This thesis is based on eleven Storm and Stress dramas of Lenz and Kllnger. It discusses extensively the lack of freedom of their Storm and Stress characters in the society of the day, as seen in the dramas, and also examines these characters' search for freedom and the meaning they attribute to freedom. In addition, this investigation attempts to establish a concept of ultimate freedom and to show that some "Stürmer und Dränger" possess it and are thereby able to carry out their mission of social improvement while finding individual happiness and fulfillment. The term "Stürmer und Dränger" is used throughout the thesis to mean only the Storm and Stress characters in the plays discussed and does not refer to the writers of this period. / Arts, Faculty of / Central Eastern Northern European Studies, Department of / Graduate