The most famous German writers. famous german writers
German literature has given the world many wonderful writers. The names of many of them remained in the history of literature. The works of these authors are studied at school and at universities. These are famous German writers whose names everyone knows, even if they are not familiar with their works. However, most of the titles of their works are also well known to readers.
German writers and poets of the 18th century
Goethe is one of the most famous writers in the whole world. His full name sounds like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. He was not only a poet, but also a naturalist, a great thinker and statesman. He was born in 1749 and lived for 82 years. Goethe wrote poems and comedies. He is known to the whole world as the author of the book "The Suffering of Young Werther". The story of how this work greatly influenced the minds of young people - Goethe's contemporaries is widely known. And a wave of suicides swept across Germany. Young men imitated the protagonist of the work - Werther - and committed suicide because of unhappy love. In the pockets of many of the young suicides, a volume of The Sorrows of Young Werther was found.
Wilhelm Heinze is a no less talented writer, however, for the most part, he is familiar only to literary critics and philologists. In Russia, he is known for the novel "Ardingello and the Blessed Isles" translated by Petrovsky. Born in 1746, died in 1803. And only in 1838 was Heinze's collected works published.
Children's German writers of the 18th century
Everyone read or listened to the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm as children. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are German writers known to everyone since childhood. In addition to writing fairy tales, they were also linguists and researchers of their national culture. In addition, the brothers are considered the founders of scientific Germanic studies and Germanic philology. They were born with a difference of one year: Jacob - in 1785, and Wilhelm - in 1786. Jacob outlived his brother by four years. The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm are loved by children of all nations. Many, as they say, grew up on their "Bremen Town Musicians", "Snow White" and "Little Red Riding Hood".
19th century writers
Nietzsche is one of the first whose name comes to mind when German writers of the 19th century are remembered. Few read his works, but many have heard of him and his philosophy. The full name of the author is Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche. He was born in 1844 and lived for 56 years. He was not only a writer, but also a philosopher, as well as a philologist. Unfortunately, his creative activity ended in 1889 due to illness, and he gained popularity as a writer only after his death. The key work of Nietzsche's work is the book Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
Theodore Storm is another 19th century writer. This is both a poet and a prose writer. Storm was born in 1817 and lived for 70 years. The most famous works of Storm are the short stories "Angelica" and "The Rider on the White Horse".
20th century in German literature
Heinrich Böll is a laureate Nobel Prize for 1972. He was born in 1917 and has been writing stories and poems since early childhood. However, he began to print his works only in 1947. In Bell's adult prose, there is a lot about the war and post-war issues. Since he himself survived the war and was even a prisoner. More famous are Bell's collections of short stories Not Just for Christmas, When the War Started and When the War Ended, as well as the novel Where Have You Been, Adam? In 1992, Bell's novel "The Angel Was Silent" was published, it was translated into Russian in 2001. Previously, the author himself dismantled it into a series of stories for the sake of a fee, since he and his family needed money.
Remarque is also one of the most famous writers. Erich Maria Remarque took a middle name for a pseudonym in honor of his mother. He was born in 1898, in 1916 he was sent to fight on the Western Front, was seriously wounded, spent a lot of time in the hospital. All his main novels are anti-war, for this reason the Nazis even banned his books. The most famous novels are All Quiet on the Western Front, Three Comrades, Borrowed Life, Arc de Triomphe, and Love Thy Neighbor.
Franz Kafka is an Austrian but is considered one of the main German-language authors. His books are unique in their absurdism. Most of them were published posthumously. He was born in 1883 and died of tuberculosis in 1924. His collections are famous: "Punishment", "Contemplation" and "Hunger". As well as the novels The Castle and The Trial.
IN world literature made a great contribution by German writers. The list of names can be continued for a long time. There are two more names to add.
Mann Brothers
Heinrich Mann and Thomas Mann are brothers, both famous German writers. Heinrich Mann - prose writer, born in 1871, worked in the book trade and publishing house. In 1953, the Berlin Academy of Arts established the annual Heinrich Mann Prize. His most famous works: "Teacher Gnus", "Promised Land", "The Young Years of King Henry IV" and " mature years King Henry IV."
Paul Thomas Mann was 4 years younger than his brother. He is a Nobel laureate. His literary activity began with the creation of the magazine "Spring Thunderstorm". Then he wrote articles for the magazine "XX Century", which was published by his brother. Fame came to Thomas with the novel "Buddenbrooks". He wrote it based on the history of his own family. His other famous novels are Doctor Faustus and The Magic Mountain.
German literature has given the world many wonderful writers. The names of many of them remained in the history of literature. The works of these authors are studied at school and at universities. These are famous German writers whose names everyone knows, even if they are not familiar with their works. However, most of the titles of their works are also well known to readers.
German writers and poets of the 18th century
Goethe is one of the most famous writers in the whole world. His full name sounds like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. He was not only a poet, but also a naturalist, a great thinker and statesman. He was born in 1749 and lived for 82 years. Goethe wrote poems and comedies. He is known to the whole world as the author of the book "The Suffering of Young Werther". The story of how this work greatly influenced the minds of young people - Goethe's contemporaries is widely known. And a wave of suicides swept across Germany. Young men imitated the protagonist of the work - Werther - and committed suicide because of unhappy love. In the pockets of many of the young suicides, a volume of The Sorrows of Young Werther was found.
Wilhelm Heinze is a no less talented writer, however, for the most part, he is familiar only to literary critics and philologists. In Russia, he is known for the novel "Ardingello and the Blessed Isles" translated by Petrovsky. Born in 1746, died in 1803. And only in 1838 was Heinze's collected works published.
