatist, Critic: Being extremely poor, in 1770 Lessing had no choice but to accept the badly paid post of librarian at Wolfenbüttel, which he had earlier visited in 1766. His years there were unhappy and tempestuous but rich in achievement. His tragedy Emilia Galotti was performed in 1772.

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing was a German philosopher, dramatist, publicist and art critic, and a representative of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the development of German literature.