The study is concerned with the way the love of Shakespeare evinced by the German theatre and its audiences began and developed in the 18th century. In fact, this is a history of 'love at second sight'. When the German stages discovered Shakespeare in the second half of the 18th century, they initially performed the dramas in a heavily adapted form so as to arouse the enthusiasm of their audiences for the Elizabethan dramatist. The study provides a detailed description of pre-romantic Shakespeare adaptations, performance practice, audience responses, and also of an aspect that is frequently overlooked: the impressive commitment to Shakespeare displayed by many protagonists of German cultural life.