Children's German writers of the 18th century
Everyone read or listened to the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm as children. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are German writers known to everyone since childhood. In addition to writing fairy tales, they were also linguists and researchers of their national culture. In addition, the brothers are considered the founders of scientific Germanic studies and Germanic philology. They were born with a difference of one year: Jacob - in 1785, and Wilhelm - in 1786. Jacob outlived his brother by four years. The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm are loved by children of all nations. Many, as they say, grew up on their "Bremen Town Musicians", "Snow White" and "Little Red Riding Hood".
19th century writers
Nietzsche is one of the first whose name comes to mind when German writers of the 19th century are remembered. Few read his works, but many have heard of him and his philosophy. The full name of the author is Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche. He was born in 1844 and lived for 56 years. He was not only a writer, but also a philosopher, as well as a philologist. Unfortunately, his creative activity ended in 1889 due to illness, and he gained popularity as a writer only after his death. The key work of Nietzsche's work is the book Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
Theodore Storm is another 19th century writer. This is both a poet and a prose writer. Storm was born in 1817 and lived for 70 years. The most famous works of Storm are the short stories "Angelica" and "The Rider on the White Horse".
20th century in German literature
Heinrich Böll is the recipient of the Nobel Prize in 1972. He was born in 1917 and has been writing stories and poems since early childhood. However, he began to print his works only in 1947. In Bell's adult prose, there is a lot about the war and post-war issues. Since he himself survived the war and was even a prisoner. More famous are Bell's collections of short stories Not Just for Christmas, When the War Started and When the War Ended, as well as the novel Where Have You Been, Adam? In 1992, Bell's novel "The Angel Was Silent" was published, it was translated into Russian in 2001. Previously, the author himself dismantled it into a series of stories for the sake of a fee, since he and his family needed money.
Remarque is also one of the most famous writers. Erich Maria Remarque took a middle name for a pseudonym in honor of his mother. He was born in 1898, in 1916 he was sent to fight on the Western Front, was seriously wounded, spent a lot of time in the hospital. All his main novels are anti-war, for this reason the Nazis even banned his books. The most famous novels are All Quiet on the Western Front, Three Comrades, Borrowed Life, Arc de Triomphe, and Love Thy Neighbor.
Franz Kafka is an Austrian but is considered one of the main German-language authors. His books are unique in their absurdism. Most of them were published posthumously. He was born in 1883 and died of tuberculosis in 1924. His collections are famous: "Punishment", "Contemplation" and "Hunger". As well as the novels The Castle and The Trial.
German writers have made a great contribution to world literature. The list of names can be continued for a long time. There are two more names to add.
Mann Brothers
Heinrich Mann and Thomas Mann are brothers, both famous German writers. Heinrich Mann - prose writer, born in 1871, worked in the book trade and publishing house. In 1953, the Berlin Academy of Arts established the annual Heinrich Mann Prize. His most famous works are: “Teacher Gnus”, “Promised Land”, “Young Years of King Henry IV” and “Mature Years of King Henry IV”.
Paul Thomas Mann was 4 years younger than his brother. He is a Nobel laureate. His literary activity began with the creation of the magazine "Spring Thunderstorm". Then he wrote articles for the magazine "XX Century", which was published by his brother. Fame came to Thomas with the novel "Buddenbrooks". He wrote it based on the history of his own family. His other famous novels are Doctor Faustus and The Magic Mountain.
Goals:
- development of cognitive interest in the literature of the country of the language being studied;
- expanding the range of regional knowledge about the work of Goethe, Schiller and Heine;
- development of aesthetic views and feelings of students;
- learning to listen with a general scope of content;
- to systematize lexical material and prepare students for a message on a topic based on interdisciplinary connections.
Equipment: posters and stands dedicated to the work of the great German classics, illustrations for their works, statements by famous people about the work of poets, lines from their works, an exhibition of works by poets, a cassette with musical works, a tape recorder.
Sayings about poets:
1. We were brought up on it, it is dear to us and in many ways affected our development. (F. Dostoevsky about Schiller)
2. In the distant midnight light
I lived by your muse
And for me my genius Goethe
Peacemaker of life was! (V. Zhukovsky)3. There is not the slightest possibility of denying the bewitching charm of Heine's poetry. (D.I. Pisarev)
Idioms:
- Willst du die anderen verstehen, blick in dein eigenes Herz. (F. Schiller)
- Edel sei der Mensch, hilfsreich und gut. (J. W. Goethe)
- Wir wollen auf Erden gluecklich sein, und wollen nicht mehr darben. (H. Heine)
Introduction
Music sounds. Against the background of music, the teacher pronounces the words:
Willkommen liebe Gaeste zu unserer Stunde der Poesie. Man lernt Deutsch in der ganzen Welt. Die deutsche Sprache ist eine Sprache der Kultur und der Wissenschaft. Wer kennt nicht die grossen deutschen Dichter J. W. Goethe, F. Schiller, H. Heine? Ihre Dramen spielt man in allen Theatern der Welt. Wir schaetzen J. W. Goethe, F. Schiller, H. Heine als hervorragende Realisten und grosse Denker ihrer Zeit. Wir sprechen heute ueber ihre Schaffen. Die Werke von diesen Dichtern wurden von Lermontow, Tuettschew, Fet, Block uebersetzt.
Sprecher. J. W. Goethe wurde am 28. August 1749 in Frankfurt am Main geboren. Er erhielt eine gruendliche Bildung im Elternhaus. Goethe studierte an der Leipziger Universitat. In dieser Zeit schrieb er das Gedicht “Heidenroeslein”. Goethe widmete dieses Gedicht der Frau, die er liebte. Damals war er 22 Jahre alt.
Against the background of music, 2 students read the poem by heart.
| Heidenroeslein(goethe) Sah ein Knab ein Roslein stehn, |
wild Rose(D. Usov) The boy saw a rose |
Sprecher. Der junge Goethe liebte sehr die Natur. Er machte oft Wanderungen in die Berge, in den Wald. In vielen lyrischen Gedichten besingt Goethe die Schoenheit der Natur.
Against the background of music, students recite the poems “Meeresstille”, “Gefunden” in German and Russian by heart.
