''Versuch einer kritischen Dichtkunst für die Deutschen'' (English: ''Essay on a German Critical Poetic Theory'') is a 1730

treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions."Treat ...

by the German philosopher, author, and

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

figure

Johann Christoph Gottsched Johann Christoph Gottsched (2 February 1700 – 12 December 1766) was a German philosopher, author and critic of the Enlightenment. Biography Early life He was born at Juditten (Mendeleyevo) near Königsberg (Kaliningrad), Brandenburg-Pru ...

. The treatise was the first effort to codify into

German poetry German literature () comprises those literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy and to a less ...

the standards advocated for by

Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux (; 1 November 1636 – 13 March 1711), often known simply as Boileau (, ), was a French poet and critic. He did much to reform the prevailing form of French poetry, in the same way that Blaise Pascal did to reform the ...

, who in turn was inspired by

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

. Boileau was an eminent force for

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aestheti ...

; Gottsched served a similar role for German verse.https://www.deutschestextarchiv.de/book/show/gottsched_versuch_1730 DTA

References

{{reflist 1730 non-fiction books Treatises Age of Enlightenment Books about poetry Classicism German non-fiction books