German Literature

German Literature. The languages spoken by the numerous tribes inhabiting ancient Germany form an important branch of the Aryan or Indo-Germanic family. From about the commencement of the 7th century, at least, can be traced then division into two groups - Low German and High German, a division which has endured until our own day; for though literary German, the language of the educated classes, is a High German tongue. Low German (to which English and Dutch are closely akin) has retained strength and vitality, and even literary vigour, among the peasantry of North Germany. The existence of a form of speech akin to but differing from both Low and High German is proved by the Gothic translation of the Gospels made by Ulfilas, Bishop among the Goths in the 4th century, and the languages of Denmark, Iceland, and the Scandinavian peninsula form a fourth branch of the same Teutonic group.

Under Karl the Great, who is commonly called Charlemagne, the conversion to Christianity of all German peoples was practically complete (circa 800). The only remaining fragment of German literature previous to this period is the Hildebrandslied - a single remnant from the time when the heroic saga and the beast-epic (Tliierepos) flourished in rich profusion, drawing their materials from the echoes of the Great Migrations or from even earlier traditions. This fragment was probably written down at the commencement of the 9th century, possibly under the direction of Charlemagne, who himself commenced a, collection of older poems and the compilation of a, German grammar. The victories of Charlemagne over the Low German Saxons prevented the definite separation into distinct peoples of the Low and High German tribes, and facilitated the acquisition of a common literature; and the superiority of High German as a literary language is perhaps due to the fact that the tongue spoken at his court was a High German dialect. In the 9th century the word deutsch comes into use to express the speech of the German people as distinct from Latin and Romance. The development of learning and culture in the monasteries and the influence of the Church, due largely to Charlemagne, led to the adoption for a time of Latin as the language of literature, and only fragments (such as Muspulli and the Krist of Otfried) - all of a religious character and probably written by monks - remain of the German productions of the period. One of these, the Heliand (Healer or Saviour) is in a Saxon and Low German dialect. Alliteration is still the characteristic of these writings, but in Latin religious works the way was being prepared for the adoption of rhyme.

The era of the Hohenstaufen Emperors is marked by the first great golden age of German literature (circa 1200). With the Crusades came the development of religious enthusiasm, a widening of ideas, and greater intercourse between the peoples of the western world. Chivalry brought with it new literary materials in its views of religion, love, and war; while the outburst of poetical genius among the troubadours of Southern France exercised a strong influence upon Germany. Among the most remarkable characteristics of the period are the following. (1) The development of the epic in the shape of poetical romances by both popular and courtly singers. The legends of the siege of Troy and of Alexander, of the Arthurian chivalry, and of Roland and Charlemagne form the main materials of these poems, but Heinrich der Glichezare revived the old beast-epic in Reinltart Fuchs. Among the most famous writers are Conrad (Rolandslied), Heinrich von Veldeck (AEneide), Hartmann von Aue (Anne Heinrich), Wolfram von Eschenbach (Parzifal), Gotfried von Strassburg (Tristan und Isolt). (2) The compilation of the Nibelungenlied and the Gudrunlied, the grandest memorials of the older German poetry, in which traditions of the remotest antiquity are combined with the sagas of the Yolkerwanderung into magnificent epics, an element drawn from Christian and even chivalrous ideas being also represented. In the Ortnit, and the poems on the legend of Hugdietrich and Wolfdietrich, the materials are drawn from the sagas of Lombardy. (3) The creation of German lyric poetry by the "Minnesanger," poets of knightly rank, wandering singers who took for their theme the chivalrous passion of love (Minne), and surrounded it with all the charms of a strong and vivid imagination expressed in a wonderful variety of new verse forms. Even the Emperor Henry VI. is named as a Minnesanger. Several of the poets named under (1) belong to this class, but the best known writer of the Minnegesang was the famous Walther von der Vogelweide. Several didactic poems belong to this period, among which is classed the Sangcrkrieg auf der Wartburg, including the verses said to have been sung at a tournament attended by the chief Minnesanger. The first impetus to prose writing was also given under the Hohenstaufens in the compilation of the Sachsenspiegel and Schwabenspiegel, codes of local laws, and in the religious writings of Meister Eckhart.

