TY PE S O F WE LT S C H M ERZ I N GERMAN POETRY

' L R D B RA N P h D A F E U . . WILH ELM ,

S OM ETI M E F E LLOW I N GE RMAN I C LANGUA GE S AN D U CO L U M B I A U NI V E RS I TY LITERAT RES .

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CO LUM B IA UNIVERSITY GERMAN I C STUD IES N OL . O . . V . II II

TY PE S O F WE LT S CHM ERZ I N GERM AN P OETRY

A P h D WI LH ELM LFRED B RAUN , . .

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T H E M A S O N P R E S S Y C U N E W Y O K S RA S E , R NOTE

of The author this essay has attempted to make, as he him “ self phrases it a modest contribution to the natural history of c i s Welts hmerz . What goes by that name no doubt some what elusive ; one can not easily delim it and characterize it with scientific accuracy . Nevertheless the word corresponds to a fairly definite range o f psychical reactions which are Of great interest in modern poetry , especially German poetry . The phenomenon is worth studying in detail . In undertaking a study of it Mr . Braun thought, and I readily concurred in the to Opinion , that he would do best not essay an exhaustive his to tory, but select certain conspicuously interesting types and Of o proceed by the method cl se analysis , characterization and comparison . I consider his work a valuable contribution to literary scholarship .

CALVI N T HO MAS . COLU M BI A N I VER I TY un e 1 0 U S , J , 9 5

PREFACE

TH E work which i s presented in the following pages is intended to be a modest contribution to the natural history of

c Welts hmerz . The writer has endeavored first o f all to define carefully the distinction between pessimism and Weltschmerz then to clas si f o f y the latter , both as to its origin and its forms expression , and to indicate briefly its relation to mental pathology and to contemporary social and political conditions . The three poets selected for discussion , were chosen because they represent dis

' c o o of W tin t types , under which pr bably all ther poets elt

c schmerz may be classified , or to whi h they will at least be o to found anal gous ; and to the extent which such is the case , the treatise may be regarded as exhaustive . In the case of each

o o f author treated , the devel pment the peculiar phase Of Welt c s hmerz characteristic Of him has been traced , and analyzed H Olderlin with reference to its various modes of expression . i s o o c o f the idealist, Lenau exhibits the pr f undly patheti side c con Welts hmerz , while Heine is its satirist . They have been s ide re d o in this rder, because they represent three progressive stages o f Weltschmerz viewed as a psychological process

H Olde rli n - to naive , Lenau self conscious , Heine endeavoring

c c - con eal his melan holy beneath the disguise of self irony . It i s a pleasure to tender my grateful acknowledgments to my former Professors , Calvin Thomas and William H . Carpenter

Of Columbia University , and Camillo von Klenze and Starr o Willard Cutting of the University of Chicag , under whose stimulating direction and never- failing assistance my graduate studies were carried on .

CO NTENTS

— Chapter I Introduction — Chapter II H olde rli n — Chapter III Lenau

— Chapter IV Heine — Chapter V B ibliog raphy

CHAPTER I

I n tro ducti on

The purpose of the following study is to examine closely o f certain German authors modern times , whose lives and writ ings exemplify in an unusually striking degree that peculiar phase Of lyric feeling which has chara cterized German liter or o m o f ature , often in a more less epidemic f r , Since the days “ ” to Werther , and which , at an early period in the nineteenth “ century , was assigned the significant name Weltschmerz . of With this side Of the poet under investigation , there must o necessity be an enquiry , not nly into his writings , his expressed feelings , but also his physical and mental constitution on the on e hand , and into his theory of existence in general On the h other . Psychology and philosophy t en are the two adj acent fields into which it may become necessary to pursue the subj ect

for o o o in hand , and this reas n it is nly fair to call attenti n to the difficulties whi ch surround the student Of literature in dis or o cussing philosophical ideas psychol gical phenomena . In trepid indeed would it be for him to attempt a final j udgment in ff these bearings of his subj ect , where wise men have di ered and c do tors have disagreed . m Although someti es loosely used as synonyms , it is necessary

' to note that there is a well - defin ed distin ction between Welt ‘ schmerz and pessimism . Weltschmerz may be defined as the l poetic expression of an abnormal sensitiveness of the feelings to — the m oral and physical evils and misery of existen ce a condi tion which may or may not be based upon a reasoned conviction that the sum o f human misery is greater than the sum of human i happiness . It s usually characterized also by a certain lack of - of o will energy , a sort sentimental yielding t these painful emo “ ” . of emii t tions It is therefore entirely a matter G . Pessi 2

m o o to mis , on the ther hand , purp rts be a theory of existence , the result of deliberate philosophic argument and investigation , by which i ts votaries have reached the dispassionate conclusion that there is no real good or pleasure in the world that is not

clearly outweighed by evil or pain , and that therefore self

c o r o i s o destru tion , at least final annihilati n the c nsummation

o to dev utly be wished . 1 on James Sully , in his elaborate treatise Pessimism , divides r it , however , into easoned and unreasoned Pessimism , including

i s co Weltschmerz under the latter head . This entirely mpatible with the definition Of Weltschmerz which has been attempted h o above . But it is interesting to note t e attitude f the pessi

c mistic s hool of philosophy toward this unreasoned pessimi sm . it It emphatically disclaims any interest in or connection with ,

~ and describes all those who are affli cted with the malady as — “ execrable fellows to quote Hartmann Kla g ew e ib e r mann w c m lichen und eiblichen Geschlechts , wel he am eisten zur Dis cre diti e run g des Pessimismus beigetragen haben , die sich in m m una ut rli ch ew ige La ento ergehen , und entweder in

Thrane n c mm s hwi en , Oder bitter wie Wermut und Essig , sich

' selbst und andern das Dasein noch mehr v e rgalle n ; eine jam m erli che S o de s S timm un s e ssimi sm us ituati n g p , der sie nicht ' ” 2 l s leben und nicht sterben ai st . And yet Hartmann him sel f does not hesitate to admit that this very conditi on o f “ ” or individual Weltschmerz , Zerrissenheit , is a necessary and inevitable stage in the progress o f the mind toward that clarified universal Welts chmerz which is based upon theoretical m m m m o c . insight , na ely pessi is in its ost l gi al sense This being

n ot o granted , we shall be far astray in assuming that it is als the stage to whi ch the phil osophi c pessimist will sometimes

hi s revert , when a strong sense Of own individuality asserts

itself . If we attempt a classification Of Weltschmerz with regard to

c to i ts its essen e , or , better perhaps , with regard origin , we Shall find that the various types may be classed under one of two

1 “ ” s s s a H s a n d a s n n 1 8 . Pe imi m , i tory Critici m , Lo do , 7 7 2 “ Ed. v on n n : Zur s u n d B e rii n du n de s ss s u s Hartma Ge chichte g g Pe imi m , i e n n a . 1 8 L ipz g , Herma Ha cke , p 7 . 3

s of heads : either a cosmic or as egoistic . The representatives cosmic Weltschmerz are those poets whose first concern is not their personal fate , their own unhappiness , it may be , but who se e first and forem ost the sa d fate o f humanity and regard their own misfortunes merely as a part Of the common destiny . The representatives of the second type are those introspective natures who are first and chiefly aware of their own misery and finally come to regard it as representative of universal evil .

o The f rmer proceed from the general to the particular , the latter

o fr m the parti cular to the general . But that these types must 1 c c ne essarily be entirely distin t in all cases , as Marchand asserts , m see s Open to serious doubt . It is inconceivable that a poet into whose personal experien ce n o Shadows have fallen should take the woes of humanity very deeply to heart ; nor again could we im agine that on e who has brooded over the unhappy condi ti on of mankind in general Sh ould never give expression to a of o note of personal sorrow . It is in the complexity m tives in one and the same subj ect that the difficulty lies in making rigid

m c e c and sharp distinctions . In so e as s Welts hmerz may arise

c or m a from honest convi tion genuine despair , in others it y be

c c c something entirely artifi ial , merely a loak to over personal S om m m a o a s defects . eti es it y even be due to a desire to p se a m m o m to artyr , and so etimes n thing more than an atte pt ape the S prevailing fashion . To these types Wilhelm cherer adds

' Mii s si an e r c ii ble r gg g , wel he sich die Zeit mit Laune vertreiben , mi ssve r nii te c g g Lyriker , deren Gedichte ni ht mehr gelesen wer

S atz enkO fe e fii r den , und p p , w lche den Pessimismus besonderen Tiefsinn halten und um j eden Preis tiefsinnig ers cheinen ” 2 o w llen . But it i s with Weltschmerz in its outward mani festati ons as ’ c it finds expression in the poet s writings , that we Shall be hiefly c oncerned in the following pages . And here the subdivisions ,

to c i f we attempt lassify , must be almost as numerous as the

m H olde rli n ' representatives the selves . In we have the ardent Helleni c idealist ; Lenau gives expressi on to all the pathos of

1 “ L ’ e s e s u s de l Aut ri che a i s 1 8 86 . 2 . Po te Lyriq e , P r , , p 93 2 “ Vortrage u n d Au f séi tze zu r Ges chichte de s gei sti gen Leben s i n Deuts chlan d ”

1 1 n d s i n 1 8 . 1 . Oe terreich , Berl , 7 4 , p 4 3 4

Weltschmerz , Heine is its satirist , the misanthrope, while in

Raabe we even have a pessimistic humorist . This brief list needs scarcely be supplemented by other names of von poets of melancholy , such as Reinhold Lenz , Heinrich

Kleist, Robert Southey , Byron , Leopardi , in order to command our attention by reason o f the tragic fate which ended the lives of nearly all of these men , the most frequent and the most ter m rible being that Of insanity . It is of course a atter of common knowledge that chronic melancholy or the persistent brooding over personal misfortune is an almost inevitable preliminary to mental derangement . And when this melancholy takes root in

of c the finely organized mind genius , it is only to be expe ted that the result will be even more disastrous than in the case of o m en of the rdinary mind . Lombroso holds the Opinion that if or genius are not all more less insane , that is , if the spheres ” of c Of influence genius and insanity do not a tually overlap , so they are at least contiguous at many points , that the t ransition from the former to the latter i s extremely easy and i s n o m even natural . But genius in itself t an abnormal ental o of conditi n . It does not even consist an extraordinary mem or m or o f y, Vivid imagination , quickness Of j udg ent , a combi o f o f nati n o all of these . Kant defines genius as the talent

o inventi n . Originality and productiveness are the fundamental

Of c elements genius . And it is an almost instinctive force whi h m urges the author on in his creative work . In the ain his activity is due less to free will than to this inner com pulsi on .

I ch a e e s e n n n s a uf h lt di Dra g vergebe , n n n n De r Tag u d Na cht i m ei em B us e we c h s e lt . ‘ n n i ch n i ch t s n n n O c n 5 0 11 We i e der di hte , ” S o i st das n m i r n n m Lebe kei Lebe ehr,

’ 1 says Goethe s Tasso . If this impulse of genius is embodied in for a strong physical Organism , as example in the case Of

Shakespeare and Goethe , there need be no detriment to physical

c health ; otherwise , and espe ially if there is an inherited ten d n c e . y to disease , there is almost sure to be a physical collapse S pecialists in the subj ect have pointed out that violent passions are even more potent in producing mental disease than mere

1 Act . 2 . 5 , Sc 5

- h intellectual over exertion . And these are certainly c aracter

i sti c in a very high degree of the mind of genius . It has often been remarked that it is the corona spi nosa of genius to feel all pain more intensely than do other men . Schopenhauer says ” der, in welchem der Genius lebt , leidet am meisten . It is o H am e rli n nly going a step further then , when g writes to his Mé s r : es friend e Schliesslich ist doch nur der Kranke , der sich das Leid der ganzen Welt zu Herzen nimmt “ Ra destock , in his study Genie und Wahnsinn , mentions and elaborates among others the following points o f resemblance between the mind of genius and the insane mind : an abnormal

o f c activity the imagination , very rapid suc ession Of ideas , ex on or treme c centration Of thought upon a single subj ect idea , and lastly , what would seem the cardinal point , a weakness Of

- will energy , the lack Of that force which alone can serve to bring under control all these other unruly elements and give balance to what must otherwise be an extremely one- sided to mechanism . Here again the exception may be taken prove too the rule . It is not much , I think , to assert that Goethe so not could never have become uniquely great , even through of the splendid versatility his genius , but for that incomparable

- o c Of . self c ntrol , which he made the wat hword his life And in the case o f the poet Of Weltschmerz the presence or absence of this quality may even decide whether he shall rise superior to hi s or beclouded condition perish in the gloom . The con

Ra de stock elusion at which arrives is that genius , as the Of expression the most intense mental activity , occupies the m on middle ground , as it were , between the nor al healthy state

the one hand , and the abnormal , pathological state on the other , and has without doubt many points of contact with mental dis ease ; and that although the elements which genius has in c ommon with insanity may not be strong enough in themselves to induce the transition from the former to the latter state , yet

when other aggravating causes are added , such as physical or or disease , violent emotions passions , overwork , the pressure o f distress outward circumstances , the highly gifted individual is much more liable to cross the line of demarkation between two the mental states than is the average mind , which is more 6

remote from that line . If this can be asserted of genius in general , it must be even more particularly and widely applicable

to m c in reference a co bination Of genius and Welts hmerz . We shall find pathetic examples in the first two types selected for examination . Having thus introduced the subj ect in its most general bear

hi s r ings and aspects , it remains for us to review briefly its to ical background .

c o f Of c c Welts hmerz is essentially a symptom a period onfli t , of o c o transition . The p werful rea ti n which marks the — eighteenth century a reaction against all traditional intel lectual authority , and a struggle for the emancipation Of the o Of — individual , of research , of inspirati n and genius reached i ts - h high water mark in Germany in the seventies . But wit the unrestrained outbursts Of the champions o f Storm and Stress the problem was by no means solved ; there remained the basic conflict between the idea of personal liberty and the — F re de ri ci an m w strait j acket of absolutis , the conflict bet een

Of the dynastic and the national idea the state . Should the

e individual yield a blind , unr asoned submission to the state as

o o or to a divinely instituted arbitrary auth rity , go d or bad , was the state to be regarded as the conscious and voluntary coOpe r o f ? ation its subj ects for the general good It was , moreover ,

n ot a time only of open and active revolt , as represented by the

o se n spirit Of Klinger , but also of great em tional stirrings , and time ntal S H Ol yearnings of uch passive natures as ty. Rous ’ sean s plea for a simplified and more natural life had exerted a nd mighty influence . A what has a most important bearing upon the relation between these intellectual currents and Welt — schmerz these minds were lacking in the discipline implied i n

c c s of h our modern s ientific training . Scientifi exactnes t ink

I n o H g had not become an integral part f education . ence the difference between the pessim ism Of Ibsen and the romantic

Weltschmerz o f these uncritical minds . ’ In accounting for the tremendous e fl e ct produced by his ” h Werther , Goethe compares his work to the bit of fuse whic o f was explodes the mine , and says that the shock the explosion so great because the young generation o f the day had already

8

s commonplace character of its architecture and art . Geniu was there , indeed , but never were its Opportunities for public usefulness more limited . It was as though the greatness of the days of the second Frederick lay like a paralyzing weight upon as this generation . And this Oppressing sense of impotence w of di s followed , after the Napoleonic Wars , by the bitterness o f appointment , all the more keenly felt by reason this first h reawakening of t e national consciousness . Great had been was the expectations , enormous the sacrifice ; exceedingly small 1 the gain to the individual . And the resultant dissonance was the same as that to which Alfred de Musset gave expression in “ the words : The malady Of the present century is due to two causes ; the people who have passed through 1 793 and 1 8 1 4 r w a s bear in their hea ts two wounds . All that is no more ; all

DO o fin d that will be is not yet . not h pe to elsewhere the ” 2 our secret Of ills . This then in briefest outline is the transition from the cen tury of individualism and autocracy to the nineteenth century o c f democracy . Small wonder that the struggle laimed its of victims in those individuals who , unable to find a firm basis c i nsti nc conviction and prin iple , vacillated constantly between old to tive adherence to traditions , and unreasoned inclination

n e the w order of things .

