KLOPSTOCK, FRIEDRICH GOTTLIEB

born July 2, 1724, Quedlinburg, Saxony died March 14, 1803, Hamburg German epic and lyric poet whose subjective vision marked a break with the rationalism that had dominated German literature in the early 18th century. After reading John Milton's Paradise Lost in the translation by the influential Swiss critic J.J. Bodmer, Klopstock chose a religious theme for the epic poem he had planned to write while still a student. In 1749 the first three cantos of his epic poem Der Messias (The Messiah), written in unrhymed hexameters, appeared. The emotional handling of the theme created a sensation. Better to fulfill his poetic mission, Klopstock left his studies at the University of Leipzig and became a private tutor at Langensalza, Thuringia. There he fell in love with a cousin, the Fanny of his odes. Disappointed in romance, he went to Zrich (1750), staying for six months with Bodmer. An invitation and an annuity from Frederick V of Denmark took him to Copenhagen, where he remained for 20 years. In 1754 he married Margarethe (Meta) Moller of Hamburg, who was the Cidli of his odes. Grief over her early death affected his creativity. A collection of his Oden (Odes) was published in 1771. In 1770 he retired to Hamburg, where the last five cantos of Der Messias were produced with waning inspiration three years later. In 1791 he married Johanna Elisabeth von Winthem, his first wife's niece and a close friend for many years. Despite the success of Der Messiasthe work was translated into 17 languagesit is chiefly as a lyric poet that Klopstock established his reputation. The free verse forms he used in his hymnlike odes permitted a more natural and expressive use of language. He anticipated the Romantics in this, as well as in choosing patriotic themes for his odes and in his search for themes deriving from Teutonic mythology. Three of his six plays deal with the ancient Germanic hero Arminius.