(See the poem “Gefunden” in the appendix or on page 31 of I.L. Bim’s textbook “Steps 5”)
Sprecher. Goethe liebte es sehr nach Ilmenau zu fahren, um sich dort ein wenig zu erholen. Von heir aus wanderte er oft auf den Berg Kickelhahn, zu einem kleinen Haus im Walde. Da wohnte Goethe im Herbst 1783 acht Tage lang. In dieser Zeit erstand sein bekanntes Gedicht “Wanderers Nachtlied”. Goethe schrieb es mit Bleistift an die hoelzerne Wand des Hauschens:
Uber allen Gipfeln
East Ruh,
In allen Wipfeln
Spuerest du
Kaum einen Hauch
Die Vogleinschwiegen im Walde
Warte nur, balde
Ruhest du aux.
Die Lehrerin. Wunderschoen, nothing war? Es ist nicht leicht Poesie aus einer Sprache in die andere zu uebersetzen.Hort drei Uebersetzungen dieses Gedichten und sagt: “Welche Ubersetzung gefallt euch mehr? Warum?”
(Students read translations of Russian poets, compare)
Die Musik zu diesem Gedicht schrieben beruehmte Komponisten A. Warlamow, A. Rubinstein, S. Tanejew, G. Swiridow, M. Ippolitow-Iwanow und andere.
(Students listen to the romance "Mountain Peaks" in Russian.)
Sprecher. J. W. Goethe interessierte sich nicht nur fuer Poesie, sondern auch fuer Kunst. Er schuf viele Dramen und Prosawerke. Sein grosstes Werk ist die Tragodie “Faust”, an dem der geniale Dichter fast sein ganzes Leben lang (1774-1831) gearbeitet hat. Hier versucht Goethe die Grundfragen des menschlichen daseins zu loesen. Die Grundidee des ganzen Werkes kann man aus Fausts letztem Monolog verstehen: (Against the background of music, students recite a monologue in German and Russian by heart.)
Faust findet zum Schluss das hoechste Ziel des Lebens in der Arbeit fur das Glueck des freien werktaetigen Menschheit. Der grosse russische Dichter A.S. Puschkin sagte, dass “Faust” die grosste Schoepfung des poetischen Geistes ist.
Die Lehrerin. J. W. Goethe interessierte auch fuer Sprachen. Der junge Goethe lernte nicht nur Deutsch, Latein und Italienisch, sondern auch Englisch, Griechisch und Franzoesisch Um diese Sprachen gut zu erlernen,schrieb er Briefe in allen diesen Sprachen an sich selbst. Ererfand dazu ein Rollenspiel. (Listening. Text from the textbook. Conversation on what was heard.)
Sprecher. Goethe hatte vielseitige Interesse. In Goethes Wohnhaus kann man auch wissenschaftliche Sammlungen zur Geologie, Mineralogie und Botanik sehen. Allgemein bekannt ist seine grosse liebe fur Malerei und Musik. Der grosse Goethe starb im Alter von 83 Jahren in Weimar, wo er am Hofe des Herzogs lebte. Goethe war hier als Staatsmann taetig.
Die Lehrerin. In Weimar vor dem Nationalgalerie steht das Goethe-Schiller Denkmal. Dieses Denkmal symbolisiert die Freundschaft zwischen Goethe und Schiller.
Sprecher. Friedrich Schiller wurde in dem kleinen suddeutschen Stadchen Marbach am Neckar geboren. Er war 10 Jahre junger als Goethe. Der Junge war begabt und lernte fleissig. Er lebte zu einer Zeit, da Deutschland in mehr als 300 kleine Staaten zersplittert war. Ueberall herrschte feudaler Despotismus und Tyrannei. Das erfuhr auch Schiller frueh genug. Schillers Vater war Arztgehilfe beim Militar. Mit 13 Jahren musste er gegen seinen Willen auf die Militarschule des Herzogs von Wurtenberg gehen, um dort Medizin zu studieren. Auf der Schule herrschte strengste Disziplin. Man musste kein offenes Wort reden. In dieser Schule lernte junger Schiller den Despotismus hassen. Friedrich Schiller schrieb viele Gedichte, Balladen, Dramen. Seine Werke widmete Schiller dem Menschen, dem Glueck, der Liebe. Darunter sind zwei Gedichte: "Die Hoffnung" und "Das Maedchen aus der Fremde". (Students read these poems by heart against the background of music)
Die Hoffnung (F. Schiller)
Es reden und traumen die Menschen viel
von besseren kuenftigen Tagen.
Nach einem gluecklichen, goldenen Ziel
sieht man sie nennen und jagen.
Die Welt wird alt und wird wieder jueng,
doch der Menschhoft immer Verbesserung.
| Das Maedchen aus der Fremde
(F. Schiller) In einem Tal bei armen Hirten Sie war nothing in dem Tal geboren, Sie brachte Blumen mit und Fruechte, Und teilte jedem eine Gabe, Willkommen waren alle Gaste, |
Virgin from a foreign land
(I. Mirimsky) Year after year at the beginning of May, She lived in a foreign country, She brought with her And the lad, and the old man with a stick, She generously gave |
Sprecher. Auf der Militarschule entstand Schillers erstes Drama “Die Rauber”. Schiller war damals 22 Jahre alt. “Gegen die Tyrannen!” stand auf dem Titelblatt des Werkes. Das war der Kampfruf, mit dem der junge Dichter in die Welt trat. Nach der Auffuehrung der “Rauber” musste Schiller die Heimat verlassen. Er fuehrte ein schweres Leben in der Fremde. Niemand wollte die “Rauber” druecken. Da musste Schiller Geld borgen und das Drama auf eigene Kosten erscheinen lassen. Das Titelblatt zeigte einen Loewen, der gegen die Tyrannen aufspringt. Die Erstauffuhrung seiner “Rauber” war im Mannheimer Nationaltheater.