1 ’ A s early a s 1 7 97 H OIde rli n s Hyperio n lamen ts : Mein Ge scha ft auf Erde n

i st a us . b i n n s a n die n n da rii b e r u n d Ich voll Wille Arbeit gega ge , habe geblutet , “ ” “ ’ i n H OIde rli n s d e Welt um kei en Pfen n ig reicher gemacht. ( gesammelte Dich ” un n u s n v on . n n n . . . t ge , hera gegebe B Litzma , Stuttgart, Cotta, u dated Vol II , p Several decades later Hei n e writes : Ich kan n mich fiber die Siege mei ner

I i s n Ue b e rze u un e n n n da s i e a r zu s n . eb te g g icht recht freue , mir g viel geko tet habe ss m a b e i n n n n de r s n u nd e s a b e i zu Da elbe g ma chem ehrliche Ma e Fall ei , tr gt viel ” de r ss n dii ste re n s u n de r n . 2 1 1 8 1 a n gro e Ver timm g Gege wart ( Brief vom April , 5 ,

s K Ka r e le s e d. . . Gu tav olb ; Werke , p Vol IX , p 2 “ ’ n s s n d un n n du sié cle . (E uvre s com l. s 1 88 8 Char e n Co fe io e fa t p Pari , ( p

i . . 2 . t er) Vol . VIII , p 4 CHAPTER II

H olde rli n

c o f H olde rli n as was h A case su h as that , subj ect he from t e

c o i n time Of his boyhood to melan h ly , and ending in hopeless

at o of . or sanity , nce suggests the question heredity Little

o c o c nothing is kn wn con erning his rem te an estors . His great grandfather had been administrato r o f a convent at Grossb ott

- o f o o f o . war , and died dr psy the chest at the age Of f rty seven His grandfather had held a sim ilar position as “ Klosterhof ” ff meister und geistlicher Verwalter at Lau en , to which his ’ son . , the poet s father , succeeded An apoplectic stroke ended ’ - six to HOlde rli n s his life at the early age Of thirty . In regard

c our o h maternal an estors , informati n is even more scant , thoug we know that both his grandmother and his mother lived to a ’ ripe Old age . From the poet s references to them we j udge e them to have been entirely normal types of intelligent , lovabl women , gifted with a great deal of good practical sense . The ’ only striking thing is the premature death of H Olde rlin s great of grandfather and father . But in View of the nature their stations in life , in which they may fairly be supposed to have - h led more than ordinarily sober and well ordered lives , t ere ’ seems to be no ground whatever for assuming that H Olderli n s Weltschmerz owed its inception in any degree to hereditary ’ tendencies , notwithstanding Hermann Fischer s Opinion to the 1 f “ contrary . There is no su ficient reason to assume erbliche f Belastung , and there are other su ficient causes without merely guessing at such a possibility . But while there are no sufficient historical grounds for the supposition that he brought the germ Of his subsequent mental hi s to disease with him in birth , we cannot fail Observe , even in

- . (1. Alt . 2 2 . 2 1 2 2 1 8 . f vol , p 10

the child , certain natural traits , which , being allowed to develop of unchecked , must necessity hasten and intensify the gloom TO t which hung over his life . his deep though fulness was

added an abnormal sensitiveness to all external influences . m n Like the delicate ane one , he recoiled and withdrew withi 1 m ouc ou m hi self when t hed by the r gher aterial things Of life . He himself p oeti cally des cribes his absentm indedness when a “ ” bo c m m-e r m y, and alls hi self ein Trau ; and a drea er he to remained all his life . It seems have been this which first brought him into dis cord with the world :

’ Oft s o i c h s c s i n m n e c u n n llt tra k ei S h le wa der , o c s c an m e s s D h ehe i h der Tr er ver ah , ' ’ S O i n de n n s c hatt er Garte i h verirrt , U n d s as s c u n de n n behagli h ter O live , ’ n n ff i n s o U d u o s c . b a te Fl tte , hi t h he M eer

s o s e m c u s n n n Die k tet i h ta e d klei e Leide , c e s m m n n m c o ft Verzeihli h war i er, we i h Di e K lii e re n m i t c m Ge lach t e r g , herzli he Au s m n s n s s e s c c n ei er elige Ek ta hre kte , 2 oc un uss c c es mi r D h a pre hli h wehe that .

If ever a boy needed a strong fatherly hand to guide him , to — teach him self reliance and practical sense , it was this dreamy , 3 - o c tender spirited child . The l ve and sympathy whi h his mother bestowed upon him wa s n ot calculated to fit him for

r c o the ugged experien es Of life , and while pr bably natural and r h pardonable , it was neve theless extremely unfortunate that t e “ boy was unconsci ously encouraged to be and to remain a Mut ” r hn h n hi s o f te sO c e . But even with peculiar trend disposition ,

not one the result might have been an unhappy , had the course of his life not brought him more than an ordinary share of mis i n for two fortune . This overtook him early life , when but

1 ’ I n a t o h i s h e s : i i i st s u n n ss letter mother write Fre l ch mir a ch a gebore , da ” s s zu n n . H blde rli n s n i n n ich alle chwerer Herze ehme Friedrich Lebe , Briefe ' ” v on un d a n H olde rli n v on C . T. n n n 1 8 0 . 2 . , Carl Litzma , Berli , 9 , p 7 Hereafter qu oted a s 2 “ ' H olde rli n s s i u n n u s n v on B . n n u ge ammelte D cht ge , hera gegebe Litzma , St tt

a u a s . I I . . gart, Cotta (here fter q oted Vol , p 9 3 ’ I t i s a remi n i s cen ce of H olde rli n s boyhood which fi n ds expre ssio n i n the “ s i n : wa r u a s n wi e n R n u n d word of Hyper o Ich a fgew ch e , ei e ebe oh e Stab , die ” W R n n e n n u n s s ii b e r de m n s a u s . . ilde a k breitete richt g lo Bode ich Werke , Vol II , 2 p . 7 . 11

now years Of age his father died . His widowed mother lived for a few years in complete retirement with her two children ’ the poet s Sister Henrietta having been born j ust a fe w weeks ’ hi s wa s after father s demise . But it not long before death ’ of H Olde rli n s again entered the household and robbed it aunt , ’ hi s wa s deceased father s sister , who herself a w idow and the ’ faithful companion of the poet s mother . When the latter tw o found herself again alone with her little ones , whose care she c was weighing heavily upon her , onsented to become the ’ of Gock wi fe her late husband s friend , Kammerrat , and aecom pa n i ed him to his home in the little town o f Nfirti ng en on the

re - to N e cka r. But this established marital happiness was be Of 1 o brief duration , for in 779 her sec nd husband died , and the mother was now left with four little children to care and pro

vide for . The frequency with which death visited the family during hi s childhood and youth , familiarized him at an early age with o too scenes f sorrow and grief . No doubt he was young when his father died to comprehend the calamity that had come upon not the household , but it was many months before he knew the ’ hi s meaning of his mother s tears , not only for father, but also hi s who . for his sister , died in her infancy Referring to ’ o f m father s death , he writes in one his early poe s , Einst ” und Jetzt ‘ 1

n s s c u s du m i r s o u m o s Ei t hl g t r hig , e p rte H erz l

n s i n des s S choosse de s n n Ei t Vater , liebe de n s — Wii r e r k a m Geliebte Vater , aber der g , Wi r n n fl e ht e n o c Wii r e r wei te , , d h der g

c n de n f u n d e s s n di e S tii t z e . S h ellte P eil , a k

wa s At his tenderest and most impressionable age , the boy thus made sadly aware of the fl e eti ng n e ss of human life and the m o pains of bereave ent . We cann t wonder then at finding these

c o c impressions refle ted in his most j uvenile p eti attempts . His “ o m c p e Das mens hliche Leben , written at the age of fifteen , begins :

n s c n n sc n ! w a s i st e u n M e he , M e he er Lebe ,

1 8 6 . Werke , Vol . I , p . 1 2

u e di e th ra n e nv lle ! E r Welt , o We lt se c u z nn e u e n Die r S ha plat , ka er Fr d gebe 1 WO s i c h Trau er n n i cht dazu ge s e llt ?

But a time of still greate r unhappiness wa s in store for him when he left his hom e at the age of fourteen to enter the con

c o o vent s ho l at Denkend rf , where he began his preparation for a theological course . A more direct antithesis to all that his body and soul yearned for and needed for their proper develop ment could scarcely have been devised than that which existed in the chilling atmosphere and rigorous discipline of the m on a s r not i nce n i ' o te y. He had even an t ve t endure hardships for of for sub the sake what lay beyond , it was merely in passive ’ mission to his mother s wish that he had decided to enter holy now orders . And , clad in a sombre monkish gown , deprived of all freedom Of thought or movement and forced into com

an i onshi -five or own p p with twenty thirty fellows Of his age , HOlde rli n who nearly all misunderstood him , felt himself “ ’ von wretched indeed . War ich doch ewig ferne diesen ” Mauern des Elends l he writes in a poem at Maulbronn in one There was for him but way of escape . It was to isolate himself a s much a s possible from the world of harsh con reality about him , to be alone , and there in his solitude to for Of . struct himself an ideal world fancy , a poetic dreamland This mental habit not only remained with him as he grew into

one o f hi s manhood, it may be said to have been through life most distinguishing characteristics . It would be impossible to make room here for all the passages in his poems and letters his of this period , which reflect his love of solitude and habit hi s Own s of retreating into a world of imagining . His letter to his friend Nast alm ost invariably co ntain some expression “ - Bilfin r i s . e t e s of his heart ache g wohl mein Freund , aber

zu lii ckli ch als h geht ihm g , dass er sich nac mir umsehen mOcht — e . e r Du wirst mich schon verstehen ist immer lustig, ” “ i ch m 3 hange im er den Kopf . Another letter begins : Wieder — eine Stunde wegphantasie rt l dass es doch so schlechte i ebt Cam eraden S o Menschen g , unter meinen elende Kerls

1 . 6 . Werke , Vol I , p . 3 2 “ n s n . . . Auf ei er Heide ge chriebe , Werke , Vol I , p 44 8 i 2 . Br efe , p . 7 1 3

wann mich die Freundschaft nicht zuweilen wieder gut machte , ’ so hatt ich mich manchmal schon lieber an jeden andern Ort wii nscht Me nsch n esellscha ft — h e e . g , als unter g Wann ic nur auch einmal etwas recht Lustiges schreiben kOnnte ! N ur ’ ’ ’ Ge dult ! S m — f i ch — wird ko men ho f , Oder Oder hab ich dann ? was nicht genug getragen Erfuhr ich nicht schon als Bube , ’ wii rde ? als ii n lin h den Mann seufzen machen und J g g , ge t s da ’ besser -Du lieber Go tt ! bin ich s denn allein ? j eder andre ’ ” 1 glii ckli che r als i ch ? U n d was hab ich dann getha n There h su es is a world of pathos in this helpless cry of pain , wit its gg f 8 “ ” of . o 1 8 tion retributive fate A poem 7 , Die Stille, written at Maulbronn , epitomizes almost everything that we have thus ’ HOlderli n s far noted as to nature . He goes back in fancy to O f c o c hi s m the days his hildh od , des ribing lonely rambles fro

hi s which he would return in the moonlight , unmindful of late of h ness for the evening meal , at which he would hastily eat t at which the others had left

c c m c n n i ch s s s n S hli h i h , we att gege e , n m n m n c Weg vo ei e l ustige Ge s hwisterpaar .

O ! i n m ei n e s klei n e n S tub che n s Still e m i r n n so ii b e r s o War da alle w hl , ’ Wi e i m m m s in c e u Te pel war ir der Na ht H lle, n n s o e n s am vo n de m u m di e o e s c o Wa i T r Gl ck h ll .

Als i ch weggeri ss e n v o n de n M ei ne n A u s de m lieb e n e lterli che n H au s n m e n w o i ch n m m e e ne n U ter Fre d irrte , i r w i u e i n da s un We lt e w i rr n au s D rft , b te g hi ,

w i e fl e te s t da de n a m e n un e n O p g r J g , u e so m it Mutte rzartli chke it Te r , , n n s c i m We lt e wi rre m u d e un e n Wa er i h g g r g , i 2 I n n mu s o n n sam . der l ebe , weh t v lle Ei keit

This love o f solitude i s carried to the extreme in his contem ’ “ l tion o to : p a f a hermit s life . In a letter Nast he says Heute so vor fiel ging ich mich hin , da mir ein , ich wolle nach vollen — deten Unive rsitats Jahren Einsiedler werden und der Gedanke

1 2 . Briefe, p . 9 2 Werke , Vol . I , p . 5 3 f . 14

’ efiel so h g mir wo l , eine ganze Stunde , glaub ich , war ich in ” 1 m n i einer Fa ta s e Einsiedler . And although he never became a hermit, this is the final disposition which he makes of himself “ in his Hyperion .