The succeeding period was one of decay and of degeneracy among the higher classes. The national horizon was narrowed by the growth of anarchy and confusion; constant struggles for supremacy prevented the Emperors from encouraging literature ; divisions in the Church led to the neglect of learning. But by the German people a new impetus was given to poetry. The towns formed the one stable and prosperous element of national life, and here a new class of poets arose. Honourably distinguished from the town-writers who made a trade of poetry, composing in honour of princes and for popular festivals, the "Meisterseinger" or workmen-bards were the members of gilds of poetry formed in imitation of the craft-gilds and governed as to methods of composition by strict codes of rules. The most famous representatives of the Meistergesang were Michel Beheim, Hans Rosenplvit, and later Hans Sachs, the shoemaker of Niirnberg. To this age, too, belong the earliest German dramatic compositions, commencing with representations of Scriptural subjects and developing into the numerous "mysteries" and "Shrove-Tuesday plays." The Limburg and other chronicles were written in prose; and the speculative movement, commenced by Eckhart, was carried further by Tauler and the Mystics. Another marked phenomenon was the outburst of popular poetry in ballads and Volkslieder, admirably reflecting the life and feelings of the poorer classes. The Revival of Learning was not without influence in Germany, and its effects were shown in popular satires against the Church, the aristocracy, and the many vices of the times, such as the Ship of Fools of Sebastian Brandt (1494), the sermons of Murner, and the didactic and narrative works of Fischart. Among these works must be mentioned the great Low German poem of Reineke Vos (1498), in which the old Thierepos is used as a powerful instrument of satire. To the 15th and 16th centuries belong the most of the Volksbiiclter, collections of popular tales and legends, such as Tyll Eulenspiegel, Dr. Faust, and Aviadis of Gaul.

The Reformation marks an important epoch in German literature, characterised by the fixing of the literary language by Luther (1483-1546). By the year 1600 the idiom chosen by him - that of the Imperial and Saxon chanceries - was established as the medium of literary intercourse throughout Germany. His example in using it for his translation of the Bible (1522-34) and many magnificent hymns (Luther may be regarded as the founder of the Kirchenlied) was followed by the historians, such as Sebastian Franck, by the many composers of hymns and religious lyrics, and the mass of religious writers, of whom the chief were Amdt and Bohme. The influences of the time were, on the whole, favourable to the development of the drama, which received a considerable impetus at the hands of Hans Sachs (1494-1576) the Meisterseinger, a voluminous playwright, and through the tour of a troupe of so-called "English players," who brought to bear on Germany the powerful dramatic influence of England.

The period immediately previous to and during the Thirty Years' War (1618-48) was one of complete literary decay, broken at first only by the occasional appearance of religious lyrics. Later, a genuine attempt at revival took place in the foundation of societies for the cultivation of literature such as the "Fruitbearing Society" (1617). Of this the greatest ornament was Martin Opitz (1597-1639), who laid down rules for the writing of poetry in a correct but cold and soulless manner in his German Poetry (1624). Opitz, with his follower Fleming, a talented writer of lyrics, Gryphius and the epigrammatist Logau, formed the "First Silesian School." The lowest depths of foolishness and bombast were touched by the "Second Silesian School" of Hoffmannswaldau and Lohenstein. Vigorous prose was, however, written by Grimmelshausen, whose Simplicissimus (1669) is a series of pictures from the Thirty Years' War, and the satirists Moscherosch, Schupp, and Abraham a. Sancta Clara. The extravagance of the Second Silesian School brought about a reaction, expressed in the simple lyrical poems of Brockes, Gunther, and Weise, and the satires and critical works of Canitz and Warnecke. It was generally felt that poetry must be founded on the study and imitation of nature; but one result of this feeling was an important literary quarrel between the so-called "Leipzig" and "Swiss" schools, influenced by France and England respectively. Gottsched (1700-1766), the leader of the former, exercised much influence upon literary taste and poetical form. In his Attempt at a Critical Art of Poetry (1730), and in his dramas, he looked to the great French writers as models. The immediate cause of the quarrel was his attack upon a translation of Paradise Lost by Bodmer (1698-1783), who, with Breitinger (1701-1776), laid stress upon the imaginative rather than upon the intellectual side of poetry. The revival of a simple and natural taste was also largely assisted by Haller and Hagedorn, both strongly influenced by England. Among the services of Gottsched must be reckoned the purification of the drama, which he rescued from a state of absolute degradation, looking for his models of excellence, however, exclusively to French examples. During this period German philosophy had made steady progress. The great philosopher Leibnitz had at the end of the 17th century written in Latin, but his theories had been explained and expanded in German by his disciple Wolff. Thomasius, his contemporary, is noteworthy as the first professor who lectured in German and as editor of the first German periodical.

A profound influence was exercised upon Germany by the magnificent achievements of Frederick the Great, and literature now commenced to take its place as an expression of national life and feeling. The literary taste of the king himself was entirely under French influence, and he remained untouched by the newer developments in Germany. His approbation was reserved for Gottsched and for Gellert, the leader of the "Saxon school," composed of a number of young writers who contributed to a literary and critical publication known as the Bremer Beitrage (Bremen Contributions - founded 1745). Gellert was declared by the king to be "the most reasonable of all German scholars." Gellert's fables, tales, and religious lyrics enjoyed great popularity; and among other members of the school, Rabener, Elias Schlegel, Weisse, and Kastner deserve mention as dramatists and satirists. Gleim, a didactic writer who composed during the Seven Years' War the. stirring Prussian War Songs of a Grenadier, Uz and Gotz, included in the "Halle school," attained some reputation as writers of anacreontic verses. The new patriotic impulse is strong in the writings of Rammler and of Ewald von Kleist, Lessing's early friend.

