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originality of genius ; they were Lessing, Klopstock, 

 and Wieland. G. F. Lessing (born 1729, died 1781), 

 with his clear, classical understanding, exposed 

 foreign and native absurdities in taste, and exhibited, 

 in his own productions, an example of the manner in 

 which original thoughts adopt appropriate forms, 

 without imitation of any kind. He is the founder of 

 the national German drama, and of German criticism. 

 F. G. Klopstock was taught by the ancients, that 

 there is no true poetry without patriotism and reli- 

 gion; the former he derived from the German history 

 of early times; with the latter he was inspired by the 

 holiest and highest conceptions of Christianity, which 

 produced his Messias. He also used the perfect me- 

 trical forms of the ancients, and imparted to his na- 

 tive language a high degree of dignity and correct- 

 ness. Christian M. Wieland (born 1733, died 1812), 

 an imitator neither of the Attic style, nor of the 

 French taste, called to his aid the genius of grace, 

 which inspires the former, and the natural facility 

 which prevails in the latter, to give effect to the 

 creations of his own rich and inexhaustible imagina- 

 tion. His muse, though often sensual, often verbose, 

 is full of natural grace and warm feeling. He con- 

 tributed a great deal to give to the German language 

 a greater pliability and ease. The introduction of 

 Sliakspeare into Germany could not but produce a 

 decisive influence, after the revival of a taste for the 

 earlier German poetry and the old English ballads. 

 The growing romantic tendency manifested itself in 

 many poets of the Gottingen- Union, as it was called, 

 in the ballads of Burger, the elegies of Holty, and in 

 the poems of the counts of Stolberg. The latter, 

 however, showed the influences of Homer and the 

 Greek tragedians. Their friend Voss (born 1751) 

 was unfortunate enough to forget, in his love for the 

 ancient classical poetry, that its chief merit consists 

 in its living spirit, and accommodation to the charac- 

 ter of their times; but his translations of Homer im- 

 proved the metre and displayed the richness of the 

 German language, and his idyllic poetry, though often 

 unnatural in its Greek dress, is not wanting in dignity 

 and beauty. Herder, Schiller, and Goethe, next ap- 

 pear on the German Parnassus. Herder's romantic 

 poetry was drawn from every time and nation. Wit- 

 ness his translation of Balde, his Cid, his Voices of 

 the Nations, his Legends, as well as the poetry in his 

 critical and other works. Schiller followed the ideas 

 of Klopstock, but he gave them shape and body. 

 His inspiration, instead of pervading the distant 

 heavens, and representing the conversations of God 

 and the seraphs, exhibited the struggle of human 

 virtue and human will with life and fate. His ideals 

 are as holy and elevated as Klopstock's, but they 

 appear clothed in reality and truth. It has been 

 objected to him that the poetical is too often lost in 

 the philosophical. In German tragedy, his dramati- 

 cal works are undoubtedly the first. In comparing 

 Goethe with Wieland, we hardly find any other points 

 of resemblance than their grace and fulness, their 

 liveliness and ease ; but, in Wieland, this appears to 

 be owing principally to the happy temper of the poet, 

 and his continual study of Greek and French models, 

 while, in Goethe, it is owing to the strength with 

 which his bold and penetrating spirit pervades the 

 unlimited variety of nature and the hidden recesses 

 of the human heart ; to the harmony with which his 

 rich and refined feeling echoes every voice, every 

 movement of the living world, and finds, in his bright 

 and abundant imagination, the means of the most 

 simple and striking representation. One tiling, how- 

 ever, is wanting in Goethe's productions. He does 

 not set forth strongly the moral dignity of man, the 

 power with which his spirit opposes the accidents of 

 life. The varied play of human passion \w portrays 



in a masterly manner. With these gieat names, the 

 age has produced many other poets, of whom we 

 will mention only the most eminent, or those who had 

 at least their period of distinction. Matthison 

 charmed by his tender pictures of nature. The 

 poetry of Salis was more vigorous. Tiedgeis known 

 by his Urania, in six cantos ; A. Schlegel, by his 

 excellent translations of Shakspeare, and Calderon, 

 and many original pieces of much merit ; Claudius, 

 by his popular songs and religious hymns. Of the 

 humour, wit, genius, and virtue of Jean Paul Frie- 

 derich Richter, Menzel says rightly, " No one had 

 so much power to do ill, and no one was in fact so 

 pious and childlike." Ludwig Tieck possesses poet- 

 ical resources hardly inferior to Goethe's ; and his 

 productions, moreover, are distinguished for virtue 

 and purity as well as for poetical spirit. He is, 

 moreover, one of the most learned commentators on 

 Shakspeare. Novalis, to whom the world was one 

 great poem, wrote sacred hymns of the most intense 

 feeling and the highest spirit. Ernest Schulze, at an 

 early age, was the author of two romantic epic poems, 

 the Enchanted Rose and Cecilia. Full of the spirit 

 of the war of independence, .in which he lived and 

 died, was the patriotic Theodore Korner, so cele- 

 brated for his war songs and his tragedies, which 

 breathe the spirit of Schiller, as well as for his chiv- 

 alrous death. (See Korner.} Max. von Schenkendorf 

 was, like him, a patriotic and productive poet ; Frie- 

 derich Ruckert, a poet of the most refined and abun- 

 dant imagination ; Ludwig Uhland, a genius deep, 

 rich, and unassuming : his poems breathe the true 

 spirit of romance. He endeavoured to make German 

 tragedy more national. Among the romantic modern 

 poets is also distinguished Gustavus Schwab. Gries 

 and Streckfuss have become celebrated as translators 

 of Tasso and Dante. As dramatic poets, we may 

 mention, besides those already named, Werner and 

 Mullner, Grillparzer, Houwald, Auffenberg, Klinge- 

 niaim, Raupach, Immerman; in comedies and operas, 

 Mahlmann, Von Maltitz, Ohlenschlager (a Dane), 

 Weissenthurn, Steigentesch, Schmidt, Heinrich von 

 Kleist, Schutz. The dramatical muse of Kotzebue 

 was fertile, but without dignity, and frequently with- 

 out good morals. Iffland was the author of numerous 

 family pieces. Whether the Germans have a national 

 theatre has been doubted by many even among them- 

 selves. It seems, indeed, that, notwithstanding the 

 many excellent dramatic works which they have pro- 

 duced, the difference in their form and spirit indicates 

 a deficiency in the causes which should give the 

 stamp of nationality to the productions of the German 

 theatre. That community of feeling and spirit in a 

 nation, which are necessary to give a strongly marked 

 character of individuality to its drama, are difficult 

 to be found amid the political division of the present 

 time. The sources of common interest must be looked 

 for in the earlier history of Germany, under the em- 

 perors, and in the middle ages. But the attempts 

 which have been made by Uhland and others are too 

 few and too recent to enable us to judge of the pros- 

 pect of their success. A few words remain to be 

 said on the sacred poetry of the Germans. During 

 all the aberrations and changes of taste in the other 

 branches of poetry, this one has retained its dignity, 

 except, perhaps, in the controversial period of the 

 Protestant church succeeding the reformation, when 

 doctrinal distinctions formed the subject of a great 

 number of hymns. After the Catholic poetry of the 

 middle ages, which was written mostly in Latin 

 verse, but often presented the most beautiful exhibi- 

 tions of devout feeling, the later sacred poetry begins 

 with the vigorous and pious accents of Luthvr. Pau. 

 Gerhard (1607 1676) produced hymns full of feeling 

 and deep piety. Erdmann Neuermeister in the mid- 

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