Sprecher. Fur sein Drama “Kabale und Liebe” (“Cunning and Love”) entnahm Schiller den Stoff der deutschen Wirklichkeit seiner Zeit. Ferdinand, der Sohn des Hofprasidenten eines deutschen Herzogstums, liebt Luise, die Tochter eines einfachen Burgers, und will sie trotzt des Standenunterschiedes heiraten. Der Prasident will seinen Sohn mit der Geliebten des Herzogs verheiraten, um sich dadurch die Gunst des Herzogs zu erhalten. An der Kabale des Hofes gehen Ferdinand und Luise zu Grunde.
Schoenungslos entlarvte Schiller in diem Drama die Zustaende im feudalen Deutschland. (Speech by a teacher of literature about the history, time of creation of the works “Deceit and Love” and “William Tell”, about the plot and the main characters of these works.)
Die Lehrerin: In seinem Drama "Wilhelm Tell" (1804) zeigt Schiller, wie die Einheit im Kampf des Volkes gegen die Tyrannei geboren ist. Dieses Gedicht ist aus diesem Drama. The students recite the poem “Jaegerliedchen” and the translation by heart. (See Appendix or Beam's 5 Steps tutorial, page 32)
Die letzten Jahre seines Lebens verbrachte Schiller in Weimar. In dieses Jahr waren Goethe und Schiller in herzlicher Freundschaft verbunden. Friedrich Schiller starb nach langer, schwerer Krankheit am 9. Mai 1805.
Sprecher. Eine besondere Rolle in der deutschen Literatur spielte der grosse Dichter Heinrich Heine. Er wurde am 13.Dezember 1797 in Dusseldorf am Main geboren. Sein Vater war Kaufmann. Als Heine das Gymnasium been det hatte, schickte man ihn nach Hamburg. Dort sollte er im Geschaeft seines reichen Onkels den Beruf des Kaufmanns erlernen. Aber Heinrich hatte andere Wuensche: er interessierte sich fuer Literatur, Kunst und Politik. Und der Onkel gab ihm die Moeglichkeit zu studieren. Heine studierte in Bohn, spaeter in Goettingen und Berlin. In diesen Jahren schrieb er seine ersten Gedichte, mit denen er grossen Erfolg hatte. Im Jahre 1821 erschien sein “Buch der Lieder”, dass die Heimat, die Natur und die Liebe besang. (Students read by heart the poems “Ein Fichtenbaum”, “Leise zieht durch mein Gemut” and translation by M. Lermontov)
(See the poem "Leise zieht durch mein Gemut" in the appendix or in Bim's textbook "Steps 5", p. 81)
Sprecher. Schon in frueher Jugend interessierte sich Heine fuer Maerchen und Volkssagen. Am Rhein gibt es viele alte Sagen. Dort horte Heine auch die Sage von der “Lorelei” – das ist der Name einer Nixe, die im Rhein wohnt. Wie die Sage berichtet, sitzt die Lorelei manchmal an schoenen Sommerabenden hoch oben auf einem Berg ueber dem Rhein. Sie singt wundervolle Lieder. Viele Fischer schauten zu ihr nach oben, hoerten den Gesang der Lorelei, fuehren mit ihren Schiffen auf ein Riff auf und fanden im Wasser den Tod. Diese alte Sage von der Lorelei hat Heine in Gedichtform niedergeschrieben. Sein Gedicht “Lorelei” wurde von vielen russischen Dichtern uebersetzt. (The teacher reads the poem "Lorelei" by heart, and the students read the translation of Levik and Blok, then the students and the teacher of literature compare and analyze the translations of three poets, compare the image of Lorelei in the legend and in Heine's poem).
(See Lorelei's poem in the appendix or in I.L. Beam's textbook “Steps 4” pp. 205-206)
Das Gedicht “Lorelei” gehort zu den besten Werken der deutschen Lyrik. Die Sprache dieses Gedichtes ist sehr melodisch. Friedrich Silcher komponierte Musik zu Heines Gedicht. Als Lied ist das Werk in aller Welt sehr bekannt.
(Everyone listens to the song “Lorelei”, those who wish sing together)
Sprecher. Viele Heines Werke waren eine scharfe Satire auf das damalige Deutschland. Sie wurden in Deutschland verboten. Im Jahre 1831 verliess Heine Deutschland und fuhr nach Paris. Hier lebte er bis zu seinem Tode. Damals erschien das satirische Poem “Deutschland. Ein Wintermarchen”, in dem Heine nicht nur die bestehende Gesellschaftsordnung kritisiert, sondern auch von einer revolutionaren Umgestaltung Deutschlands spricht. In Paris schrieb er das Gedicht ueber seine Bedeutung als Dichter. Er spielt in diem Gedicht auf die politische Situation in Deutschland an.
(Against the background of music, students read Heine's poem and Levik's translation)
| Wenn ich an deinem Hause (H. Heine) Wenn ich an deinem Hause |
When your lane (V. Levik) When your lane |
Die letzten Jahre seines Lebens war Heine schwer krank und konnte das Bett nicht verlassen. Er starb am 27 February 1856
(Against the background of music, the student reads the “Hymn” in German and Russian by heart)
Die Lehrerin. Die Werke von Goethe, Schiller und Heine haben ihre Bedeutung auch heute nicht verloren. Sie sind sehr actuell. Auch heute lassen ihre Werke die Herzen aller Menschen schlagen. Unsere Stunde der Poesie ist zu Ende. Vielen Dank fur eure active Teilnahme in der Stunde. (Students answered quiz questions about the life and work of poets in the next lesson).
