Johann Gottfried von Herder

Herder, Johann Gottfried von (1744–1803), German writer, critic, philosopher, and clergyman. A leader of the Sturm und Drang (Storm and Stress) movement in German literature, his ideas about poetry, art, language, religion, and history influenced many prominent theorists and writers. Opposed to German imitations of classic works, he translated folk songs as well as the plays of Shakespeare. These translations helped inspire the work of the German Romanticists who followed him, particularly Goethe.