How did Sturm und Drang writers respond to Enlightenment rationalism?

The Sturm und Drang ("Storm and Stress") movement emerged in the late 18th century as a direct reaction against the Enlightenment’s "cult of Rationalism." Rather than prioritizing the order, symmetry, and logic favored by Enlightenment thinkers, Sturm und Drang writers sought to overthrow these conventions by exalting nature, intense feeling, and human individualism.12

Influenced by the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Johann Georg Hamann, these writers argued that the fundamental truths of existence were best apprehended through sensory experience and faith rather than rational analysis. In their literature, they rejected the rigid structural constraints of French Neoclassicism—which had been promoted by critics like Johann Christoph von Gottsched—in favor of works that prioritized raw character and emotional grandeur, often drawing inspiration from Shakespeare.1

This movement, which featured prominent figures such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller, served as a brief but powerful manifestation of emotional expression in German literature before its leading members moved toward the development of German classical literature.12