Application
| LORELEI(Heinrich Heine) Ich wei? nothing, was soll es bedeuten, Gefunden(goethe) Ich ging im Walde Jaegerliedchen (fr. Schiller) Mit dem Pfeil, dem Bogen Leise zieht durch me in Gemut (H. Heine) Leise zieht durch me in Gemut |
Lorelei (A. Blok) I don't know what it means Found(I. Mirimsky) I wandered through the forest... Arrow song (O. Mandelstam) With bow and quiver Kling hinaus bis an das Haus, |
P.S. Instead of an umlaut, the letter e is printed.
general characteristics
The literature of the German Enlightenment developed in conditions significantly different from the advanced countries of Europe - England and France. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) was a national catastrophe for Germany. Having lost four-fifths of its population, having suffered deep economic ruin, the country was thrown back in the region cultural development. The absence of a single political, economic and cultural center had a painful effect both in the material and in the spiritual sphere. The isolation and isolation of the German principalities (in the 18th century there were 360 of them with numerous interspersed with even smaller feudal estates) reinforced the differences between local dialects and hampered the creation of a single literary language.
Absolutism in Germany took a specific form of petty power: having learned all the negative features of an absolute monarchy on a large scale, arbitrariness and despotism, favoritism and depravity of the court, lack of rights and humiliation of subjects, he was unable to take on the centralizing function. Even the gradual rise of the largest German states (primarily Prussia) could not lay the foundation for national and state unification.
These circumstances left a special imprint on the social structure of German society - primarily on the role and place of the bourgeoisie, which was economically weak, politically belittled. This determined the slow growth of her spiritual and social self-awareness. It is not without reason that it is often referred to as the burghers, for this emphasizes its difference from the bourgeoisie of the advanced European countries.
The German nobility either served in the army, or grouped around the princely courts, or spent their lives on their estates, indulging in idleness, hunting, primitive and rude entertainment. The range of his spiritual interests was extremely limited.
A specific German phenomenon was free imperial cities, formally subordinate directly to imperial power, which at the beginning of the 18th century. was already purely nominal. They did not depend on the local princes, they were ruled by the patrician top of the burghers, and inside the city walls, as it were, ideas about the class privileges of the nobility were removed.
The peasantry languished under the burden of unbearable extortions, duties and recruitment, which turned into a permanent source of income for many German princes: they supplied hired soldiers for the big powers waging wars in the colonies, and at this expense maintained their exorbitantly magnificent courtyard, built pleasure castles, etc. e. The mass impoverishment of the peasants led to the emergence of spontaneous social protest; gangs of robbers consisting of fugitive peasants operated in the forests and on high roads.
Politically fragmented Germany is characterized by a multiplicity of cultural centers that succeeded each other or coexisted. They arose in princely residences, in university and free imperial cities, original oases of spiritual culture. Such centers were Leipzig, Hamburg, Göttingen, until, finally, in the last quarter of a century, Weimar, the residence of a small principality, in which the entire color of German literature was concentrated - Goethe, Schiller, Wieland, Herder, took precedence.
One of the features of the German cultural atmosphere of the XVIII century. there was a completely obvious disproportion between the growing (especially since the middle of the century) intellectual and creative potential, on the one hand, and the low level of the spiritual needs of society, on the other. German writers, who came for the most part from the poorest sections of society, could only with difficulty make their way to education, and having received it, they were forced to be content with the miserable lot of a home teacher or country priest. Literary work could not provide even the most modest existence; the majority of German writers fully knew the bitterness of need and humiliating dependence on random patrons.
The specificity of the socio-historical development of Germany determined the originality of the German Enlightenment.
Until the second half of the century, it did not pose serious political problems, to which the public consciousness of the German burgher had not yet matured. Enlightenment ideals of freedom and personal dignity, the denunciation of despotism, were reflected in literature in the most general and rather abstract form. Only in Lessing's Emilia Galotti (1772) and in the dramas of the young Schiller, in the poems and essays of his elder countryman Christian Daniel Schubart, did they receive a concrete embodiment.
Religious issues, which played such an important role in Catholic France, were relegated to the background in Germany by the presence of two officially recognized religions - Catholicism and Lutheranism, as well as many sects and religious movements (some of them, for example, pietism, played a significant role in the development of literature sentimental direction). But even here the struggle against church orthodoxy and dogmatism is not removed from the agenda. It is conducted from the positions of "natural religion", the enlightenment ideal of tolerance and pantheism. This was reflected in the journalism and dramaturgy of Lessing and in the philosophical lyrics of Goethe, and indirectly affected the development of German philosophy.
In general, the German Enlightenment gravitated toward abstract theoretical problems; it extensively developed questions of aesthetics, the philosophy of history, and the philosophy of language. In these areas, German spiritual culture in the last third of the century even outstrips other European countries.
The German philosophy of the Enlightenment was mainly idealistic. Its origins are Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, an outstanding mathematician and rationalist philosopher. His ideas of "pre-established harmony" of the world, generating a balance of good and evil, causality, ruling the world Finally, the doctrine of the multitude of "possible worlds" had a great influence on literature and for a long time dominated the minds of not only German, but also European enlighteners. But if in Germany the ideas of Leibniz retained their authority even in the second half of the century, then in other European countries they underwent a decisive reassessment (see Chapter 10). The activities of other rationalist philosophers Christian Tomasius, Leibniz's follower Christian Wolf, Lessing's friends Moses Mendelssohn, journalist and book publisher Fr. Nicolai and others. By the end of the century, various currents of an irrationalist plan also appeared (F, G. Jacobi, Haman, and others).
At first, sensationalism was not as widespread in Germany as it was in England and France, but it penetrates into aesthetic theory already from the 1730s, noticeably intensifies in the aesthetic and literary-critical works of Lessing, and finally triumphs in the worldview and work of Herder, Goethe. and the writers of Sturm und Drang (1770s). The real rise of German classical philosophy falls on the last decades of the century (I. Kant). At the same time, it is in the depths of German idealism that a dialectical approach to solving basic philosophical questions is born. The dialectical interpretation of the historical process marks the theoretical works of Herder and the philosophical searches of the young Goethe. The very artistic comprehension of the world in its mature work turns out to be dialectical.
