Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/785

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GERMANY (Language and Literature)
769

edition of the Nibelungen, did much to promote a love for the study of the old German dialects and the poetry connected with them. The brothers Wilhelm and Jakob Grimm are the more immediate founders of this new branch of philological and poetical investigation. Benecke, Lachmann, and Simrock labored in the same direction, and more recently Moritz Haupt; also Franz Pfeifer, Oskar Schade, Zarncke, Holtzmann, Hoffmann von Fallersleben, Bartsch, &c.—The German war of independence against Napoleon I. produced some striking patriotic songs from Prof. Arndt of Bonn (1769-1860), and Theodor Körner (1791-1813), the gallant soldier-poet, and author of Leier und Schwert (“Lyre and Sword”). Some of the lyrical poets of the romantic school whom we have named also became distinguished for their patriotic effusions, especially Schenkendorf and Stägemann. Wilhelm Müller of Dessau (1794-1827), author of the admirable Griechenlieder, may be classed among patriotic poets. The maiden efforts of Friedrich Rückert (1789-1866), one of the best lyrical and didactic poets of Germany, and celebrated as much for his imitations of troubadour songs as for his versions of oriental poetry, were also inspired by the war against the French. Another who came forward as a champion of national independence was Uhland (1787-1862), the chieftain of the modern Swabian school, and one of the leading poets of Germany. Stuttgart, the seat of the great publishing house of Cotta and of the critic Wolfgang Menzel, was the headquarters of this school. Hebel (1760-1826), whose Alemannische Gedichte were greatly admired by Goethe, belonged to it by the Swabian dialect and spirit of his songs, although he lived at an earlier period. An eminent lyrical poet of this school was Justinus Kerner. Gustav Schwab, Pfizer, the critic and historian, Karl Mayer, and Mörike, all belong more or less to the Swabian school. A new direction was given to literary activity by the political excitement immediately preceding and succeeding the French revolution of 1830. Ludwig Borne (1786-1837) and Heinrich Heine (1800-1856) are regarded as its heralds, the former by his pungent and comprehensive political satires, the latter by his keen insight and peculiar lyrical genius. Heine exercised a wide influence in the literary world. As a poet, he had a peculiar gift of uniting the tragic and comic in a felicitous and racy manner, which made him the idol of a new school of authors who styled themselves “Young Germany,” but who partook much less of Heine's poetical gifts than of his political sympathies. Karl Gutzkow (born in 1811) was the head of this school. He is the author of Die Ritter vom Geiste and Zauberer von Rom, and of many other novels, and several dramas. The other principal representatives of “Young Germany” are Heinrich Laube (born in 1806), Gustav Kühne (1806), and Theodor Mundt (1808). An eminent author of this period is Baron Sternberg (1806), author of Diane and Paul, and of many other works which hold up the mirror to the social and political condition of his country. Another famous writer and amateur liberal politician of this class is Prince Pückler-Muskau (1785-1871), author of Briefe eines Verstorbenen, and of other piquant books. The taste for novels of a political and social tendency has been characteristic of German writers since the early part of this century. The novels of Gutzkow, Laube, and many other contemporary German writers, all belong to this category, while Gustav Freytag has gained a high reputation by several excellent novels, among which the best known is Soll und Haben (“Debit and Credit”). The line of historical novelists was opened by Meissner (1753-1807); he was followed by Karoline von Pichler (1769-1843), Tromlitz (Von Witzleben, 1773-1839), Van der Velde (1779-1824), Karl Spindler (1796-1855), author of Der Jude, Der Bastard, and other novels, which enjoyed great popularity; Rellstab, Storch, Rau, and Koenig (1790-1869), author of Die Clubisten in Mainz (1847). Berneck or Bernd von Guseck (born in 1803), Mügge (1806-'61), author of Toussaint and other excellent novels, Kühne and Heller (1813-'71), are all contributors to this class of novels. Here belong also the semi-historical novels of Louise Mühlbach (Mme. Mundt, 1814-'73), which have enjoyed a very wide popularity, but are not entitled to high rank either from a literary point of view or as interpreters of history. A far higher merit must be awarded to Zschokke (1771-1848), one of the best German prose writers of recent times, author of many excellent historical and romantic works, and of Stunden der Andacht, a religious work, which has passed through many editions. Heinrich Steffens, the Norwegian philosopher and naturalist (1773-1845), wrote German novels based upon Scandinavian history, which are replete with interest. Another historical novelist is Wilhelm Häring, known by the pseudonyme of Wilibald Alexis (1797-1871), who imitated so skilfully the manner and style of Sir Walter Scott that several of his works were translated into foreign languages and passed for some time as the productions of the great English romancer. The most famous of the kind is “Walladmor.” Hauff, a genial novelist, whose Lichtenstein takes high rank among historical romances; Clauren, a licentious writer, but one whose novels have been read extensively; and Hackländer, the author of Soldatenleben, Handel und Wandel, and many other works, and the founder and conductor of the widely known journal Ueber Land und Meer, may be mentioned here; also Berthold Auerbach (1812), who attracted immediate attention by his first work, Schwarzwälder Dorfgeschichten, and has since taken his place among the leaders of German fiction, his novel Auf der Höhe having gained a very wide reputation in Germany,