Understanding Lessing - Ter-Nedden's book makes this possible. Lessing is a challenging author. Although the poet of the Enlightenment is among the creators of modern consciousness drama, his work cannot be grasped through empathy with the actions of the literary figures. It is the work of a philologist who programmatically transforms literature from literature and places great importance on involving the 'thinking mind' in the critical appropriation of the literary heritage. Gisbert Ter-Nedden takes it upon himself to decipher Lessing's language of key quotes and to thoughtfully trace the astute reinterpretation and reconfiguration of his literary sources. In doing so, he not only establishes a new philological foundation for engaging with Lessing's work, but also highlights the literary ethos of this oldest modern dramatist of the Germans.