The periodization of the German Enlightenment generally corresponds to the European one. However, literary development here was distinguished by peculiar drops and fluctuations in rhythm - at first clearly slow, then more and more accelerated. The ratio of artistic trends also looks different.
The first third of the century is the period of the formation of journalism, which performs an educational and unifying function, the period of the establishment of normative trends. The development of theoretical issues during this period clearly outstrips artistic practice. Early Enlightenment classicism, represented by Gottsched and his school, is mainly guided by French, and partly by English models. By the end of the 1740s, he had practically exhausted himself, fulfilling his normalizing tasks, but without generating truly significant literary works. Around the middle of the century, a turning point occurs, marked by the appearance on the literary horizon of a bright poetic personality - Klopstock (see Ch. 19), and a decade later - by Lessing's sharply polemical speeches. From that moment on, German literature enters a period of extremely intensive development - a sharp clash of various currents. The struggle for the national identity of German literature, its liberation from the influence of French classicism is carried out by Lessing, who develops the ideas of Diderot; Klopstock, gravitating towards sentimentalism, and the generation of the 1770s - Herder, Goethe, the writers of Sturm und Drang, who significantly enriched and transformed the heritage of European sentimentalism (in particular, the ideas of Rousseau).
A more modest place in this opposition of different trends is occupied by Rococo literature, represented mainly by the lyrics of the 1740s–1760s and the work of Wieland (see Ch. 19).
In the last two decades of the century, there has been a reassessment of the theoretical and creative achievements of the writers of the Sturm und Drang movement with their pronounced individualism and subjectivism, a gradual balancing, mitigation of extremes, a transition to a more objective, sometimes more distant reflection of reality. A new artistic system is emerging, called "Weimar classicism" and has no direct analogues in the literature of England and France. It is embodied in the jointly developed aesthetic theory of Goethe and Schiller and in their work of the 1780s-1790s.
The formation of German educational literature is associated with the activities of Johann Christoph Gottsched (1700-1766). The son of a Prussian pastor, he studied theology at the University of Königsberg, but he was drawn to literature and philosophy. From 1730 until the end of his life, he was a professor at the University of Leipzig, lectured on poetics, logic, metaphysics, relying in his courses on the ideas of Christian Wolf (1679–1754), the popularizer of the philosophy of G. W. Leibniz.
Tsched was repeatedly elected rector of the university and headed the German Literary Society, which sought to be likened to the French Academy. At the same time, he acted as the creator of the moralizing weeklies "Reasonable Detractors" and "Honest Man" (1725-1729), modeled on the English satirical and moralizing magazines of Steele and Addison. The main goal of these weeklies was the education of morals on a "reasonable" basis, the fight against immoderate fashion, panache, wastefulness and stinginess, etc. Political and social issues were not discussed in the magazines, and criticism of reality rarely acquired a satirical character. However, it was Gottsched's weeklies that gave the decisive impetus to the development of German journalism.
The most significant contribution was Gottsched to poetic theory, to the formation of the norm of the German national literary language and to the formation of the German theater. In 1730 he issued his main work"The experience of critical poetics for the Germans", in which he put forward the main provisions of the normative classicist theory. Gottsched relied mainly on the rationalistic poetics of Boileau (The Poetic Art, 1674), but introduced into it a pragmatic didacticism that Boileau lacks. Gottsched considered the starting point of the tragedy the “moral thesis”, to which the whole idea and its artistic implementation are subject. He formulated specific rules for the construction of a tragedy: division into five acts, the notorious "coupling of scenes" arising from one another, the rule of three unities. Speaking about the unity of action, Gottsched opposed the old baroque plays, in which different themes and plot lines were intertwined. In general, a resolute denial of the principles of baroque literature runs through all of Gottsched's theoretical writings. It largely determined the scornful attitude and, in the end, oblivion. Literature XVII V. during the Age of Enlightenment.
Gottsched's treatise is written in ponderous prose. Each position, meticulously stated, is illustrated by classical examples. The didacticism promoted by Gottsched is also characteristic of his work. Nevertheless, The Experience of Critical Poetics played an important role in the formation of early Enlightenment literature, in particular Enlightenment classicism. He put an end to chaotic arbitrariness and slovenliness, set a moral and social task for German literature, put forward the demand for professional excellence, attached it to the achievements of European literature.
The Detailed Rhetoric (1728) and The Fundamentals of the Art of the German Language (1748) were written in the same normative spirit. In the last work, Gottsched also speaks from the standpoint of pure rationality, to which his teacher K. Wolf reduced Leibniz's rationalism: language for him is an expression of logical thought, hence the main advantages of language are rational clarity, logic and grammatical correctness. At the same time, Gottsched does not make a fundamental difference between the language of science and poetry.
I poetry, he, however, allows "decorations", but only to the extent that they do not contradict "reason". So, limiting the use of metaphors, he requires that they be clear and understandable, and therefore habitual and traditional. In the future, the problem of literary and especially poetic language will become one of the central discussions in the 1760s-1770s. The stylistic principles of Gottsched would be the target of violent attacks and ridicule from the poets and theoreticians of the next generations - first Klopstock, later Goethe and Herder. Thanks to Gottsched united German literary language becomes Upper Saxon (or Meissen).
Gottsched attached particular importance to the theater - in this he was a true enlightener. Understanding perfectly well the importance of the theater in the spiritual development of the nation, he undertook a theatrical reform, which he consistently carried out not only in his Critical Poetics, but also in practice. It was directed, on the one hand, against the remnants of the baroque theater, on the other hand, against the folk theater with its clownish elements, rough comic effects and the invariable favorite of the "unenlightened" public, the amusing character Ganswurst (aka Pikelhering or Kasperle). He contrasted these two traditions with the "high" literary repertoire, drawn from the French classics of the past century (Cornel, Racine, Molière), as well as from modern French playwrights. Gottsched acted as a translator of tragedies, his wife translated comedies. In collaboration with the outstanding actress Caroline Neuber, who for many years led an itinerant theater troupe, Gottsched tried to lay the foundations of the German national theater in Leipzig. In 1737, on the stage of the Neubershi theater (as contemporaries familiarly called it), Gansvurst was defiantly expelled with stick blows. According to Gottsched, this action was supposed to symbolize the final break with the traditions of crude and "obscene" theatrical spectacle.
