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Dromo's Den
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[Up] [Dromo's Den] Joseph von Eichendorff Biography EICHENDORFF, Joseph, Baron von (1788-1857). A distinguished German poet, born at Lubowitz (Upper Silesia). He studied at Halle and at Heidelberg, where his poetic talent was awakened by Armin, Brentano, Creuzer, Görres, and others. His early original work included fugitive verse, published under the name of Florens, and a prose tale, Ahnung und Gegenwart (1811). From 1813 to 1815 he participated in the War of Liberation, and from 1831 until his resignation in 1845 served as an official in the Prussian Ministry of Public Worship and Education. His poems were the last and probably the most perfect lyric expression of German Romanticism; some, especially In einem kühlen Grunde, reaching the popularity of the Volkslied. His later poetic work is generally cast in narrative form (Julian, 1853; Lucius, 1857) and is tinged with increasing clerical views. His admirable translations from the Spanish, Der Graf Lucanor (1845) and Die geistliche Schauspiele Calderons (2 vols., 1846-53), were prompted by the same tendency. His most famous prose work is the familiar tale Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts (1826), which retains its popularity throughout Germany. Mention should also be made of a series of literary critiques, beginning with Ueber die ethische and religiöse Bedeutung der neuen romantischen Poesie in Deutschland (1847); Geschichte der poetischen Litteratur Deutschlands (1857). A collective edition of his poems appeared in 1841-43 (3d ed., 1883), and a selection of his miscellaneous works in 1867 ( 5 vols.). Consult the study by Keiter (Cologne, 1887), and Krüger, Der junge Eichendorff (Oppeln, 1898). The New International Encyclopaedia, Vol. VII (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920)
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