We have now arrived at the time when German literature was to shake itself free from the shackles of narrowness and conventionality imposed upon it by a long period of preparation and imitation, and to exhibit in its second golden age a richness, strength, and variety unsurpassed in modern times. The extraordinary development which took place in the latter half of the 18th century is associated primarily with four great names - Klopstock, Wieland, Lessing, and Herder. By the two former invaluable services were rendered to German poetry in respect of the development of language and metrical form. Klopstock (1724-1803) in his great poem of the Messiah and his Odes at once reached a higher level by virtue of both subject and treatment, showing the influence of Milton and the great English writers, and obtained prompt response from the deepest feelings of'the national religious life, in spite of the occasional unreality which spoilt the sublimity of his works. In strong contrast to him stands Wieland (1733-1813), whose appeals to sentiment and "Schwdrmerei" were strongly influenced by French and Greek models. The work with which his memory is now chiefly associated is the Qbevon, but his productiveness was extraordinary, and enabled him to confer a new flexibility upon both language and style in both prose and verse. In one way his influence was injurious, in so far as he introduced a strongly sensuous and epicurean element. Closely related to the works of Klopstock are the writings of Gessner, Lavater, and Jacobi, while Musaus and Heinse show the influence of Wieland. A small group of poets, known as the "Gottinger Hainbund" (" Gottingen Grove League"), stood in strong opposition to Wieland and acknowledged Klopstock as inspirer and master. Of these the chief were Voss (1751-1826), famous for his translations of Homer and for the idyllic poem of Luise, Burger (1748-94), well known through the celebrated Lenore, and many vigorous lyrics and sonnets, Holty, whose odes and lyrics deal with the charms of cotmtry life, Martin Miller, and the two Counts of Stolberg. Claudius also is usually associated with this school.

In the formation of the modern period of German literature, however, the influence of Lessing (1729-1781) is supreme. The founder of modem German criticism, he is also the creator of the modern German drama. His smaller poetical works belong mainly to the lighter anacreontic school, but in Minna von Barnhehn he gave vigorous expression to the new patriotic feelings, and by this and other plays, notably Emilia Galotti, he placed the drama upon a higher level than it had ever before attained in Germany. But it is upon his critical writings that the fame of Lessing chiefly rests, and through them he opened up a new world of thought - for art by the Laokoon, for dramatic criticism by the Hamburgische Dramaturgic, for religion by the Wolfenbiittel Fragments and the great dramatic poem of Nathan the Wise. Lessing's style was a model of clearness and power. Less original than Lessing and narrower in range is Herder (1744-1803), but he did much to awa.ken a sense for the poetry of nature and of popular life by his Cid and the collection of lyrics called The

Voices of the Peoples, and to influence the methods of historical inquiry and criticism by his Itleas towards the Philosophy of the History of Humanity. Among prose writers of the period were Wincke'lmann, whose History of Ancient Art (1764) inspired the Laokoon, the popular philosophers Mendelssohn and Engel, Zimmermann (Observations on Solitude), and Moser, the first of the great modern German historians.

The strongly critical views of Lessing found opposition among a band of young writers who looked to Herder as their inspirer, and who conferred upon the decade 1770-80 the name of the Stunn- and Drang-periode (" Storm and Stress Period"). Lenz, Klinger, Muller, Schubart - would-be original geniuses, rebels against the acknowledged canons of poetry and religion - form the connecting link between the great writers of the earlier period and Goethe and Schiller.

These two great poets in their earlier works gave the finest and the best expression to the period of "Storm and Stress" which was now passing away - - Goethe in Gotz ron Berlichingen and the Sorrows of Werther, Schiller in the Robbers and 'Fiesco; but both soon acquired complete independence and gave full scope to their own creative genius. The influence exercised by them, both independently and in co-operation, was unexampled. Goethe (1749-1832) stands pre-eminent in modern literature, and his wonderful manysidedness, and long life enabled him to enrich German literature with works of the first importance in very many branches of composition, dramatic, lyric, epic, critical, narrative, and scientific. Schiller (1759-1805), though inferior to Goethe in imagination and range of sympathy, is no unworthy rival of his fame, and to the period of his classical perfection belong many of the most famous productions of the German muse. The friendship and co-operation of Goethe and Schiller between 1794 and Schiller's death in 1805 strongly influenced the intellectual development of both poets, and form one of the most remarkable phenomena in the history of literature.