Gottsched and Caroline Neuber's theatrical venture ran into serious financial difficulties, and this led to a rift between them. The Caroline Neuber Theater never became (and could not become at that time) a national theater. Other troupes that arose later either in Hamburg (with the participation of Lessing, see Ch. 18) or in Mannheim (where Schiller's first dramas were staged) did not become them either. Get closer to realizing this cherished dream Only Goethe, who headed the Weimar theater in the late 1780s, was destined to be German enlighteners.
The poetic work of Gottsched himself was not distinguished by either brightness or originality. He wrote poetry in traditional classical genres (odes, messages, etc.), but his most significant work was the tragedy "The Dying Cato" (1731), written in Alexandrian verse. This verse (iambic six-foot with paired rhymes, oriented to the French model) dominated the German stage until it was supplanted by prose - first in the petty-bourgeois drama, then in the dramaturgy of Sturm und Drang. The revival of poetic tragedy takes place already on the eve of Weimar classicism in Lessing's philosophical drama Nathan the Wise (1779, see ch. 18). Since that time, playwrights have used Shakespeare's unrhymed iambic pentameter.
The tragedy of the same name by J. Addison served as a model for Gottsched. However, in the German version, the lofty civic theme from the history of republican Rome acquired a noticeably narrowed moralistic and instructive character. Nevertheless, Gottsched's Dying Cato was the first experience of German tragedy in the spirit of Enlightenment classicism.
Gottsched's high prestige, his varied and active work, and not least his pronounced normalizing character early made him a kind of dictator of German literary life. Gottsched developed a large following, usually with very little literary talent. But at the same time, already in the mid-1730s, opposition to his system arose. It originated in Switzerland, in Zurich, where the social and spiritual atmosphere was noticeably different from the Saxon electorate, whose cultural center was Leipzig. The republican structure was combined here with a somewhat archaic patriarchy and democratism of morals, deep religiosity (in contrast to the restrained and rational attitude towards religion of the rationalist Gottsched). The traditional distrust of the theater was also connected with this.
The main opponents of Gottsched and his direction were the Swiss critics Johann Jakob Bodmer (Johann Jakob Bodmer, 1698-1783) and Johann Jakob Breitinger (Johann Jakob Breitinger, 1701-1776) - both come from the pastoral families of Zurich. Bound by close friendship and the unity of their literary positions, they founded a literary society in 1720 and began to publish the weekly Conversations of Painters (1721-1723). Unlike Gottsched, the "Swiss" (as they are usually called in the history of literature) relied in their theory on English literature, partly on English sensationalism, elements of which are discernible in their writings on aesthetics. Aesthetic questions they clearly prevailed over moral. The pinnacle of poetry for them was Milton's Paradise Lost, which Bodmer translated into German, first in prose (1732), then, many years later, in verse (1780). The result of this work was the works "A Critical Discourse on the Miraculous in Poetry and on the Connection of the Miraculous with the Plausible Based on the Defense of Milton's Paradise Lost" and "Critical Reflections on Poetic Pictures in Poetry" (1741). In these writings, Bodmer defends the poetic fantasy, which he gives much more freedom than the classicist doctrine allowed. He extends the rights of poetic fantasy, the "wonderful", to the fairy tale, which Gottsched resolutely rejected as the product of an "unenlightened" consciousness. "Wonderful" is a full-fledged element of artistic creation, even if it deviates from our usual, everyday ideas about believable.
The cosmic fantasy in Milton's biblical epic receives its justification from Bodmer in Leibniz's doctrine of the "many possible worlds" constructed speculatively by our consciousness. Its strength and significance lies in the direct impact of the figurative embodiment on our feelings. Thus, without leaving the soil of rationalistic aesthetics, Bodmer introduces a clear sensationalist element into his concept. The question of "visible images", "pictures" in poetry at that time was widely debated in European aesthetics, in particular in the book of the Frenchman Jacques Dubos "Critical Reflections on Poetry and Painting" (1719). In the future, this problem was subjected to a comprehensive consideration by Lessing in Laocoön. There was no place for it in the rationalistic aesthetics of Gottsched.
The same problems are discussed in Breutinger's main theoretical work Critical Poetics (1741, with a preface by Bodmer), which is directed directly against Gottsched's almost eponymous work. The fundamental novelty of the theory of the "Swiss" lies in the exclusive role of artistic imagination, which reproduces sensory impressions. Poetry depicts affects, strong feelings that are not controlled by reason. This shows her closeness to nature. And it affects not only consciousness, the mind, but also feelings (hence the specially specified meaning of the “touching” image). Breutinger's judgments about the poetic language, its special expressiveness, are also sensationally colored, which were further developed in the poetry and theoretical articles of Klopstock.
So, by the beginning of the 1740s, the offensive against the Gottsched doctrine was carried out along a wide front of problems, both in purely aesthetic and social terms: if Gottsched, following Boileau, called for focusing on the “court and city”, on the enlightened top of society, then "Swiss" in full accordance with the democratic foundations and traditions of their homeland had in mind a much wider audience. In this sense, their gravitation towards the English rather than the French literary tradition is quite understandable. At the same time, enthusiastic admiration for Milton did not at all mean that they understood the political and civic significance of his poem. The "Swiss" admired "Paradise Lost" primarily as a religious epic and sincerely dreamed of the appearance of such a work on German soil. That is why they enthusiastically accepted the appearance of the first songs of Klopstock's "Messiad". Bodmer's poetic work went in the same direction: he wrote poems on biblical themes - "patriarchads" (the most significant of them is "Noah", 1750), in which he tried to realize Klopstock's poetic discoveries. But Bodmer's artistic talent was noticeably inferior to the insight and sharpness of his theoretical thought. "Patriarchs" were perceived by contemporaries rather ironically.