These habits of thought and feeling, formed in boyhood , on could lead to only e result . He became less and less quali fl e d to comprehend and to grapple with the practical problems ffi of and di culties life , and entered young manhood and the struggle for existence at a tremendous disadvantage . Another trait of his character which served to intensify his subsequent disappointments , was the . strong ambition which to hi s early filled his soul . He aspired high achievements in

of . chosen field art In a letter to Louise Nast , written prob o f 1 0 ably about the beginning 79 , he makes the confession “ unii b erwi ndli che Triib si nn i st Der in mir wohl nicht ganz , ” 2 — Of doch meist unbefriedigter Ehrgeiz . The mere lad seventeen had scarcely learned to admire Klopstock , when he “ speaks Of his own kampfendes Streben nach Klopstocks “ rOsse : Ehre n fa d! g , and exclaims Hinan den herrlichen p

! im luhe n den m zu c Hinan g kuhnen Trau , sie errei hen It is remarkable to note how this fancy Of a dream -li fe becomes ’ H ld rli n s fixed in O e mind and reappears in almost every poem . “ ” of lii ckli che Closely allied to this idea is that a g Trunkenheit , “ Gottertraum da s and expressions like w ie ein Alter schwand , “ ” “ ” “ li eb etrunken e ntfl iehen , Wie ein Traum Ewigkeiten , sie ” “ ” “ e strunk en kii hne damm e rt g , susse, Trunkenheit , trunken on of die Seele mir , can be found almost every page his shorter on poems . Hyperion expresses himself one occasion in the “ : 0 i st traumt words ein Gott der Mensch , wenn er , ein

Bettler , wenn er nachdenkt , und wenn die Begeisterung hin ist ,

mi ssra then e r steht er da , wie ein Sohn , den der Vater aus dem armli che n Hause stiess , und betrachtet die Pfennige , die ihm ” 4 da s c Mitleid auf den Weg gab , whi h further illustrates the extravagant idealism by whi ch he allowed himself to be carried away , and the etherial and thoroughly unpractical trend of his

1 i 6 . Br efe , p . 3 2 i 1 2 0 . Br efe , p . 3 “ i n s . . . Me Vor atz , Werke , Vol I , p 44 1‘ . . 6 . Werke , Vol II , p 9

16

” 1 oo ich ihn auch lesen . It was during this time t that that he “ so ss a Da became ardent an admirer of Schubart and O i n . ’ ” u n d zu leg ich meinen Ossian weg komme Dir , he writes in

hi s 1 788 to friend Nast . Ich habe meine Seele geweidet an den Helden des Barden , habe mit ihm getrauert , wann er ” 2 no s trauert tiber sterbende Madchen . There is t a sensuou ’ HOlde rli n are note in all s poems or letters to Louise . Typical the lines which he addresses to her on hi s departure from Maul bronn

ss s i e o n di e u me di e n La dr he , St r , Leide , — L a s s tre n n e n der Tre nnun g J a h re S i e tr e nn e n un s n i c ht ! S i e tre n n e n un s n i cht ! D e n n m ei n bi st du ! U n d ub e r da s Gr a b hi naus i da u re n di e u n n n o s e e e . S ll , zertre bare Li b

’ O ! w e n n s e i n st da i st Da s o s se s n s s gr elige Je eit , WO di e o n e de m e n e n e Kr l eid d Pilg r , Di e m e de m e n Pal Si ger bli kt , — D an n F re un di n lo h n e t auch Fr e u n d s ch a ft f 3 Auch Fre un dscha t der Ewige . The second bearing which his relations to Louise have upon his Weltschmerz lies in the fact that his love ended in di sap n i s not poi tment . This true not only Of this particular episode , - ff di sa only of all his love a airs , but it may even be said that p pointment was the fate to which he found himself doomed i n And h s all his aspirations . in the persistency with w ich thi evil angel pursued his footsteps through life may be found on of o e the chief causes of the early collapse f his faculties .

1‘ 5 What David Mii lle r and Hermann Fis cher have said in their — essays in regard to this point that H Olde rli n did n ot become insane because his li fe was a succession O f unsatisfactory situa

i l o c tions and pa nfu disapp intments , but be ause he had not the strength to work him sel f out of these Situations int o m ore — o e . fav rable ones stat s only hal f the case True , a stronger

1 Briefe , p . 49 . 2 . 0 . Briefe , p 5 3 e W rke , Vol . I , p . 7 4 . “ 4 - H OIde rli n n u P re uss J a hrb . 1 8 66 . 8 68 . Friedrich , Ei e St die , . , , p 5 4 5 “ A n - a . . . A lt u m 2 1 1 e rt . 2 2 2 2 8 . f d , Vol , p . 1 7 mental organization might have overcome these or even greater

f c c not di ficulties ; S hiller , Herder , Fi hte are examples ; but ’ all Of H Olde rli n s failures and disappointments were the result o f S O his weakness , and while it is right to state that a stronger

o o and more robust nature w uld have c nquered in the fight , it i s als o fair to say that H Olde rli n would have had a good

c o f . chan e winning , had fortune been more kind For this reason these external influences must be reckoned with as an important cause of his Weltschmerz and subsequently Of his insanity . This suggests an interesting point of comparison— i f I may — be permitted to anticipate somewhat with Lenau , the second H Olde rli n type selected . earnestly pursued happiness and con

m nt on tent e . , but it eluded him at every step Lenau the con tra ry reached a p oint in his Weltschm erz where he refused to see anything in li fe but pain , wilfully thrusting from him even as such happiness came within his reach . ’ We may postpone any detailed reference to H olde rli n s rela Gontard tions with Susette , which were vastly more important ’ in their influence upon the poet s character and Weltschmerz , “ ” c m c o o f hi s until we o e to the dis ussi n Hyperion , of which one Susette , under the pseudonym of Diotima , forms of the central figures . To Speak of all the disappointments which fell to Holder ’ lin s lot would practically require the writing o f hi s biography from the time of his graduation from Tii b i ngen to his return of hi s from Bordeaux , almost the entire period sane manhood .

Unsuccessful in his first position as a tutor , and unable , after h aving abandoned this , to provide even a meagre living for hi s himself with his pen , migration to Frankfort to the house of the merchant Gontard at last gave him a hOpe of better h hO e t ings , but a p which soon proved vain . Following close upon these disappointments was his failure to carry out a of proj ect which he had long cherished , establishing a literary j ournal ; then came his dismissal from a situation which he had i j ust entered upon in Switzerland . On h s return he wrote to for Schiller help and advice , and his failure to receive a reply grieved him deeply . We can only surmise that it was a cruel 1 8

disappointment , finally , which caused his sudden departure m to fro Bordeaux , and brought him back a mental wreck his

’ - 1 88 HOlde rli n mother s home . Even as early as 7 complains “ ” bitterly in the poem Der Lorbeer , in which he eulogizes the poets Klopstock and Young and expresses his own ambition to aspire to their greatness

S c h o n s o m a n che Fru cht e s ch on er Keim e 1 Lo ge n grau s am m i r i n s A n g e si cht .

o f As the years passed , this feeling disappointment and disil lu i n m s o beca e more and more intense and bitter . A stanza “ ” m o o 1 from one of his re mature p ems ( 795 ) An die Natur , will serve to illustrate the sentiment which pervades almost all his writings :

' To t i st n un di e m c o u n d s , i h erz g tillte , To t i st n u n di e u n c j ge dli he Welt , s us di e ns ei n mm fullte Die e Br t , ei t Hi el , To t un d dii rfti g w i e e i n St o p p el fel d ; A ch e s S i n gt der Fr u hli n g m ei n e n S o rge n o c w i e n s e i n f un c t rOs te n d N h , ei t , re dli h Lied , hi n i st m n s n s o n Aber ei e Lebe M rge , 2 n n r M ei e s H erze n s F rii hli g i st v e b lii ht .

’ In close causal connection with H olde rli n s Weltschmerz i s his belief that his li fe i s ruled by an inexorable fate who se play “ n e o thi g he is . W nn hinf rt mich das Schicksal ergreift , und v on c K rafte einem Abgrund in den andern mi h wirft , und alle ' ” 3

a lle Ge dank en c m . in mir ertrankt und . , Hyperion ex lai s He

c . goes even further , and onceives the idea of a sacrifice to Fate “ Thu s he makes Alab an da say near the cl ose O f Hyperi on “ Ach ! Glii ck c O weil kein ist Ohne Opfer , nimm als Opfer mi h , ” 4 S c c un u d . hi ksal an , lass die Liebenden in ihrer Fre de Wil ’ helm S cherer calls attention to Ge rv i n us rem ark that new intel lectual tendencies which call for unaccustomed and unusual m ff e ental e ort Oft n prove disastrous to S ingle individuals , and “ says : H Olde rli n war also ein Opfer der Erneuerung des — deutschen Lebens seltsam , wie der Gedanke des Opfers als

1 I . . Werke , Vol . , p 7 5 2 ' . I . 1 6 . Werke , Vol , p 4 3 1 0 . Werke , Vol . II , p . 7 4 . . 1 8 8 . Werke , Vol II , p 19

ein hoher und herrlicher ihn in allen seinen Gedichten viel b e ~ ” 1 o o s chaftigt hat . But the p et d es not apply this fatalism only to to himself , the individual ; he widens its influence to human “ ity in general . Wir sprechen von unserm Herzen , unsern ” “ e s Planen , als waren Sie unser , says Hyperion , und ist doch m i ns eine fremde Gewalt , die uns heru wirft und Grab legt ,

c von si e wie es ihr gefallt , und von der wir ni ht wissen , wannen

mm c ko t , no h wohin sie geht Perhaps nowhere better than ’ “ in Hyperion s S chi cksalslied does he give poetic expression to : this thought . Omitting the first stanza it reads thus

S chi ck s a llo s w i e der s chlafe n de Sii ug li ng atm e n di e Him m li s che n ; Ke u s ch bewahrt I n s c n no s be heide er K p e , B lii he t e wig n n s I h e der Gei t , U n d di e s elige n A uge n B li cke n i n s tiller

Ewige r Kl arheit .

c un s i st n D o h gegebe ,

Auf n a z u u n kei er St tte r h , E s s c n n e s f n hwi de , alle Di e leide n de n M e n s che n B li n dli n g s v o n ei n er u n z ur n n St de a der , Wi e Wa s s er v o n Kli p p e Zu o f n Klip p e gew r e , a a hrl n i n n n J a g s U gewi ss e bi ab .

’ “ The fundamental difference between H olde rli n s Anschauung ’ “ and Goethe s i s at once apparent when we recall the Lied der ” “ ” m H l'de rli n Parzen fro Iphigenie . O does not bring the

o con blessed Genii into any relati n with mortals , but merely

tra sts im their free and blissful existence , emphasizing their f munity from Fate , to which su fering humanity is subj ect . But this humanity is represented by H Olde rli n characteristically as “ ” “ helpless , passive fallen , blindlings von einer ” ’ S tunde zur andern . Whereas the opening lines Of Goethe s

1 “ H n d Au fsatze 1 8 . l rli n a u o de . . Vortr ge , 7 4 , Fried , p 3 5 4 1’ 6 . Werke , Vol . II , p . 9 3 1 8 . Werke , Vol . II , p . 9 20

Parzen strike the keynote Of confli ct between the gods and men I E s fur chte di e G o tter D a s M e n s che n ge s c hle cht ! S i e halte n di e H err sc haft I n ewige n H an de n U n d kOn n e n s i e brau ch e n ’ n n f Wi e s ih e ge allt . fii rcht e s i e o e Der d p p lt, D e n je s i e erhebe n !

m o not And those who co e to grief at the hands of the g ds , are

s - c weak pa sive creatures , but heaven s aling Titans . This points to the antipodal difference between the characters Of these two o m poets , and explains in part why G ethe did not succu b to the m f m “ ” sickly sentimentalis o which he rid hi self in Werther . The difference between yielding and striving resulted in the difference between an acute case Of Weltschmerz in the one and

c a healthy physical and intelle tual manh ood in the other . Thus far it has been almost entirely the personal aspect Of ’ H Olderli n s Weltschmerz and its causes that has come under our wa s notice . And since he a lyric poet , it is perhaps natural that the sorrows which concerned him personally should find most frequent expression in his verse . But notwithstanding the fact that this personal elem ent is very prominent in H Older ’ ’ lin s writings , Scherer s j udgment is correct when he states “ Die Grundstimmung war eine tiefe Verbitterung gegen die ” 1 Versunkenheit des Vaterlands . The reason is not far to c of seek , especially when we onsider the impossible demands ’ the poet s extravagant idealism . The conditions in Germany whi ch had called forth the terrible arraignment Of petty despot ism , crushing militarism , and political rottenness generally , in

S c . the works of Lenz , Klinger and hubart , had not abated ’ Of H Olde rli n s so Schubart was one earliest favorites , that the latter was doubtless in this way imbued with sentiments which could only grow stronger under the influence Of his more ma ture Observations and experiences . Even in his eighteenth “ ” 2 o m m year , in a p e An die De ut , he gives expression in strong

1 . 2 Cf. op . cit , p . 3 5 . 2 1 . Werke , Vol . I , p . 5 21

to terms his patriotic feelings , in which his disgust with his faint - hearted servile compatriots and his defiance of Fii rsten ” o l laune and De sp te nb ut are plainly evident . So too in “ Manne r ub e l 1 88 j , 7 E S glim m t i n un s e i n F un ke der Gottli che n ! U n d die s e n Fu n ke n so ll a us der Méi n n e rb rus t Der H olle M a cht un s n i cht e n trei s s e n ! H Ort e s De s oten e ri chte hOrt e s , p g , Perhaps nowhere outside O f his own Wurttemberg could he have been more unfavorably situated in this respect . Under Karl Eugen ( 1 744 - 1 793 ) the cou ntry sank into a deplorable c Of com ondition . Regardless of the rights individuals and muniti e s re le n alike , he sought in the early part Of his reign to p i sh his depleted purse by the most Shameless measures , in order that he might surround himself with luxury and indulge his autocratic proclivities . Among his most reprehensible viola o f tions Of constitutional rights , were his bartering privileges o H Olde rli n and Offices and the selling of tr ops . These things ” attacks in one of hi s youthful poems Die Ehrsucht ( 1 788 )

U m w i e K On i e z u n s chii n de n g p rahle , Klei n e Wii t ri ch e i hr arm e s L a n d ; U n d um feile O rde n sb an de r we n de n ' 2 a u n Rate sich da s Ruder s der H a d . Another act of gross inj ustice which this petty tyrant pe rpe trate d c H Olde rli n w a s , and whi h must have felt very painfully , ’ the incarceration Of the poet s countryman Schubart from 1 777 1 to 787 in the Hohenasperg . But not only from within came

o tyrannous Oppressi n . Following upon the coalition against

Wii rttemb e r of France after the Revolution , g became the scene c o f é of bloody onflicts and the ravages war . Under the r gime Friedri ch Eugen ( 1 795 -97 ) the French gained such a foothold in Wii rttemb e rg that the country had to pay a contribution of o f ur million gulden to get rid of them . These were the condi

H lde rli n tions under which O grew up into young manhood . But deeper than in the mere existence of these conditions ’ them selves lay the cause Of the poet s most abject humiliation

c ff c and grief . It was the stoi indi eren e , the servile submission

1 0 . Werke , Vol . I , p . 5 2 Werke , Vol . I . p . 49 . 22

hi s hi s with which he charged compatriots , that called forth bit te re st invectives upon their insensible heads . His Own words to of 1 8 will serve best Show the intensity his feelings . In 78 “ reundschaftsfe i e r he writes , in the poem Am Tage der F

D a s a h er (der S chwarm e r) all di e S ch an d e c c e n Te ut o n s s Oh ne Der wei hli h , U n d fl u chte de m verderbli c he n Ausl a n d U n d fl u chte de n e o n n f e n de s u s n s v rd rbe e A f A l a d , U n d n u Thran e n wei te b l tige , D a s s er vie llei cht n o ch la n g e 1 n mii s se u n s m e s e Ve rweile ter die e G chl cht .

