Editing Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (section)

{{Short description|German Enlightenment writer (1729–1781)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox writer
| name             = Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
| image            = Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.PNG
| caption          = Portrait of Lessing by [[Anna Rosina de Gasc|Anna Rosina Lisiewska]] during his time as dramaturg of [[Abel Seyler]]'s [[Hamburgische Entreprise|Hamburg National Theatre]] (1767/1768)
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1729|1|22|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Kamenz]], [[Upper Lusatia]], [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxony]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1781|2|15|1729|1|22|df=y}}
| death_place      = [[Braunschweig]], [[Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg|Brunswick-Lüneburg]], Holy Roman Empire
| occupation       = Writer, philosopher, [[dramatist]], [[publicist]], [[art critic]], and [[dramaturg]]
| notableworks     = ''[[Miss Sara Sampson]]'', ''[[Emilia Galotti]]'', ''[[Minna von Barnhelm]]'', ''[[Nathan the Wise]]'', ''Laocoön'', ''[[Hamburgische Dramaturgie]]''
| spouse           = [[Eva König]]
| alma_mater       = [[Leipzig University]]<br>[[Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg|University of Wittenberg]]
| signature        = Lessing Unterschrift.gif
}}

'''Gotthold Ephraim Lessing''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|ɛ|s|ɪ|ŋ}};<ref>{{Cite Collins Dictionary|Lessing}}</ref> {{IPA|de|ˈɡɔthɔlt ˈʔeːfʁa.ɪm ˈlɛsɪŋ|lang|De-Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.ogg}}; 22 January 1729 – 15 February 1781) was a German [[philosopher]], [[dramatist]], [[publicist]] and [[art critic]], and a representative of [[the Enlightenment]] era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the development of [[German literature]]. He is widely considered by theatre historians to be the first [[dramaturg]] in his role at [[Abel Seyler]]'s [[Hamburgische Entreprise|Hamburg National Theatre]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Luckhurst|first=Mary|year=2006|title=Dramaturgy: A Revolution in Theatre|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=IM383Aa75AMC&dq=Dramaturgy%3A%20A%20Revolution%20in%20Theatre&pg=PA24 24]|quote=Gotthold Ephraim Lessing was the world's first officially appointed dramaturg.}}</ref>

The word [[Dramaturgy]] first appears in his work ''[[Hamburg Dramaturgy|Hamburg Dramaturgy.]]''<ref>{{Cite book |title=What is dramaturgy? |date=1995 |publisher=P. Lang |isbn=978-0-8204-2177-3 |editor-last=Cardullo |editor-first=Bert |series=American university studies |location=New York}}</ref>