Goethe publishes The Sorrows of Young Werther
Poet involved
What happened
In 1774, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe published The Sorrows of Young Werther. The epistolary novel presented intense feeling, frustrated love and alienation. It became a European sensation and a key work of Sturm und Drang.
Literary impact
Werther helped define a new literary cult of sensibility, subjectivity and rebellious emotion. Its influence on Romantic poetry was immense, encouraging writers to treat personal feeling as historically and aesthetically significant.
Source: Wikipedia
