THE UBALISTIC IIIYL. 57 



on all over Germany in all phases of literary and intellectual life. 

 Miiller, however, never emerged from his period of Storm and 

 Stress. Although in his idyls he passed from the imitation of 

 Klopstock and Gessner to a natural and naive presentation of 

 life, yet his works fi'om beginning to end bear the stamp of Storm 

 and Stress, and are throughout characterized by a rough natur- 

 alism and and an entire lack of restraint. We obtain the best 

 view of the influences affecting Miiller by considering his idyls in 

 three groups: 



1. Those depicting the Patriarchal Age; 



2. The faun and satyr idyls, based upon classic models; 



3. The idyls describing the village-life of his own home near 

 the Ehine. 



Klopstock and Gessner ererted a great influence upon young 

 Miiller; their example led him to select Biblical subjects as material 

 for his idyls. His Der erschlagene Abel is an imitation of Gessner's 

 Dev Tod Abels. An episode in the latter work Miiller expands 

 into the idjdlic romance Adams erstes Erwachen und erste selige 

 Nachte. Yet though Miiller in these works adopts Gessner's 

 rhythmical prose and still makes his characters too sentimental, we 

 at once notice an improvement upon Gessner's in characterization; 

 instead of Gessner's vague, paradisical forms Miiller has produced 

 characters with real human feelings and passions. The different 

 persons appear sharply outlined against the background of an 

 idealized nature. For instance, in Miiller's idyl Gain is a real villain 

 who, however, succeeds in arousing our symphath3^ The style is 

 lively and vigorous. ^ 



Li the faun and satyr idyls Miiller frees himself still more from 

 Gessner's influence. The satyr Mopsus, Baccbidon und Milon, and 

 Der Faun (1775), even though sometimes coarse and burlesque, 

 are instinct with life and action, and are written in that vigorous 

 language which betrays the dramatist of the Storm and Stress 



1 See Hettner's edition of Maler Miiller p. VI. 



The Idyl in Qerman Literature. 4 



