Gerstenberg ist unser gröste Poet vielleicht

Although they never met and exchanged only one letter during their lifetime, Danish-German poet and literary critic Heinrich Wilhelm Gerstenberg and German theologian, philosopher and literary critic Johann Gottfried Herder took great interest in each other’s work. Indeed, during the late 1760s Gerstenberg’s writings on literature, history and translation arguably had an immense impact on Herder, providing him with some of the major themes and insights for the Sturm und Drang movement, that took place in Germany around 1770 with Herder in a leading role. On the basis of Herder’s writings and letters from the 1760s throughout his life, this article examines for the first time to what extent Gerstenberg informed Herder’s views on ancient Nordic literature, Shakespeare, Ossian and the concept of genius.