German literature - Definition and Overview

German literature comprises those literary texts originating within Germany proper and written in the German language. The term may also denote any literature composed primarily in the German language, though in other countries; for example Austria, Switzerland, the former Czechoslovakia, etc.

Some of the major movements or time periods of German literature include:

• High and late medieval German literature
• Baroque
• Enlightenment
• Sturm und Drang
• Classicism
• Romanticism
• Young Germany
• Naturalism
• Fin de siècle
• Expressionism
• Dadaism

For well-known authors who wrote or write literature in the German language see list of German-language authors and list of German language poets.