Klopstock, Friedrich Gottlieb, 1724-1803

Germany's first major poet of the eighteenth-century, Klopstock was a significant influence on the Sturm und Drang poetic movement to follow. A few of his most important works include The Messiah (1748-1773); a number of religiously inspired stage tragedies, especially The Death of Adam (1757), Solomon (1764), and David (1772); and a large body of shorter poetry. His essay, "On Divine Poetry," written as an introduction to The Messiah, inaugurates a new critical concern with the emotional effects of poetry in its claim that a work of genius must "move the soul."

Kemble, John Philip, 1757-1823

Popular English actor, theatre manager, and member of the significant Kemble theatrical family. Kemble's popularity dramatically increased in 1785 after acting opposite of his renowned sister, Sarah Siddons, in a production of Shakespeare's Macbeth. As the manager of the Drury Lane and Covent Garden theatres in London, Kemble's innovations led to improvement in the reputation of the theatrical profession.