Between 1730 and 1770 the philosopher Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten and the poet Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock described in their writings the characteristic features of literary texts using examples of passages which were striking in a pictorial or descriptive, auditory and/or graphical way. Both drew attention to the ability of sensory signs and images with the aid of which man discovers his world. As a result, literature moved from the periphery to the central focus of epistemology and was re-evaluated in its abilities, actions, obligations and intentions.