The study analyses literary criticism in Vormärz. The examined works provide a critical view of contemporary literature as well as a diagnosis of the present time. The study uses the category of latency in order to describe recurring structures in the discourse of the present time in the Vormärz. On the basis of this category three narratives can be identified to classify works of Vormärz writers, such as Ludolf Wienbarg, Robert Prutz, Karl Gutzkow. The analysis of the narratives allows reference to the situation of related disciplines (Sociology, History of Literature, Philosophy).