Lenz

The posthumously published fragmentary narrative "Lenz" (1839) is considered one of the masterpieces of German-language prose. In his only narrative, Büchner depicts the progressive mental illness of the Sturm und Drang author Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (1751-1792) during his brief stay with the pastor Johann Friedrich Oberlin in January/February 1778. The innovative narrative techniques allow the reader to experience Lenz's illness; the boundaries between the inner and outer worlds, reason and madness seem to dissolve. The study edition presents the text in its historical form and transmission, reflecting the current state of editorial science.