Much more important was the work of Bodmer and Breutinger to revive the monuments of medieval German poetry. In 1748, “Samples of Swabian Poetry of the 13th Century” were published. - the first publication of songs by Walther von der Vogelweide and some other minnesingers (a few years earlier, Bodmer devoted a special article to this poetry). In 1758–1759 an extensive collection of poems by 140 medieval poets appeared. The year before, Bodmer had published a manuscript of two poems from the Nibelungenlied cycle, Kriemhild's Revenge and Lament. This consistent propaganda of medieval poetry is the greatest merit of Bodmer, who was the discoverer here, and also the manifestation of a new trend, directly opposite to the attitudes of Gottsched. Taken together, all the undertakings of the “Swiss” testify to the search for nationally original ways for German literature and in many ways anticipate the literary upsurge of the 1770s. However, an attempt to combine sensationalist positions with traditional rationalism, some provincial isolation and archaism hampered the development of the aesthetics developed by the "Swiss". This compromise character makes itself especially clear in the 1760s and 1770s, when disputes with Gottsched had long since become a past stage, and the younger generation that replaced the "Swiss" developed much more consistently and decisively those beginnings of the new that were contained in their labors.
German writers and poets of the 18th century
Goethe is one of the most famous writers in the whole world. His full name sounds like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. He was not only a poet, but also a naturalist, a great thinker and statesman. He was born in 1749 and lived for 82 years. Goethe wrote poems and comedies. He is known to the whole world as the author of the book "The Suffering of Young Werther". The story of how this work greatly influenced the minds of young people - Goethe's contemporaries is widely known. And a wave of suicides swept across Germany. Young men imitated the protagonist of the work - Werther - and committed suicide because of unhappy love. In the pockets of many of the young suicides, a volume of The Sorrows of Young Werther was found.
Wilhelm Heinze is a no less talented writer, however, for the most part, he is familiar only to literary critics and philologists. In Russia, he is known for the novel "Ardingello and the Blessed Isles" translated by Petrovsky. Born in 1746, died in 1803. And only in 1838 was Heinze's collected works published.
Children's German writers of the 18th century
Everyone read or listened to the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm as children. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are German writers known to everyone since childhood. In addition to writing fairy tales, they were also linguists and researchers of their national culture. In addition, the brothers are considered the founders of scientific Germanic studies and Germanic philology. They were born with a difference of one year: Jacob - in 1785, and Wilhelm - in 1786. Jacob outlived his brother by four years. The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm are loved by children of all nations. Many, as they say, grew up on their "Bremen Town Musicians", "Snow White" and "Little Red Riding Hood".
19th century writers
Nietzsche is one of the first whose name comes to mind when German writers of the 19th century are remembered. Few read his works, but many have heard of him and his philosophy. The full name of the author is Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche. He was born in 1844 and lived for 56 years. He was not only a writer, but also a philosopher, as well as a philologist. Unfortunately, his creative activity ended in 1889 due to illness, and he gained popularity as a writer only after his death. The key work of Nietzsche's work is the book Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
Theodore Storm is another 19th century writer. This is both a poet and a prose writer. Storm was born in 1817 and lived for 70 years. The most famous works of Storm are the short stories "Angelica" and "The Rider on the White Horse".
20th century in German literature
Heinrich Böll is the recipient of the Nobel Prize in 1972. He was born in 1917 and has been writing stories and poems since early childhood. However, he began to print his works only in 1947. In Bell's adult prose, there is a lot about the war and post-war issues. Since he himself survived the war and was even a prisoner. More famous are Bell's collections of short stories Not Just for Christmas, When the War Started and When the War Ended, as well as the novel Where Have You Been, Adam? In 1992, Bell's novel "The Angel Was Silent" was published, it was translated into Russian in 2001. Previously, the author himself dismantled it into a series of stories for the sake of a fee, since he and his family needed money.
Remarque is also one of the most famous writers. Erich Maria Remarque took a middle name for a pseudonym in honor of his mother. He was born in 1898, in 1916 he was sent to fight on the Western Front, was seriously wounded, spent a lot of time in the hospital. All of his main novels are anti-war, for this reason the Nazis even banned his books. The most famous novels are All Quiet on the Western Front, Three Comrades, Borrowed Life, Arc de Triomphe, and Love Thy Neighbor.
Franz Kafka is an Austrian, but is considered one of the main German-language authors. His books are unique in their absurdism. Most of them were published posthumously. He was born in 1883 and died of tuberculosis in 1924. His collections are famous: "Punishment", "Contemplation" and "Hunger". As well as the novels The Castle and The Trial.
German writers have made a great contribution to world literature. The list of names can be continued for a long time. There are two more names to add.
Mann Brothers
Heinrich Mann and Thomas Mann are brothers, both famous German writers. Heinrich Mann - prose writer, born in 1871, worked in the book trade and publishing house. In 1953, the Berlin Academy of Arts established the annual Heinrich Mann Prize. His most famous works are: “Teacher Gnus”, “Promised Land”, “Young Years of King Henry IV” and “Mature Years of King Henry IV”.
Paul Thomas Mann was 4 years younger than his brother. He is a Nobel laureate. His literary activity began with the creation of the magazine "Spring Thunderstorm". Then he wrote articles for the magazine "XX Century", which was published by his brother. Fame came to Thomas with the novel "Buddenbrooks". He wrote it based on the history of his own family. His other famous novels are Doctor Faustus and The Magic Mountain.
