Christoph Martin Wieland, a well-known poet and man of letters during the German Rococo period, was born on September 5, 1733, in Oberholzheim near Biberach, Germany. His literary works encompassed the major intellectual movements of his era, from rationalism and the Enlightenment to classicism and pre-Romanticism.
Initially, Wieland's writing reflected his upbringing as the son of a Pietist parson, and his early works from the 1750s were characterized by strong devotion and religious themes. However, during the 1760s, he embraced a more worldly, rationalistic philosophy and discovered a more sensual aspect of his nature. Although some of his work from this period included erotic poetry, he eventually struck a balance between sensuality and rationalism, which became the hallmark of his mature writing.
His novel, Geschichte des Agathon, or History of Agathon, is regarded as the first Bildungsroman or novel of psychological development and chronicles his own process of personal growth. Between 1762 and 1766, he translated 22 of William Shakespeare's plays into German, which proved to be influential models for the Sturm und Drang dramatists.
After serving as a professor of philosophy at Erfurt from 1769 to 1772, Wieland became the tutor to the Weimar princes. Although he was not a successful teacher, he remained an admired man of letters and spent the rest of his life in or near the court circle. In 1773, he established Der teutsche Merkur, which became a prominent literary periodical for 37 years.
In his later years, Wieland considered himself a classicist and dedicated most of his time to translating works of Greek and Roman authors. His allegorical verse epic, Oberon, foreshadowed many aspects of Romanticism. He passed away on January 20, 1813, in Weimar, Saxe-Weimar.