The age of Goethe and Schiller was strongly influenced by the philosophical writings of the great Kant, who brought to its highest fame the German school of thought. The later writings of Schiller show many traces of the influence of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason (1781), and he applied its principles to aesthetics. The intellectual movement commenced by Kant was worthily continued by Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel, and (in a very different direction from the last-named) by Schopenhauer and Von Hartmann. Among prose writers Lichtenberg, Hippel, the great humourist Jean Paul Richter (1763-1825), and the educational reformer Pestalozzi (Leonard and Gertrude - 1781), must be mentioned. The stage was for many years to a large extent occupied by the dramas of Iffland and Kotzebue.

An important literary movement dates from the period of Goethe and Schiller's fame - the so-called "Romantic School" (at its height 1796-1800). At first under their influence, then exhibiting a strong reaction against classical form and feeling and a tendency to seek for inspiration in the Middle

Ages and the East, its leading representatives are Hardenberg (Novalis), A. W. von Schlegel, F. von Schlegel and Tieck, author of many tales, novels, and critical works. To the two last-named is due an admirable translation of Shakespeare. The tendencies of the Romantic school were continued by many other writers - by Brentano and Von Arnim, who collected the old German lyrics in Bes Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boys' Wonder-Horn, 1806-8) by Hoffman, who dwelt upon the mysterious and darker side of nature, Fouqne, best remembered by his little masterpiece of Undine (1813), and Chamisso, the author of Peter Schlemihl (1814), and by the dramatists Heinrich von Kleist, Werner, the inventor of the "fate-tragedy," Muller, and Grillparzer.

The patriotic outburst of sentiment during the War of Liberation, which found its expression in prose in Fichte's Addresses to the German Nation (1808), was celebrated in splendid lyrics by Kcirnei (1791-1813) and Arndt (1769-1860).

The productive activity of Goethe continued until the close of his life, and we may consider him as the connecting link between the older period and that which commenced with the end of the War of Liberation. As in part belonging to the period of transition may be reckoned also Uhland (1787-1862), one of the greatest modern lyrical and ballad writers, the centre of the "Swabian School" (including Kerner, Schwab and Morike), and Riickert (1789-1866), distinguished for his translations and adaptations from Oriental languages. The subsequent period was one of repression and popular discontent. The wretched novels of Clauren were widely read until extinguished by the scathing satire of Hauff (Lichtenstein, 1826); and the leading dramatists were Raupach, Auffenberg, and Immermann, the author of Miinchhausen. A strong revival followed, in which the foremost place is taken by Heinrich Heine (1799-1856 - Buck der Lieder, 1827), who as a composer of lyrics stands second only to Goethe and Schiller, and who gave to German prose style new powers of expression. Count Platen takes a prominent place as a finished and talented writer of sonnets and odes; and a school known as "Young Germany," strongly influenced by Heine and of which the chief members were Gutzkow and Laube, attempted to awaken political and social life by their romances and plays.

Among later lyrical writers of note are the Austrian poets, Count von Auersperg ("Anastasius Grein") and Nicholas von Strehlenau (" Lenau"), Hoffman von Fallersleben, Emmanuel Geibel, Freiligrath, Hamerling, Jordan, Scheffel, and many others. As elsewhere there has been in Germany a great development of novel-writing, and among writers of fiction Freytag, Scheffel, Ebers, Hahn-Hahn, Lewald, Marlitt, Heyse, Hackliinder, Auerbach, Spielhagen, and many .others are well known and widely read. Low German has again produced works of real literary merit in the popular tales and poems of Fritz Reuter, one of the most genuine of German humourists. In dramatic literature the names of repute include Guztkow, Laube, Grabbe, Hebbel, Halm (Munch Bellinghausen), Freytag, Lindau, Benedex, etc.

No sketch, however slight, of German literature would be complete without some mention of the immense services rendered by modern German scholars, theologians, travellers, philosophers, historians, and men of science. In travels Humboldt, Leipsius, Schlagintweit, Schweinfurth; in philosophy Uberweg, Zeller, Fischer, Lange; in history, Niebuhr, Ranke, Mommsen, E. Curtius; in scholarship and philology, Grimm, Dindorf, Lachmann, G. Curtius, Schleicher, Bekker, Boeckh; in theology, Julius Muller, Olshausen, Neander, Baur, Wellhausen; in science Liebig, Helmholtz, Virchow - are but a few of the many illustrious names. Selection is, however, almost impossible, and space prevents anything approaching to a full catalogue from being here given.

It may be useful to remember that German literature exhibits two periods of exceptional richness and vigour - that of the Hohenstaufens (circa 1200), and that of Goethe and Schiller (circa 1800). Each of these is preceded by a period of poverty and decay, the one in the 10th, the other in the 16th century. It has been suggested that the year 600 may be taken as about the centre of another important period - that of the heroic sagas and popular epics - of which, however, only the one fragment of the Hildebrandslied has reached us.