Herder in Histories of Literature

Histories of German literature present Johann Gottfried Herder as one of the intellectual fathers of the Sturm und Drang. The Brockhaus encyclopedia of 1957 summarized the matter for a general readership by saying that the Sturm und Drang received its theoretical foundation, above all, from Johann Georg Hamann and Herder. “Hamann und Herder” was a typical formula in this context. Four texts by Herder are mentioned: Journal meiner Reise im Jahre 1769; Auch eine Philosophie der Geschichte zur Bildung der Menschheit; and his two contributions to Von deutscher Art und Kunst, the Ossian essay and “Shakespear.” These should, we are told, be regarded as marking the birth of the Sturm und Drang.

Journal meiner Reise im Jahre 1769, also known as the Reisejournal, was not published until much later; Von deutscher Art und Kunst appeared in 1773; Auch eine Philosophie der Geschichte zur Bildung der Menschheit in 1774; and, while Goethe and Lenz read these texts, their impact on others is in many cases less certain. It is, therefore, only partly true that Herder formulated ideas and beliefs that other writers then received from him. Herder may have articulated what was “in the air” and what corresponded to the aspirations of the younger generation. Nevertheless, two questionable statements seem to perpetuate themselves: that Hamann and Herder share all their fundamental beliefs and that the writers of Goethe's generation were inspired by them.