Ten years later he treats the Germans to the following ig nomi n ious comparison :

' ’ o a n c de s n s n n e s m i t s c u n d o n S p ttet j i ht Ki d , we Peit h S p r Au f de m os v n m u i un d c ii nkt s o o oss s d . R e H lz, t g gr i h n n i h r u s c n u c i h r s De , De t he , a h eid 2 n r n Thate a m u d gedankenvoll .

a t With his friend Sinclair , who was sent as a delegate, he at 1 8 tended the congress Rastatt in November , 79 , and here he made Observations which no doubt resulted in the bitter char a ri z i on o cte at of his nation in the closing letters f Hyperion .

This convention , whose chief Obj ect was the compensation Of those German princes who had been dispossessed by the ces on of ff sions to France the left bank the Rhine , a orded a spec tacle so humiliating that it would have bowed down in shame a ’ H ld rli n s spirit even less proud and sensitive than O e . The

Of French emissaries conducted themselves like lords Germany , while the German princes vied with each other in acts Of servil ity and submission to the arrogant Frenchmen . And it was H Olde rli n the apathy of the average German , as conceived it , toward these and other national indignities , that caused him to put such bitter words Of contumely into the mouth of Hy “ : VVi s perion Barbaren von Alters her , durch Fleiss und

se n scha ft u n d c o selbst dur h Religi n barbarischer geworden , ' — tief un fahig j edes gOttli chen Ge fii hlS beleidigend fur j ede gut harmoni elos geartete Seele , dumpf und , wie die Scherben eines

o Ge fasse s— B ella rmi n ! m weggew rfenen das , mein waren eine

1 6 6 Werke , Vol . I , p . . ” 1 6 . Werke , Vol . I , p . 5

24

erlin was the product Of previous influences . With all their “ ” S tii rm er Dran e r clamor for political upheavals , the und g of ot never arrived at any serious or practical plan action . N withstanding all this , the word Vaterland was always an o to H Olde rli n c inspirati n , and it is espe ially gratifying to note that the calumny which he heaps upon the devoted heads of the not on Germans is his last word the subj ect . Nor did he ever lose sight o f his lofty ideal Of liberty for his degraded father land or cease t o hope for its realization . In this strain he con “ ” clude s the Hymne an die Freiheit ( 1 790 ) with a splendid outburst Of patriotic enthusiasm

’ n n am sus s n h e i s s e rrun n e n Z e e Da e , g i l , n n n o s s e n n We der Er te gr er Tag b gi t, n n v e ro de t di e T ra n n e n stii hle We y , Di e T ra n n e nk n e cht e o s n y M der i d , We n n i m H e lde nb un de m ei n er B ru d e r u s c s u un d u s c e luht De t he B l t de t he Lieb g , n n m m s o c ! s n i ch e e D a , O H i el t hter i g wi d r, 1 n Si ge s terbe n d di r da s letzte Li e d . What a remarkable change is noticeable in the tone which the “ poet assumes toward hi s country in the lines Gesang des ” 1 Deutschen , written in 799, probably after the completion Of “ ” hi s Hyperion :

de r o e a n ! O heilig H erz V lke r , O Vat rl d ’ Alldulde n d glei c h der s chweige n de n Mutte re rd Un d allve rk annt nn sc on a us e ne , we h d i r n Tiefe di e Frem de n ih r B e st e s h a b e .

Du n de s o n n s n e n us ! La d h he , er tere G i D n e ! b i n i ch de r e n e c o n u La d der Lieb D i s h , ’ Oft zii rnt i ch n n ss du mme wei e d, da i r 2 B lOde di e eigen e Seele l eugnest .

h H ow much the reproach has been softened , and with w at tender regard he strives to mollify his former bitterness ! To a nd this change in his feelings , his soj ourn in strange places the attendant dis couragements and disappointments seem to “ for Rii ckk ehr have contributed not a little , in the poem in die

1 1 0 . Werke , Vol . I , p . 5 2 . 1 6 . Werke , Vol . I , p 9 25

m 1 800 o f Hei at , written in , the contempt Hyperion has been

m c replaced by compassion . He sees hi self and his ountry l c ff con inked together in the sacred ompanionship of su ering, s equently it can no longer be the Obj ect Of his scorn .

’ ’ Wi e n i s t s wi e n ! de s n s Ruh la ge , O la ge Ki de ‘ ’ I st hi n un d hi n i st u e n d un d und Glii ck , iJ g , Lieb , o c du m n n ! du D h , ei Vaterla d heilig 1

u n s ! s du s n . D lde de iehe , bi t gebliebe

H olde rli n But the fact remains , nevertheless , that from his e arly youth felt himself a stranger in hi s own land and among hi s o f c own people . Some Of the causes this circumstan e have

c m already been dis cussed . The fa t itself is i portant because it establishes the connection between his Weltschmerz and hi s m ost noteworthy characteristic as a poet, namely , his Hellenism . N 0 other German poet ha s allowed himself to be so completely d ominated by t he Greek idea as did HOlde rli n . And in his

o o f c case it may pr perly be called a symptom his Welts hmerz , for it marks his flight from the world o f stern reality into an imaginary world Of Greek ideals . An imaginary Greek world , because in spite Of his Helleni c enthusiasm he entertained some o f un - c the most Helleni ideas and feelings . That the poet should take refuge in Greek antiquity i s not

surprising, when we consider the conditions which prevailed at

c that time in the field Of learning . It was not many de ades since the study Of Latin and Roman institutions had been forced to yield preeminence of positi on in Germany to the study o f bi . own S ua a Greek Furthermore , his had come to be recog n i zed of as a leader in the study Greek antiquity , and in his con

c temporaries Schiller , Hegel , S helling,who were all country of men and acquaintances his , he found worthy competitors in f this branch o learning . His fondness for the language and

to literature Of Greece goes back his early school days , espe ci a ll y at Denkendorf and Maulbronn . On leaving the latter n - school , he had the reputatio among his fellow students Of of being an excellent Hellenist , according to the report Schwab , his biographer . It was while there that H Olderli n as a b oy

1 . 2 1 . Werke , Vol I , p . 4 26

Of seventeen first made use o f the Alcaic measure in which he so subsequently wrote many of his poems . ’ A full discussion Of the technic of H Olderli n s poems would have so remote a connection with the main topi c under con sideration that i ts introduction here would be entirely out of f m o c . pla e It will su fice therefore , erely to indicate al ng broad lines the extent to whi ch the Greek idea took and held posses

o f o si n o the p et .

o f hi s 1 68 1 2 6 - Out shorter poems , , exactly three fourths , are 1 written in the unrhymed Greek measures . Those forms which are native are confined almost enti rely to his j uvenile and 1 youthful compositions , and after 797 he only once employs “ ” 2

m . the rhymed stanza , na ely , in the poem An Landauer As

o f Ascle i a de ia n a boy sixteen , he wrote verses in the Alcaic and p 3 o co o . measures , and s on acquired a nsiderable mastery ver them “ At seventeen he composed in the latter fo rm hi s poem An meine Freundinnen

I n c de nk e t a n u c m e n i der Stille der N a ht e h i L ed , W0 m n m c n un n s c ei ewiger Gra j egli he St de hl ag ,

’ Wel c her n aher m i c h bri n gt de m 4

u n m i t n b e rii s s t . Tra te Grabe , Da k g

While not exhibiting the finish Of expression and musical qual

ities Of his more mature Alcaic lyrics , still it is not bad poetry for b o o f b o a y seventeen , and the reader feels what the y was not slow to learn , that the stately movement Of the Greek

stanzas lends an added dignity to the expression of sorrow , o O which was t constitute S large a part Of his poetic activity .

c As already stated , the Alcai measure was of all the Greek ’ - H Olde rli n s on e verse forms favorite , and the most frequently

and successfully employed by him . He is very fond of intro

duci n i as g German c alliteration into these unrhymed stanzas , the following example will illustrate :

U n d w o s n c n n o e s ab i d Di hter , de e der G tt g , un s n n f un c u n d f o m m z u s e n Wie er Alte , re dli h r i ,

1 I Werke , Vol . . 1 e I 2 W rke , Vol . , p . 3 4. 3 “ ” “ ” A n di e An n n B ilfi n e r . . 2 f . Nachtigall , mei e g , Werke , Vol I , p 4

Werke , Vol . I , p . 43 . 27

W0 s w i e di e u n s n s n di e Wei e , er i d , ’1 n un d Kii h n e n di e unb e s t e chb a rn i Kalte ,

A scle i a de ia n c The p stanza he employs mu h less frequently , ff the Sapphic only once , and that with indi erent success . It

Ode m m was the , dithyra b and hy n , the serious lyric , which

HOlde rli n selected as the models for his poetic fashion . In this

n ot for Ne uff er purpose he was alone , his friend writes to him

1 m c in 793 , with an enthusias whi h in the intensity of expression “ c mm m m m o : o on at the ti e , see s al st like an inspiration Die b Ohe re Ode und der Hymnus , zwei in unsern Tagen , und viel leicht in allen Zeitaltern am m eisten verna chlassigte Musen ! in

m un s V on Kii ssen ihre Ar e wollen wir werfen , ihren beseelt

f c c ! uns aufra fen . Wel he Aussi hten Dein Hymnus an die Kii hn he it mag Dir zum M otto dienen ! Mir gehe die Hoff ” 2 o nung v ran . But it was in the form mu ch more than in the contents of his H l rli O Ode n out . f poems , that carried the Greek idea Most his

c o or lyrics are o casional p ems , have abstract subj ects , as for ” “ ” “ example , An die Stille , An die Ehre , An den Genius der ” Kii hn h it o e so . , and on Only here and there d es he take a

o classic subj ect or intr du ce classi c references . The truth Of the m c atter is , that with all his fervid enthusiasm for Helleni ideals ,

c H Olde rli n and with all his Greek ult , was not the genuine Hel l n i s m to e t he thought hi self to be . This is due the fact that his turning to Greece was in its final analysis attributable rather to m selfish than to altruisti c otives . He wanted to get away from the deplorable realities about him , the things which hurt his so for m tender Soul , and he constructed hi self this idealized

of c world an ient and modern Greece , and peopled it with his

own creations . ’ HOlde rli n s In Hyperion , we have the first poetic work in German which takes m odern Greece as its locality and a “ ” o i ts H Olde rli n m dern Hellene as hero . calls it ein Roman , but it would be rather inaccurately described by the usual trans

lation Of that term . It is not only the poetic climax Of his of Hellenism , but also the most complete expression his Welt

1 . 1 . Werke , Vol I , p . 97

. 1 60 . Briefe , p 28

schmerz in its various phases . It must naturally be both , for “ on o f the poet and the hero are e . He speaks it as mein ” 1 c i s Werk hen , in dem ich lebe und webe . Its subj ect the o f emancipation Greece . What little action is narrated may be very briefly indicated . Russia is at war with Turkey and calls upon Hellas to liberate itself . The hero and his friend Ala banda are at the head of a band Of volunteers , fighting the r Tu ks . After several minor successes Hyperion lays siege

Mi si r of t a . to the Spartan fortress But at its capitulation , he is undeceived concerning the Hellenic patriots ; they ravage and plunder so fiercely that he turns f rom them with repug nance and both he and Alab anda abandon the cause of liberty

c whi h they had championed . To his bride Hyperion had — promised a redeemed Greece a lament is all that he can bring

her . She dies , Hyperion comes to Germany where his

aesthetic Greek soul is severely j arred by the sordidness , apathy “ to and insensibility Of these barbarians . Returning the

m co Isth us , he be mes a hermit and writes his letters to Bell “ ” m thaten arm ar in , no less und gedankenvoll himself than his 2 unfortunate countrym en whom he so characterizes . “ ” Hyperion , though written in prose , is scarcely anything

S O more than a long drawn out lyric poem , thoroughly is action

o S O sub rdinated to reflection , and beautiful and rhythmic is the

i c dignified flow of ts periods . B ut having said that the lo ality o to o is Greece and its hero is supp sed be a m dern Greek , that in its s cenic descriptions HOlde rli n produces some wonderfully

ff e natural e cts , and that the language shows the imitation of — Greek turns o f expression Homeric epithets and similes

c having said this , we have mentioned practi ally all the Greek

characteristics Of the composition . And there is much in it

- nu . that is entirely Hellenic To begin with , the form in which “ ” of n ot Hyperion is cast , that letters , written even during the

o f progress the events narrated , but after they are all a thing o f i no s t . the past , at all a Greek idea Moreover Weltschmerz , “ ” ’ whi ch constitutes the Grundstimmung Of all H Olde rli n s

writings , and which is most plainly and persistently expressed

1 i e . 1 2 . Br fe , p 6 2 . s u ra . 2 2 . Cf p , p 29

n ot . in Hyperion , is Hellenic Not that we should have to look in vain for pessimistic utterances from the classical poets — of Greece for does not Sophocles make the deliberate state “ : Not m ment to be born is the ost reasonable , but having seen the light , the next best thing is to go to the place whence we ” 1 o o of came as so n as possible . Nevertheless , this s rt senti ment cannot be regarded as representing the spirit of the

c c c . an ient Greeks , whi h was distin tly Optimistic They were o f happy in their worship beauty in art and in nature , and above all , happy in their creativeness . The question suggests itself o m here , whether a p et can ever be a genuine pessi ist , since he him m o to has within the everlasting i pulse t create . And “ to o : s create is h pe . Hyperion himself says Es lebte nicht , ” 2 c f we wenn es ni ht ho fte . But have already distinguished m m m between pessi is as a syste of philosophy , and Welt 3 m s un - c sch erz a a poetic mood . It is certainly Helleni that H Olderli n allows Hyperion with his alleged Greek nature to m sink into conte plative inactivity . “ ” 1 8 In the poem Der Lorbeer , 7 9, he exclaims

o s u n m c um n S ll ewige Tra er i h witter , ‘ Ewig m ich tOten di e bange Sehn sucht P which gives expression to the fact that in hi s Weltschmerz m “ ” there was a very large ad ixture of Sehnsucht , an entirely un — c Nor o Helleni feeling . is there to be f und in his entire

