Sturm und Drang

Sturm und Drang (literally: "storm and urge") was a revolutionary protest movement in German literature during the latter half of the 18th century, so named after a play by Friedrich Maximilian Klinger. It marks the return of romanticism to what was seen as an overly rationalist literary tradition. The period is variously characterized as having lasted from 1767 - 1785 (most common view), 1769 - 1786, or 1765 - 1795. Its best known manifestation is the 1774 novel Die Leiden des jungen Werthers (The Sorrows of Young Werther) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

The movement also informed some classical music of the period, resulting in stormy minor key writing in pieces such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni (in the overture and Don Giovanni's descent into hell) and certain symphonies by Joseph Haydn, such as the Symphony No. 45.

Other notable literary works include:

Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz

Christoph Heinrich H�lty