Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Klopstock, Friedrich Gottlieb

KLOPSTOCK, FRIEDRICH GOTTLIEB , a German poet; born in Quedlinburg, July 2, 1724. In freeing German poetry from the exclusive reign of the Alexandrine verse, he was the founder of a new era in German literature. His great epic &ldquo;Messiah&rdquo; (1748-1773), at first partly written in prose and changed afterward to hexameters, made him famous. His most finished work, however, was doubtless his &ldquo;Odes.&rdquo; Schiller and Goethe were artistically indebted to him. He died in Hamburg, March 14, 1803.