-u Of make p the slightest trace Greek irony, which would have

of hi s enabled him to overcome much Of the bitterness life , and which might indeed have averted its final catastrophe . ’ Undeniably Grecian is H Olde rli n S idea that the beauti ful is a lso t he o go d . Long years he sought for this combined ideal . “ ” m Of hi s wa s In Dioti a , the muse Hyperion , whose prototype S Gon ta rd it— now usette , he has found and he feels that he is in T hi s . O Ne uffe r a new world friend , from whom he has no “ c : o se rets , he writes Ich k nnte wohl sonst glauben , ich wisse , ’ ’ schOn se i mOcht was und gut , aber seit ich s sehe , ich lachen ti ber all mein Wissen . Lieblichkeit und Hoheit , und Ruh und

1 ( Edi u lon e 1 p s Co u s , 2 2 5 se q. 2 8 1 Werke , Vol . II , p . . 3 n u n . 1 Cf. I trod ctio , p f . 4 . 8 . Werke , Vol . I , p 9 30

Gemut i st se eli e s Leben , und Geist und und Gestalt Ein g Eins ” 1 “ six o in diesem Wesen . And or eight m nths later : Mein

n h i i nn S tOrun h S chO e ts ist nun vor g sicher . Er orientiert sic

nn nko fe i st schOn ! ewig an diesem M a do e p . Sie wie Engel

! A ch Ein zartes , geistiges , himmlisch reizendes Gesicht ich kOnnte ein Jahrtausend lang mich und alles vergessen bei ihr

' Ma e stat Zé rtli chkeit F rOhli chk eit — j und , und und Ernst und

i st zu Ottli che n Leben und Geist , alles in und an ihr einem g ” 2 f o f Ganzen vereint . It would be di ficult to conceive a more complete and sublime eulogy of any Obj ect Of aff ection than the words j ust quoted , and yet they do not conceal their ’ “ ” b rsi nnli hk it o f U e e c e . author s etherial quality thought, his Even his boyish love- aff airs seem to have been largely Of this h character , and were in all likelihood due to the necessity whic ff he felt of bestowing his a ection somewhere , rather than to

c irresistible forces pro eeding from the obj ects Of his regard .

c of - so c c Of La k self restraint , Often haracteristi of the poet ’ l rli n s c H Ode . Welts hmerz , was not greatest fault And yet i f hi s intense devotion to Susette remained undebased by sensual wa s to rac desires , as we know it did , this not solely due the p o - to tice of her ic self restraint , but must be attributed in part the fact that that side Of his nature was entirely subordinate to his higher ideals ; and these were always a stronger passion ’ H l li n Di otima s with Ode r than his love . So that j udgment of Hyperion is co rrect when she says : 0 es ist S O ganz n atii r

c m rosse rn li h , dass Du ni mer lieben willst , weil Deine g Wii n sche verschm achten This consideration at once com m how pels a comparison with Lenau , which ust be deferred ,

c . ever , until the su ceeding chapter Undoubtedly this year and a half at Frankfurt w as the happiest period of his whole life . It brought him a serenity Of mind which he had never before

o known . Ardent was the response called f rth by his devotion , — but its influence was wholes om e it was s oothing to his sensi m tive nerves . And because it was altogether more a subli e con than an earthly passion , he indulged himself in it with a

1 i 8 2 . Br efe , p . 3 f 1 i - 0 0 . Br efe , p . 4 3 4 5 11 1 . Werke , Vol . II , p . 7 5

32

comparison , to note that notwithstanding his intense Welt

' Of n ature H Olde rli n not schmerz , in his treatment does select oom only its gl y or terrible aspects . Light and Shade alternate o in his descripti ns , and only here and there is the background him entirely unrelieved . The thunderstorm is to a dispenser Of of divine energies among forest and field , even the seasons “ de cline and decay are not left without sunshine : auf der

e n tblatte rten wo m o “ stummen Landschaft , der Hi mel sch ner

e VVOlke n S o c c schla als j , mit und nnens hein um die herbstli h ” 1 “ ” f n de n B aUm so e e spielte . One passage in Hyperion bears ’ m c Le n au s c striking a rese blan e, however , to haracteristic

— l — o nature pictures , that it shall be given in fu l alth ugh even m here , when the gloom of his sorrow and disappoint ent was o o o o steadily deepening , he d es not fail to derive c mf rt fr m the

for c warm sunshine , a thought whi h we should probably look “ c : I ch in vain , had Lenau painted the pi ture sass mit Ala

a uf H ii e l warm e nde r banda einem g der Gegend , in lieblich ’ m Sonn , und um uns spielte der Wind mit abgefallene Laube . Das Land war stumm ; nur hie und da e rtOnte im Wald ein

' stii rz e n de r m v om m f un s Bau , Land ann ge allt , und neben mur ” 2 ve r an li che melte der g g Regenbach hinab ins ruhige Meer . Of H Olde rli n In spite his deep and persistent Weltschmerz ,

o o m rarely gives expressi n to a longing for death . This f r s so prominent a feature in the thought Of other types of Welt

o f ab schmerz , for instance Lenau and Of Leopardi , that its o sence here cannot fail to be n ticed . It is true that in hi s “ ” Tod o c o dramatic poem Der des Emped kles , whi h symb lizes

H Olde rli n the closing Of his account with the world , causes his hero to return Voluntarily to nature by plunging into the fiery c m to o rater Of Mount Etna . But E pedokles does this at ne for n ot Of past sin , merely to rid himself Of the pain living ; and

us ff thus , even as a poetic idea , it impresses very di erently from the continual yearning for death whi ch pervades the writings

tw o c that ' i t Of the o p ets j ust mentioned . Leopardi de lared

se e o c were best never to the light , but den un ed suicide as a cowardly act o f selfishness ; and yet at the approa ch o f an epi

1 . 8 . Werke , Vol II , p . 5 2 e . 1 8 1 . W rke , Vol II , p . 33

f c so a demic o cholera , he lung ten ciously to li fe that he urged a hurried departure from Naples , regardless of the hardships of

c su h a j ourney in his feeble condition , and took refuge in a ’ H olde rli n s w as ab so little villa near Vesuvius . Weltschmerz lute ly Sincere . N um e rOus passages might be quoted to Show that Holder ’ of lin s mind was intensely introspective . This is true also

Lenau , even to a greater extent, and may be taken as generally chara cteristic of poets of this type . The fact that this intro spe cti on is an inevitable symptom in m any mental derange

c c o o c not ments , hypo hondria , melan h lia and thers , indi ates a

of c m HOlder very remote relation Welts h erz to insanity . In ’ lin s poems there are not a few premonitions of the s a d fate " ‘ oem An whi ch awaited him . One illustration from the p die ” f 1 80 1 : Ho fnung, , may suffice

’ W0 s du ? n i ch o c m bi t we ig lebt , d h at et kalt n n n U n d s de n c n c s c o . M ei Abe d h tille , S hatte glei h , B i n i ch s ch o n hier ; u n d s c h o n g e s an glo s ’ 1 m m s s u re n i m u s n S c hl u ert da ch a de H erz B e . It is impo ssible to read these lines without feeling som ething o f the cold chill of the heart that H Olde rli n felt was already upon him , and which he expresses in a manner so intensely realistic s and yet o beautiful . Having thus attempted a review Of the gro wth of H older ’ m O f c c c c m lin s Weltsch erz and its hief hara teristi s , it erely

m co c m re ains to n lude the chapter with a brief ré su é . We have then in Friedri ch H Olde rli n a youth peculiarl y predis m o o posed to feel hi self is lated fr m and repelled by the world , o o gr wing up with ut a strong fatherly hand to guide , giving him self over more and m ore to solitude and SO becom ing c ontinually less able to cope with untoward circum stances and

o o . o m o c nditi ns Gr w ing into anh od , he was unfortunate in all his l ove - affairs and as though doomed to unceasing disappoint m ents . Early in li fe he devoted him self to the study Of a n ti u it m r c for m q y, aking G ee e his hobby , and thus creating hi self

o an ideal w rld which existed only in his imagination , and taking ff o f refuge in it from the bu etings the world about him . He was

1 e . 2 W rke, Vol I , p. 5 3. 34

m a n i o not a Of a deeply ph l sophical trend of mind , and while of m Often speaking it , felt very keenly the hu iliating condition o f n Germany , although his patriotic enthusiasm fou d its artistic o c to m to As expressi n not with referen e Ger any but Greece . a

hi s m c w a s - poet , finally, inti a y with nature such that nature wor

m m hi s o ship and pantheis beca e religi n . ’ of H olde rli n s In reviewing the whole range writings , we

o c o of cann t avoid the onclusi n , that in him we have a type Weltschmerz in the broadest sense Of the term ; we might almost term it Byronism , with the sensual element eliminated . o o f W e nthusi He sh ws the hypersensitiveness erther , fanatical to asm for a vague ideal Of liberty , vehement opposition exist ing social and political conditions ; there is , in fact, a breadth in hi s o f Weltschmerz , which makes the sorrows Werther seem very highly specialized in comparison . Bearing in mind the

o m two c distincti n ade between the lasses , we must designate ’ H Olde rli n s We lts chmerz as cosm ic rather than egoistic ; the egoistic element is there , but it is outweighed by the cosmic and finds its poeti c expression not so frequently nor so intensely _ with reference to the poet himself, as with reference to mankind at large . CHAPTER III

L e n au

’ If H olderli n s Weltschm erz has been fitti ngly characterized ’ Le nau s as idealistic , on the other hand may appropriately be “ h termed the naturalistic type . He is par excellence the Pat et ” iker of Weltschmerz . Without presuming even to attempt a final solution of a problem of pathology concerning which specialists have failed f C as to agree, there seems to be su ficient ircumstantial well as ’ direct evidence to warrant the assumption that Lenau s case

presents an instance of hereditary taint . Notwithstanding the 1 “ c c B e fa t that Dr . Karl Weiler dis redits the idea of erbliche ” “ la stung and calls heredity den v i elge ritte nen V e rleg enheits ” c c gaul , the onclusion for es itself upon us that i f the theory

c has any scientifi value whatsoever , no more plausible instance on of it could be found than the e under consideration . The poet ’ s great—grandfather and grandfather had been offi cers in

' conside rable di stinc the Austrian army , the latter with some ’ sur tion . Of his five children , only Franz , the poet s father ,

v i of ve d. The complete lack anything like a systematic to education , and the nomadic life of the army did not fail produce the most disastrous results in the wild and dissolute c o f o haracter Of the young man . Even before the birth the p et , his father had broken his marriage vows and his wife ’ s heart by

his abominable dissipations and drunkenness . Lenau was but

r n ot -fiv e o f five yea s Old when his father , yet thirty , died a dis ease whi ch he is believed to have contracted a s a result o f these

sensual and senseless excesses . To the poet he bequeathed

om ow n Of s ething of his pathological sensuality , instability t ou c - h ght and a tion , lack of will energy, and the tears of a heart

1 E u hori on 1 8 . 1 . p , 99 , p 7 9 36

fi of broken mother, a suf cient guarantee , surely , a poet of mel n h l a c o y. Even though we cannot avoid the reflection that the f loss o such a father was a blessing in disguise , the fact remains that Lenau during his childhood and youth needed paternal H olderli n b e guidance and training even more than did . He o f came the idol his mother, who in her blind devotion did not hesitate to Show him the utmost partiality in all things . This important fact alone m ust account to a large extent for that pre to sumptuous pride , which led him expect perhaps more than his j ust share from life and from the world . ’ Lenau s aimlessness and instability were so extreme that they may properly be counted a pathological trait . It is best illus c 1 8 1 a trate d by his university areer . In 9 he went to Vienn

c m to om ence his studies . Beginning with Philosophy , he soon

hi s transferred interests to Law , first Hungarian , then Ger o f man ; finding the study Law entirely unsuited to his tastes , he n ow declared his intention Of pursuing once more a phil O hi l h OS ca . p course, with a View to an eventual professors ip h of But this plan was frustrated by his grandmother , t e upshot it all being that Lenau allowed himself to be persuaded to take O c few up the study f agri ulture at Altenburg . But a months

f hi s su ficed to bring him back to Vienna . Here legal studies , which he had resumed and almost completed , were interrupted by a severe aff ection of the throat which developed into too laryngitis and from which he never quite recovered . This , 1 c a cording to Dr . Sadger, marks the neurasthenic , and often o c nstitutes a hereditary taint . Lenau thereupon shifted once m ab so ore and entered upon a medical course , this time not lu l te y without predilection . He did himself no small credit in his medical examinations , but the death of his grandmother ,

hi s f j ust before intended graduation , provided a suf icient ex c for to co use him dis ntinue the work , which was never again or m t resumed brought to a conclusion . But not only in a ters c m Of su h relative i portance did Lenau exhibit this vacillation . There was a spirit Of restlessness in him whi ch made it impos sible for him to remain long in the same place . Of this condi on e one of tion no was more fully aware than he himself . In

