The study inquires into the social conditions governing literary life in 18th century Hessen-Darmstadt as an example of such connections at the time. The approach is empirical and based on regional history. This involves the evaluation of extensive sources, some of them archival, extending from school regulations and appointment documents, letters and journals to the literary works of such figures as Goethe or Klinger. After a discussion of the scholarly academy and the university as institutions of higher learning, the study turns to literary activity among intellectuals and the integration of courtly and female readerships into the process of literary production. The conclusion is that at a functional level literary activity in the 18th century was invariably related to superordinate endeavors by individuals to define and establish an identity for themselves within corporative society.