“ 1 - i au s n N e u e F r. P r. Nr. 1 1 1 66 N col Le au , , 7 37

: e his letters he writes Gestern hat j emand berechnet , wievi l P oststunden ich in zwei Monaten gefahren bin , und es ergab 6 im sich die kolossale Summe von 44 , die ich Eilwagen unter ” 1 es n i r mii s un b ta d ge Ge t b ewe g g gefahren bin . That this habit of almost incessant travel tended to aggravate his nervous t condition is a fair supposition , notwithstanding the fact tha 2 “ Dr . Karl Weiler skeptically asks what about commercial ” travellers ? Lenau himself complains frequently o f the dis “ tressing eff ect Of such j ourneys : Ein heftiger Kopfschmerz und grosse Mii digkeit waren die Folgen der von Linz an un ausgesetzten Reise im Eilwagen bei schlechtem Wetter und ” 3 a bmii n d n de e Gedanken an meine Zukunft . Many Similar statements might be quoted from his letters to show that it was not Of merely the ordinary process traveling, though that at of best must have been trying enough , but the breathless haste his j ourneys , combined with mental anxiety, which usually so h characterized them , that made them detrimental to is health . It i s as interesting a s it is significant to note in this connec on o to h r tion the fact that while a j urney Munic , j ust a sho t h time before the light Of his intellect failed , Lenau wrote t e

following lines , the last but one of all his poems

’ ’ s i st n c s o n m n Au i ch e ! eite l i ht , w hi ei g heft D a s n i s t e i n v i e lb e s a te s n n Lebe g Wa der , ’ E i n wii st e s n i st s v o n de m zum n e n Jage a d r , n n n r rii U d u terweg s verliere w i die K fte .

o c un s n e c v o n un zu un D h tragt ei M a ht St d St d , ’ s K rii le i n da s a m un n e n s n s an Wie g , B r tei zer p r g, U n d s s n n s c e a uf de n un de e I halt i k rt Gr d , S O e s n de n n n n n weit gi g , ga ze We g e tla g, n m u n n n Nu i s t e s leer . We r a g dar a s o c h tri k e ? ‘ z Un d u den an dern S cherben muss e s sinken . H olderli n also uses the striking figure contained in the last a s of h line , not however here to picture the worthlessness uman

1 u . . 2 1 2 . Sch rz , Vol II , p 2 Cf . E u hori on 1 8 . . p , 99 , p 7 95 “ ’ n n u : Le n a u s e n 1 8 s A to Sch rz L be , Cotta , 5 5 (hereafter quoted a Schurz

1 . Vol . II , p . 99 “ ’ 1 Max K i n K rs h n NL Le n au s e d ii c e r s D . as Werke , och , (hereafter quoted 2 f Vol . I , p . 5 5 . 38

to li fe in general , but stigmatize the Germans , whom Hyperion “ c harm oni e los h des ribes as dumpf und , wie die Sc erben eines o e fasse s weggew rfenen G . That Lenau was a neurasthenic seems to be the consensus o f

Opinion , at least of those medical authorities who have given 2 o f t their views the case o the publi c . This fact also has an

m our o i portant bearing upon discussi n , since it will help to ’ Show a m aterially diff erent origin for Lenau s Weltschmerz ’ H l erli n s and Od . Mu ch m ore frequent than in the - case of the latter are the ominous forebodings o f impending disaster which characterize ’ m o c c Le an s p ems and orresponden e . In a letter to his friend

“ ' Karl Mayer he writes : Mi ch regiert eine Art Gravitation

n l k on nach dem U g ii c e . Schwab hat einmal v einem Wahnsinn

V on sol igen sehr geistreich gesprochen . Ein Analogon ’ chem Dam on (des Wahnsinns ) glaub ich au ch in m ir zu b e ” 3 herbergen . He is continually engaged in a gruesome sel f : diagnosis Dann ist mir zuweilen , als hielte der Teufel seine Jagd in dem Nerv enwalde m eines Unterleibes : i ch hOre ein deutliches Hundegebell daselbst und ein dumpfes Halloh de s ”4 c . S hwarzen Ohne Scherz ; es ist oft zum Verzweifeln . This process of self-diagnosis may be due in part to his med o to ical studies , but much m re , we think , his morbid imagina on one to tion , which led him , more than occasion , play the madman in so realistic a manner that strangers were fright out ened of their wits and even his friends became alarmed , not lest it might be earnest and j est which they were witnessing . o f Lenau was not without a certain sense humor , grim humor though it was , and here and there in his letters there is o f - an admixture levity with the all pervading melancholy . An example may be quoted from a letter to Kerner in Weinsberg, “ dated 1 832 : Heute bin ich wieder bei Reinbe cks auf ein l n Ki rchthii rme grosses S parg e e sse . Spargel wie werden da I h 0 - 60 c Ki rchthii rme gefressen . c allein verschlinge 5 sol her

1 . s u ra . 2 2 . Cf p , p 2 C f . n s W . I n ra . 8 8 . amo g other Sadger, eiler f , p 2 “ ’ ” u Le n a u s an n n u n u 1 8 . 68 . Nicola s Briefe ei e Fre d , St ttgart, 5 3 , p f 4 “ ’ ” u s Le na u s s ammtli ch e u s n v on . Nicola Werke , hera gegebe G Emil Barthel ,

e R . . L ipzig , eclam , p C I

40

form of a concentrated tincture and he drank large quantities of it . He smoked to excess , and the strongest cigars at that ; in for hi s short , he seems to have been entirely without regard wa s physical condition . Or it perverseness which prompted him to prefer close confinem ent in his room to the long walks which he ought to have taken for his health ? Even his reere ation , which consisted chiefly in playing the violin , brought n him no nervous relaxation , for it is said that he would Ofte Of play himself into a state extreme nervous excitement . All these considerations corroborate the Opinion of those h who knew him best , that his Weltsc merz , and eventually his

t . insani y , had its origin in a pathological condition Indeed ’ a s o n his this w the poet s w View of the case . In a letter to “ -i n -law 1 8 : brother , Anton Schurz , dated 34, he says Aber,

c o lieber Bruder , die Hypo h ndrie schlagt bei mir immer tiefere

E s Wurzel . hilft alles nichts . Der gewisse innere Riss wird immer tiefer und weiter . Es hilft alles nichts . Ich weiss , es ’ im KOr e r — Le nau s liegt p ; aber aber In its origin then , ff H Olderli n h Weltschmerz di ers altogether from that of , w o o o exhibits no such sympt ms f neurasthenia . ’ Le nau s nervous condition was seriously aggravated at an early date by the outcom e o f his unfortunate relations with the of Obj ect his first love , Bertha , who became his mistress when on as he was still a mere boy . His grief finding her faithless w doubtless as genuine as his conduct with her had been rept e hen sible for , for he cherished many long years the memory of “ his painful disappointment . The general statement , Lenau war stets verlobt , fand aber stets in sich selbst einen Wider

unerklarli che stand und Angst , wenn die Verbindung endgiltig

m c o cc ge a ht werden s llte , is ina urate and misleading, inas

' c it fa ils to c mu h as take into proper account the auses , mediate

f s O . wa and immediate , his hesitation to marry Lenau only “ ” 3 c o was O f on e verl bt , and it the stroke facial paralysis which “ un announced the beginning of the end , rather than any

1 u 2 Sch rz , Vol . I , p . 7 5 . 2 R a u n l f N u u n ds cha u F 1 2 a : R s Le b e n s a u e . e e d. R e b . 0 ic rd H ch oma ti che , 9 , 1 p . 2 6 . 8 2 1 8 . u 2 2 . Sept. 9 , 44 Cf . Sch rz , Vol . II , p . 3 41

e rkla rli che of of Angst , that convinced him the inexpediency

that important step . B eyon d a doubt his long drawn out and abj ect devotion to the wife Of his friend Max LOwenthal proved the most impor o wa s 1 8 tant single fact r in his life . It during the year 34, m after his return from A erica , that Lenau made the acquaint 1 wa s c LOw e ntha l . an e Of the family in Vienna Sophie , who

of old Kle le so the sister his comrade Fritz y , attracted the poet that he remained in the city for a number o f weeks instead

o . Of g ing at once to Stuttgart , as he had planned and promised m What at first seemed an ideal friendship , increased in i ten ’ sit on Le nau s y until it became , at least part, the very glow of ’ passion . We have already alluded to the poet s premature

erotic instinct, an impulse which he doubtless inherited from

o his sensual parents . In his numerous letters and n tes to us O f of Sophie, he has left a remarkable record the intensity ’ hi c on s passion . Not even ex epting Goethe s letters to Frau v no - m Stein , there are love letters in the Ger an language to equal these in literary or artistic merit ; and never has any other Germ an poet addressed himself with more ardent devo m c ff H lder tion to a wo an . A chara teristic di erence between O c : o hi s lin and Lenau here be omes evident the f rmer , even in i n car relations with Diotima , supersensual ; the latter the very Of nation sensuality . Lenau was fully conscious of the tre

m e ndous c con struggle with overpowering passion , and on e fessed to his clerical friend Martensen that only through the unassailable chastity Of his lady- love had his conscienc e re of f o mained void Of ence . Alm st any of his innumerable protestati ons Of love taken at random would seem like the most extravagant attempt to give utterance to the i ne xpre s “ : drii ckt so sible Gottes starke Hand mich fest an Dich , dass e rdrii ckende r ich seufzen muss und ringen mit Wonne, und

si e meine Seele keinen Atem mehr hat, wenn nicht Deine Liebe A h . c S o ! a ch b saugen kann phie , liebe , liebe , lie e Sophie “ ” 3 I ch c Du H O hst bete Di h an , bist mein Liebstes und c e s .

1 ” L . A . n : n u un d n u 1 8 1 Fra kl Le a Sophie Lowe thal , St ttgart , 9 (hereafter qu ote d “ ” a s an 1 . 1 8 n s s the a s 1 8 8 . ss i s a Fr k ) p 9 , i correctly tate date 3 Po ibly it mi sprin t. 2 n 1 . 1 . Fra k , p 5 5 3 n 1 . 1 1 . Fra k , p 5 42

’ Am c sechsten Juni reis ich ab , nichts darf mi h halten . Mir ! i ’ brennt Leib und Seele nach Dir . Du O Soph e ! Hatt ich ” 1 c ! c m o ! Of Di h da Das Verlangen s h erzt , O G tt Instead ex ’ e ri e nci n oo m Le na u s p g the s thing influences of a Dioti a , fate wa s to be enga ged for ten long years in a hot confli ct betw een

c o o prin iple and passi n , a c nflict which kept his naturally over

r n sensitive ne ves continually o the rack . He himself expresses “ the detrim ental eff ect of this situation : So treibt mi ch die

von von z ii e llose sten Liebe einer Raserei zur andern , der g

reude zu m i h m F verzweifeltem Unm ut . Waru ? Weil c a Ziel

hOchsten so mm der , heiss ersehnten Wonne i er wieder umkehren

si e muss , weil die Sehnsucht nie gestillt wird , wird irr und wild

V e rz we ifl un — und verkehrt sich in g , das ist die Geschichte ” 2 ul f meines Herzens . It w o d seem from the tone of many O his letters that there was much deliberate and successful eff ort ’ on the part of Sophie to keep Le n au s feelings toward her a l

i n o S O ways a state of the highest nervous tensi n . cleverly did she manage this that even her caprices put him only the more “ : hopelessly at her mercy . One day he writes Mit grosser

Ungeduld erwartete ich gestern die Post , und sie brachte mir ' ” 3 c v on m c F or au h einen Brief Dir , aber einen , der i h krankt . “ or two i s : a day he rebellious and writes Ich bin verstimmt ,

stOrst schOnen missmutig . Warum Du mein Herz in seinen Gedanken von innigem Zusammenleben auch in der F “ But only a few days later he is again at her feet : Ich habe

zu Dir heute wieder geschrieben , um Dich auch zum Schreiben h treiben . Ich sehne mich nach Deinen Briefen . Du bist nic t sehr eifrig, Du bist es wohl nie gewesen . Und kommt endlich m m — O ein al ein Brief , so hat er eist seinen Haken liebe ’ ” 5 Sophie ! wie lieb i ch Di ch ! Her attitude on several oc casions leaves room for no other inference tha n that she was f 1 8 extremely j ealous of his a fections . When in 39 a mutual regard sprang up between Lenau and the singer Karoline out to Unger , a regard which held him the hope Of a fuller and

1 n ] 1 6 . Fra k , p . 4 2 n 1 0 2 Fra kl , p . . 3 n 1 . Fra kl , p . 49 4 n 1 0 . Fra kl , p . 5 5 n ] . 1 0 . Fra k , p 5 43

’ c rm of o happier existen e , we may su ise the nature S phie s inter “ ference from the following reply to her : Sie haben mir mit

c m — Ihren paar Zeilen das Herz zers h ettert , Karoline liebt ’ c mi h und will mein werden . Sie sieht s als ihre Sendung an , n — mein Leben zu ve rsOhne n und zu b eglii cke . E s i st an I h n e n

z n m — Menschli chkeit u ii b e an einem zerrissenen Herzen . Ver

stosse i ch si e so c si e m c . , ma he ich elend und ich zuglei h

Tod Entziehen Sie mir Ihr Herz , so geben Sie mir den ; sind

h rz un lii ckli ch i ch e sc ii t . Sie g , so will sterben . Der Knoten ist g ” 1 I ch i ch c tot ! o o w ollte , ware s hon Not nly was this prop sed

c Off m mat h broken , but when so e five years later Lenau made the acquaintanc e of and became engaged to a charming young ’ c girl , Marie Behrends , and all the poet s friends rej oi ed with ” him o f a s at the prospect a happy marriage , a Musterehe, he fondly called it , Sophie wrote him the cruel words ” 2 few Eines von uns muss wahnsinnig werden . Only a o months were needed t decide which of them it should be . The foregoing illustrations are ample to show what sort Of ’ c influen e Sophie exerted over the poet s entire nature , and m therefore upon his Weltsch erz . Whereas in their hopeless

H Olde rli n loves, and to an even greater extent Goethe , strug to o f gled through the point renunciation , Lenau constantly m o retrogrades , and allows his baser sensual instincts re and

co o to hi s out more to ntrol him . He pr mises subdue wild 3 4 u r to b sts a little , and when he fails he tries to explain , apol 5 i H l rli n t m og ze . If with Ode love was o a predo inating degree of wa s a thing the soul , it with Lenau in an equal measure a o f c o o matter nerves , and as su h , under these c nditi ns , it could not b ut contribute largely to his physical , mental and moral H Olderli n disruption . With it was the rude interruption from of without his quiet and happy intercourse with Susette , which tumultu embittered his soul . With Lenau it was the feverish , ous of nature the love itself, that deepened his melancholy

1 u . . Sch rz , Vol . II , p 7 2 ’ Le n au s S é m m tl. he rau s . v on . O n . Cf . Werke , g G Emil Bartel , Leipzig , h e Jahr

n . . . I trod , p clxv 3 n ] 2 . Fra k , p . 3 4 n ] . 1 . Fra k , p 4 5 n ] . 0 . Fra k , p 3 44

The charge of aff ectation in their Weltschmerz would be an on e of H Olderli n entirely baseless , both in the case and Lenau . But this diff erence is readily dis covered in the impressions ’ H Olderli n s made upon us by their writings , namely that Welt i of schmerz is absolutely na ve and unconscious , while that

—c c - c Lenau is at all times self ons ious and self entered . Men ’ o Of Lena u s o ti n has already been made, in speaking pathol gical 1 fi f e - O . a traits , Of his con rmed habit s lf diagnosis This he p plied not only to his physical conditi on but to his mental expe

n NO so a s how ri e ce s as well . one knew well he deeply the “ h ei n roots of melancholy ad penetrated his being . Ich bin ” “ c c o Melan holiker he on e wr te to Sophie , der Kompass meiner Seele zittert immer wieder zurii ck nach dem Schm erze de S ” 2 m o f c Lebens . Innu erable illustrations this fa t might be o of c f und in his lyrics , all whi h would repeat with variations the theme Of the stanza ’ Du geleite s t m i c h d ur ch s Lebe n Si n n e n de M ela n ch o lie ! m n n s c s n e e n M ag ei Ster i h treb e d h b , s n n — w e i chest Mag er i ke , The definite purpose with whi ch the p oet seeks out and strives to keep intact hi s painful impressions is frankly stated in one “ of o o o : S O H Ohe his diary mem randa , as f ll ws gibt es eine des ti Kummers , a f welcher angelangt wir einer einzelnen Em fin dun si e p g nicht nachspringen , sondern laufen lassen , fii r weil wir den Blick das schmerzliche Ganze nicht verlieren , sondern eine gewisse kummervolle Sammlung behalten wollen , die bei aller scheinbaren Aussenhe ite rkeit recht gut fort ” 4 5 H Olde rli n not i n fr . e bestehen kann , as we have noted , quently pictures himself as a sacrifice to the cause of liberty and fatherland , to the new era that is to come

’ m so n s z u s n i ch n c o c U t terbe , lieb i ht ; d h ’ Lieb i ch zu falle n a m Op fe rhii g e l ’ Fii r s n z u u n des ns u Vaterla d , bl te Herze B l t , ’ 6 Fii r s Vaterlan d 1 C f . s u ra . 8 . p , p 3 2 a n . 1 . Fr kl , p 5 a We rke I . 8 . , , p 9 1 an . 1 1 . Fr kl , p 4 15 " C f . s u ra . 1 8 . p , p ° H Old rli n 1 e s . . 1 . Werke , Vol , p 9 5 45

o o Lenau , n the other hand , is anxi us to sacrifice himself to his “ Kii nstleri sche i st hOchster muse . Ausbildung mein Lebens ’ c K rafte m Gem ii te s zwe k ; alle meines Geistes , eines betracht

des von ich als Mittel dazu . Erinnerst Du Dich Gedichtes 1 wo ii n li n Chamisso , der Maler einen J g g ans Kreuz nagelt , um ? ein Bild v om Tode s schme rze zu haben Ich will mich selber ’ ” 2 ans Kreuz schlagen , wenn s nur ein gutes Gedicht gibt And “ : si e again Vielleicht ist die Eigenschaft meiner Poesie , dass ” 3

S . ein elbstopfer ist , das Beste daran The specific instances

o j ust cited , t gether with the inevitable impressions gathered

O f m m o to from the reading his lyrics , ake it i p ssible avoid the con clusion that we are dealing here with a virtu os o of Welts chm erz ; that Lenau was n ot only cons ci ou s at all times o f Of the depth his sorrow , but that he was also fully aware

Of its picturesqueness and its poetic possibilities . It is true that this self- cons ciousness brings him dangerously near the o f bounds insincerity , but it must also be granted that he never o oversteps those b unds . ’ c o c Le na u s Regarded as a psy h logi al process , Weltschmerz

H Olderli n therefore stands midway between that of and Heine . — ’ It is more self centred than H Olde rlin s and while the poet is to able diagnose the disease which holds him firmly in its grasp ,

c o m he la ks th se means by which he might free hi self from it .

Heine goes still further , for having become conscious Of his o f - melancholy , he mercilessly applies the lash self irony , and

in it finds the antidote for his Weltschmerz .

c m o m Fi hte , says Erich Sch idt , calls eg is the spirit Of the com eighteenth century , by which he means the revelling , the

le te o p absorpti n , in the personal . This will naturally find its m — favorite occupation in senti ental self contemplation , which o f m becomes a sort fashionable epide ic . It is this fashion “ which Goethe wished to depict in Werther , and therefore ' ’ Werther s hopeless love i s not wholly responsible for his sui “ e lb stb r h cide . Werther untergrabt sein Dasein durch S et a c ’ 4 u o o f O . t ng , is G ethe s own explanati n the case And it is in

1 “ D a s K r zi x n u fi n Kfi n stle rle e de 1 8 2 0 . , Ei e g , 2 u . I . 1 8 f . Sch rz , Vol , p 5 a u 6 . Sch rz , Vol . II , p . 1 C f . B re iti n e r: u n u n d n e a u n u 1 8 0 . g St die Wa d rt ge ; Fra e feld , H ber , 7 46 this light only that Werther ’ s malady deserves in any compre

he n si ve . sense the term Weltschmerz Here , then , Lenau and n Werther stand o common ground . Other traits common to m o st poets O f Weltschmerz might here be enum erated as charac teri sti c o f o c fi ckle ne ss o su e rse n b th , su h as extreme Of purp se , p

s iti v e n e ss oc of , lack Of definite v ation , and the like ; all which goes to show that while for artistic purposes Goethe required a ’ or dramatic cause , rather occasion , for Werther s suicide , he nevertheless fully understood all the symptoms of the prevail

c f l ing disease with whi h his sentimental hero was a f icted . ’ While the personal elements in Lenau s Weltschmerz are H Olderli n much more intense in their expression than with , its

c e o o S O altruisti sid is prop rti nately weaker . far as we may ’ Lenau s j udge from his lyrics , very little of Weltschmerz was

i s inspired by patriotic considerations . There Opposition , it is true , to the existing order , but that Opposition is directed almost solely against that which annoyed and inconvenienced him m a s personally , for exa ple , against the stupid as well rigor ous Austrian censorship . Against this bugbear he never ceases to t o storm in verse and letters , and it must be attributed in a large measure his literary alienation from the land O f his adop tion . That we must look to his lyrics rather than to his longer ’ c o epi writings , in rder to discover the poet s deepest interests , is no where more clearly evidenc ed than in the following refer “ ” S to ence to his avonarola , in a letter Emilie Reinbeck during “ the progress o f the work : Savonarola wirkte zumeist als

Prediger , darum muss ich in meinem Gedicht ihn Vielfach

v i e rfii ssi en predigen und dogmatisieren lassen , welches in g do e lt e r im e n pp g e t Iamben sehr schwierig ist . Doch es freut m o c c ich , Dinge p etis h dur hzusetzen , an deren poetischer

Darstellbarkeit wohl die meisten Menschen verzweifeln . Auch

c m i r zu V e r nii en gerei ht es besonderem g g , mit diesem Gedicht gegen den herrs chenden Geschmack unseres Tages in Oppo ” 1 siti on zu t treten . The inference lies very near at hand tha his opposition to the prevailing taste was after all a secondary ’ wa s consideration , and that the poet s first concern to win glory

1 ” S chlossa r: a s Le n au s a n v on R n 1 8 6 Nicol u Briefe Emilie ei beck , Stuttgart, 9

a u a s 8 . ( here fter q oted p . 9

48

e i stfre ssende n die Klasse der g Tiere dar , eine abscheuliche, monstrOse Klasse Rousta n expresses the opinion that with 2 Lenau patriotism occupied a secondary place . He had too “ ” to one o f many native lands become attached to any them . ’ There is something of a counterpart to H Olde rli n s Hellen ’ i sm and championship Of Greek liberty in Lenau s espousal of the Polish cause . But here again the personal element is n A strongly in evide ce . chance acquaintance , which afterward became an intimate friendship , with Polish fugitives , seems to hi s P olenli e der have been the immediate occasion of , so that his enthusiasm for Polish liberty must be regarded as inci sa dental rather than spontaneous . Needless to y that with a ’ Greek cult such as H Olde rli n s Lenau had no patience what “ ab ever . Dass die Poesie den profanen Schmutz wieder mii sse 0 waschen , den ihr Goethe durch 5 Jahre mit klassischer Hand g rii ndli ch einzureiben b emii ht war ; dass die F reiheits

si e etzt gedanken , wie j gesungen werden , nichts seien als kon ” 3 ve nti on elle r TrOdel — , davon haben nur wenige eine Ahnung . ’ All these considerati ons tend to convince us that Le nau s Welts chmerz i s after all of a much narrower and more personal ’ ' H l rli n s type than Ode . Again and again he runs through the of o gamut his own painful em tions and experiences , diagnosing and dissecting each one , and always with the same gloomy o result . Consequently his Weltschmerz l ses in breadth what

' ’ through the depth of the poet s introspection it gains . in i n tensity . Of the hi s One most striking and , unless classed among of numerous other pathological traits , one the most puzzling ’ o f Lenau s i s characteristics the perverseness of his nature . W His intimate friends ere wont to explain it , or rather to leave ” it unexplained by calling it his H usa re n laune when the poet would give vent to an apparently unprovoked and unreason o f on able burst anger , and seeing the consternation of those present , would j ust as suddenly throw himself into a fit of

c hi s laughter quite as inexpli able as rage . He takes delight

1 S chlossar . 1 1 2 , p f . 2 “ n u e t son s a s 1 8 8 . 1 . Le a Temp , P ri , 9 , p 3 5 11 S chlossar . 1 0 . , p 3 49

in things which in the ordinarily constructed mind would of a rti cu produce j ust the reverse feeling . Speaking once a p “ larly ill-favored person of hi s acquaintance he says : Eine so gewaltige Hassli chke it bleibt ewig neu und kann sich nie ab i ”1 n z n s e . ii t e . Es ist was Frisches darin , ich sehe gerne And in not a few of his poems we see a certain predilection for the gruesome , the horrible . So in the remarkable figure employed in “ Faust

’ Di e Tra um e un e le hr e s n s c c e n , g g B e tie , hlei h 2 n n N o ch im m er n a ch de s W a h s ver s charrte n Lei ch e .

This perverseness of disposition is in a large measure accounted

for by the fact that Lenau was eternally at war with himself . ’ H Olde rli n s Speaking in the most general way , Weltschmerz ’ o Lenau s on had its rigin in his conflict with the outer world , the other hand must be attributed mainly to the unceasing con

fli r c ct o Zwiespalt within his breast . In his hildhood a ” 1 8 - 6 devout Roman Catholic , he shows in his Faust ( 33 3 ) a ” mind filled with scepticism and pantheistic ideas ; Savonarola ( 1 837 ) marks hi s return to and glorificati on Of the Christian “ faith ; while in the Albigenser ( 1 838 -42 ) the poet again

c champions complete eman ipation of thought and belief . Only a fe w months elapsed between the writing Of the two poems “Wanderung im Gebirge ” in which the most orthodox “ ” Zwe i fl e r faith in a personal God is expressed , and Die The only consistent feature o f his poem s is their ’ o Len au s o f profound melanch ly . But inner struggle soul did not consist merely in his vacillating between religious faith o f and doubt ; it was the conflict instinct with reason . This is

evident in his relations with Sophie Lowenthal . He knows 3 that their love is an unequal one and chides her for her cold 4 5 not to him n ot e ness , warning her humiliate , even in j st ; he knows too that his alternating moods of exaltation and de jec tion resulting from the intensity Of his unsatisfied love are de

1 S chlossa r . 1 . , p 5 4 2 . 1 8 . Werke , Vol II , p . 3 3 n . Fra kl , p 99 . 1 n ] 0 . Fra k , p . 9 5 n ] . 0 . Fra k , p 9 5 0

1 him e tte r c stroying . O hat si h der Gedanke bei mir ange meldet : E ntschlage dich dieser Abhangigke it und gestatte diesem Weibe keinen so machtigen E i nfl uss auf deine Stim

so mungen . Kein Mensch auf Erden soll dich beherrschen . Doch bald stiess ich diesen Gedanken wieder zurii ck als einen

V e rrate r b ot an meiner Liebe , und ich mein reizbares Herz — e wieder gerne dar Deinen zartli chen Misshandlungen . O g li ebte s ! ! I ch Herz missbrauche Deine Gewalt nicht bitte Dich ,

S i s liebe ophie And yet , in spite of it all , he unable to “ free him self from the thrall Of passion : Wie wird doch all

zu c mein Trotz und Stolz so gar nichte , wenn die Fur ht in mir ” 3 c m c li eb e st a ll m erwa ht , dass Du i h weniger ; and this fro the “ same pen that once wrote : das Wort Gnade hat ein Schuft

But j ust as helpless as this defiant pride proved before his - m for S so all consu ing love ophie, strongly did it assert itself

in all his other relations with men and things . A hasty word from one of his best friends could so deeply off end his spirit own that , according to his admission , all subsequent apologies 5 F or o were futile . Lenau , then , such an attitude of her H Olde rli n worship as that assumed by towards Schiller , would

have been an utter impossibility . We have already seen the ’ extent to which he was over- awed by Goethe s Views when 6 n o they were at variance with their ow . On an ther occasion he “ : h writes Was Goethe uber Ruysdael faselt , kannte ic ” 7 bereits . Toward his criti cs his bearing was that of haughty “ ff : c das c c indi erence Mag au h Talent dieser Men hen , mi h zu si e zu insultieren , gross sein , mein Talent , verachten , ist auf ” 8 F rii hli n salm an a ch f 1 8 alle Falle grosser . When his g o 35 o had been received with disfavor by the critics , he pr fessed to “ be concerned only for his publisher : Ich meinerseits habe ”9 auf Liebe und Dank nie gezahlt bei meinen Bestrebungen .

1 n ] 1 2 Fra k , p . 9 . 2 n ] 1 Fra k , p . 7 3 . 2 n ] . 1 0 . Fra k , p 3 4 S chlo ssa r . . , p 5 5 I1 Cf. S chlossar . 1. , p 93

. s u ra . Cf p , p 48 . 7 S chlossa r . 6 . , p 4 9 S chlossar . 8 . , p 5

S chlossa r . 8 . , p 3 5 1

” 1 n n n Die (Re ce se te ) wissen den Teufel von Poesie . Whether this real or assumed nonchalance would have stood the test of ’ H Olderli n s literary disappointments such as , it is needless to speculate . HOlde rli n eagerly sought after happiness and contentment , on but fortune eluded him at every turn . Lenau the contrary thrust it from him with true ascetic spirit . The mere thought of submitting to the ordinary process of negotiations and recommendations for a vacant professorship of so Esthetics in Vienna is repulsive to his pride , that the whole matter is at once allowed to drop , notwithstanding that he has been preparing for the plac e by diligent philosophical 2 m h studies . The as ceti cis with whi ch e regarded life in gen ] to 1 8 era is expressed in a letter Emilie Reinbeck , 43 , in which “ : he says Wer die Welt gestalten helfen will , muss darauf ” 3 zu m verzichten , sie geniessen . But ore often this resigna tion becomes a defiant challenge : Ich habe dem Leben g e enub e r es ch g nun einmal meine Stellung genommen , soll mi hi n n r ri n nicht u te k ege . Dass mein Widerstand nicht der eines ruhigen Weisen ist, sondern viel Trotziges an sich hat , das ” 4 t m m n lieg in meinen Te pera e t . ’ Another characteristi c diff erence between Lenau s Welt ’ schmerz andH Olde rli n s lies in the fact that the writings Of the latter do not exhibit that absolute and abj ect despair which ’ for marks Lenau s lyri c s . Typical both poets are the lines addressed by each to a rose

im Mutterschosse Ewig tragt , S ii s s e KOn i i n de r u g Fl r, c un d m c di e s e o ss e Di h i h till , gr , All e l e n d b e b e Natur .

o s c n un se c mu c e a e R he r S h k v r lt t , u m e n tb latte rt c un d m c St r di h i h , ’ D och der ew g e Keim entfaltet “ Bald zu n eue r B lii te sich !

1 1 6 . Schurz , Vol . I , p . 7 2 f . S chlossar . 1 . C , p 7 3 3 S chlossar . 1 8 . , p 4 ‘ S chlossar . 8 . , p 7 11 H é lde rli n An n R s . . 1 2 . , ei e o e , Werke , Vol I , p 4 5 2

as of Unmistakable is the melancholy strain these verses , they are not without a hopeful afterthought, in which the poet turns

- o f ot so from self contemplation to a View a larger destiny . N ’ “ ” Lenau s ° in poem , Welke Rosen

I n n m uc e b la tte rn d n ei e B h , fa d I ch n o se z e rdruck t ei e R welk , , U n d s s uc n c m e sse n an wei a h i ht ehr , w H d S i e n f r m e ii k t ei st u i c h g p fl c .

A c h m ehr u n d m ehr i m Abe n dhau ch ’ Verweht E ri n n run g ; bal d zer s tiebt M ei n E rde n lo s ; dan n wei s s i ch auc h m 1 c m c . Ni ht ehr, wer i h ge liebt The intensely personal note o f the last stanza is in marked con ’ trast with the corresponding stanza of H Olde rlin s poem j ust ’ Le n au s c quoted . Further evidence that Welts hmerz was con ’ stituti onal H Olderli n s was , while the result of experience , lies in this very fact , that nowhere do the writings Of the former of exhibit that stage buoyant expectation , youthful enthusiasm , or of hopeful striving, which we find in some the earlier poems ’ of H Olde rli n s ff o the latter . In Ode An die Ho nung, he ap s “ trophi ze s hope as Holde ! gii tig Geschaftig e ’ u n n c verschm ah Di e du das Haus der Tra er den i ht st.

Lenau , in his poem of the same title, tells us he has done with hOpe All dei n Wo rt i s t Wi n de s fa che ln ; ’ ff n un ! n n n ur u i ch di r H o g da tra , Wei s e st du m i t Tro st e s lach e ln a r r Mi r de s T o de s Na cht ev i e . Even his Faust gives himself over almost from the outset to abj ect despair . ’ Logically consequent upon this state of mind is the poet s

- of oft repeated long ing for death . The persistency this thought may be best illustrated by a few quotations from : poems and letters , arranged chronologically

1 8 1 Mi r o ft so s c e a ls Ob i ch n e n To dte n i n mi r 3 . wird hw r , ei m 4 heru tra ge .

1 8 . Werke , Vol . I , p . 3 9 2 01 n s . . 2 . H derli Werke , Vol I , p 5 3 1‘ Werke , Vol . I , p . 99 . ‘ 1 2 . Schurz , Vol . I , p . 3 U n d m i r n di e u n u vergi g J ge d tra rig,

' D e s F rii hli n s o n n ve rsaum t g W e blieb , e s u c m c t re n nun s s cha uri Der H rb t d r hweht i h g g, 1 t e entraum Mein Herz dem Tod e n g g t .

1 i ch O a n de n To d n c m i t e e m 8 . e u ac o 37 H te d hte fter , i ht bitt r Tr tz un d stOrri schem n n son n m it un c em A Verla ge , der fre dli h p 2 petit . 1 8 S o l] i ch Di r s s a n ? i s s c s s i ch c a a n 37 . alle ge W e , l a wirkli h d r “

c mi r den Tod zu n . da hte , gebe 1 8 8 De r n de s o s m i r m m e un c un d i ch 3 . Geda ke T de wird i r fre dli her , " verschwen de m ein Leben gern e D ur c h s Fe n s t e r k o m m t e i n d urre s B l att V o m Wi n d he re i n g e t ri e b e n ; Die s l e i chte Offn e B ri e fl e i n hat ls r Der To d a n mi c h g e s ch i e b e n . ’ 8 i h m n n ls h u n 1 0. m c s e a ii tte i ch a f n c s 4 Oft will g ah e , Erde i ht m z u un u n d i ch wii n s cht e n n Ge rv i nu s m Ochte ehr th , da , c n n m wi e o m i r e rzahlte m i r e n e n re ht habe , i de er , Ge rg , i n Zus m m n n d e baldige a e bruch u To d p ro p hezeit . 1 8 2 I ch e i n w ollii sti e s m i n n n m e n zu 4 . habe g H ei weh , Dei e Ar ? sterben 8 i B ta u n n i n ! 1 843 . S elig sin d d e e bte ! n och seliger si d d e Tote 1 8 I n n 44 . die se s Wal de s lei s em Rau sche ’ I st m i r als hOr i ch un n , K de wehe , Da s s all e s Sterbe n un d Ve rgehe n ° l i r Nur heim ichst ll v e gnii gtes Tauschen .

’ - Le nau s If we should seek for the Leit moti f of Weltschmerz , we should unquestionably have to designate it as the transi ent “ n es li e Z e ifl er h s o . w f f Thus in the poem Die , e exclaims

V e rgangli chk e i t ! w i e rau s che n dei ne Well e n ’ 1 0 D urch s weite Labyrinth des Lebens fort !

’ o f Lenau s Ten per cent . all lyrics bear titles which directly ex or for press suggest this thought , as example , Vergangen ” “ ” “ ” “ ” V e r an li chk eit Glii ck heit , g g , Das tote , Einst und Jetzt ,

1 . . 8 2 . Werke , Vol I , p 2 n ] . . Fra k , p 7 9 11 n ] 1 0 2 . Fra k , p . 1 a n ] 1 2 Fr k , p . 7 . I‘ We rk e . . 2 6 . , Vol I , p 7 “ hl 1 S c ossar . . , p 44 1 n ] . 1 6 . Fra k , p 9 8 S chlossar . 1 88 . , p ° 0 . Werke , Vol . I , p . 4 5 1 ° . . 1 0 . Werke , Vol I , p 3 54

i ” “ ” “ ” “ Aus , Eitel Nichts , Verlorenes Gluck , Welke Rose , ” “ ” “ S che idebli ck Vanitas , Scheiden , , and the like ; while in no -one of hi s t less than seventy per cent . lyrics there are al lusions or , more less direct , to this same idea , which shows beyond a doubt how large a component it must have been o f ’ the poet s characteristic mood . H Olde rli n ac If , the idealist, j udges the things which are , o f ou ht to be cording to his standard things as they g , Lenau , on m m have the other hand , easures the by the things which be n e .

o e n t s chlafn e n a e Friedh f der T g , S c hweige n de Verga n ge n heit ! ’ Du b e rab s t de s n s g H erze Klage , 1 Ach un d s n ! , ei e Seligkeit Nowhere is this m ental attitude of the poet toward life in all its forms more clearly defined than in his views of nature . ’ That this i s an entirely different one from H Olde rli n s goes i un without saying . Lenau has nothing of that na ve and - H Olde rli n sophisticated childlike nature sense which possessed ,

' and whi ch enabled him to find comfort and co nsolation in ’ H Olde rlin nature as in a mother s embrace . S o that while for intercourse with nature aff orded the greatest relief from his ’ o Lenau s c wa s s rrows , Welts hmerz on the contrary intensified thereby . For him the rose has no fragrance , the sunlight no h warmth , springtime no charms , in a word , nature as neither to tone nor temper , until such has been assigned it by the poet m f hi self . And as he is fully aware o the artistic possibilities “ of the mantle of melancholy um die wunde Brust g e schlun ”2 c c gen , it follows onsistently that he should sele t for poetic treatm ent only those aspects of nature which might serve to o o f intensi fy the expressi n his grief . ’ Among the titles Of Le nau s lyrics descriptive o f nature are ” “ ” “ ” “ H erb st e fiihl Herbst , g (twice) , Herbstlied , Ein Herbst ” “ “ H erb ste ntschluss H e rb stkla e o abend , g , and many thers ” “ ” o f a s dii rre Wii ste a similar kind such Das Blatt , In der , F ruhli n s Tod . e xce g , etc If we disregard a few quite p

1 6 2 . Werke , Vol . I , p . 2 1 02 Werke , Vol . I , p . .

5 6

e rOtet autumn foliage is herbstlich g , so wie ein Kranker , der t fl ii chti sich neig zum Sterben , wenn g noch si ch seine Wangen ” 1 . m m m farben A re arkable si ile , and at the sa e time char a cteri sti c for Lenau in its morbidness i s the following :

Wi e au f de m s c S e e le nk ra nk e Lager i h der , 2 f s c uc im n i Wir t i h der Stra h Wi de h n un d her .

’ H olde rli n speaks of a friend s bereavement as ein schwarzer ” 3 Sturm ; when he had grieved Diotim a he compares himself to the clo ud passing over the sere ne face o f the moon gloomy “ thoughts he designates by the comm on metaphor der S chatten ” 5 Wolk chen s eines auf der Stirne . Lenau turns the compari son and says

Am H imm e ls a n tli t z wa n delt e i n Ged an ke Di ii r e d st e o o so n so sc . W lke d rt , ba g, hwer

Where H olde rli n finds delight in the incorporeal elements o f nature , such as light , ether , and ascribes personal qualities and

on c o functions to them , Lenau the ontrary always cho ses the tangible things and invests them with such mental and moral attributes as are in harm ony with his gloomy state of mind . ’ Consequently Lenau s Weltschme rz never remai ns abstract ;

c indeed , the almost endless variety of concrete pictures in whi h h he gives it expression is not ing short of remarkable , not only in the sympathetic nature - setting which he gives to his lamen

tati ons . , but also in the striking metaphors which he employs

O f the former , probably no better illustration could be found ’ “ ” 7 in all Leman s poems than his well - known S chilfli e de r and n e hi s his numerous songs to Autumn . O or two examples of incomparable use o f nature - metaphors in the expression of his Weltschmerz will suffice

1 Le n . . . 2 . Werke , Vol I , p 49 2 Le n . . . 1 . Werke , Vol I , p 47 8 H ii ld. . . 1 . Werke , Vol I , p 4 4 ‘ . 1 6 . Hold . Werke , Vol . I , p 4 5 1 1 . Hold . Werke , Vol . II , p . 7 “ Le n . 1 . Werke , Vol . I , p . 47 7 1 . Werke , Vol . I , p . 5 f 5 7

’ i ch c a ls i ch s o s c H ab glei h , a ht u c di e o n hi n e s ch ri tt e n D r h St p p e l g , n s n uc e c Aller Se e a h g da ht , 1 i n mi r sc n n Die s Leben ge h itte .

u c m i r i st e s un d s A h H rb t , lei er ’ Trag i ch de n B erg hi n a b M ei n B ii n de l dii rre Re i s e r

' 2 i m i r L n D e da s eb e g ab .

o n u u c di e S hare n Der M d zieht tra rig d r h p , De n n all di e Sei n e n r u h n im Grab ; Dr um wi s cht er s i ch di e helle n Zii h re n s B i a n un s n um e Nacht er Bl en ab .

’ The forceful directness of Le nau s metaphors from nature is

‘ m two one aptly shown in the following co parison Of passages , ’ “ ” ’ m H Olde rlin s o Le nau s fro An die Natur, the ther from “ ” H erb stkla e c m g , in whi h both poets e ploy the same poetic fancy to express the same idea .

To t i st nun di e m c e o un d s e , i h rz g tillt , To t i st n un u n c e die j ge dli h We lt, s u s di e e n s e i n m m fullte Die e B r t , i t Hi e l , 4 Tot und dii rftig wi e ein Stoppelfeld . I f we comp are the simile in the last line with the corresponding metaphor used by Lenau in the following stanza ,

Wi e de r Wi n d z u H e rb s te s z e i t o n hi n s au st i n de n Wéilde rn M rde d , We ht m i r di e Vergan ge n heit ‘ V on de s Glii ck es o n St ppelfelder , the greater artistic effectiveness Of the latter figure will be at once apparent .

The idea that nature is cruel , even murderous , as suggested in the opening lines of the stanza j ust quoted , seems in the ’ course of time to have become firmly fixed in the poet s mind , for he not only uses it for poetic purposes , but expresses his con v i ction of the fact on several occasions in his conversati ons and l etters . Tossing some dead leaves with his stick while out

“ 1 De r K n I 2 8 . ra ich , Werke , Vol . , p . 3 2 “ i ” s . I 2 . Herb tl ed , Werke , Vol , p . 99 3 “ ” Mon dli e d I 1 0 . , Werke , Vol . , p . 3 ‘ . . . 1 6 . Hold Werke , Vol I , p 4 ls We rke . . 2 . , Vol I , p 99 5 8

: walking, he is said to have exclaimed Da seht . und dann

sei c o ! N si e heisst es , die Natur liebevoll und s h nend ein , ist

si e grausam , hat kein Mitleid . Die Natur ist erbarmungslos It goes with out saying that in such a concepti on of nature the 2 co o f hi s l poet uld find no amelioration We tschmerz . ’ In summing up the results o f our discussion of Le nau s

c m to Welts h erz , it would involve too much repetition mention

a s all the points in which it stands , we have seen , in striking

l rli n f c t c contrast to that o f H Ode . Su fi e it o re all only the most esse ntial features o f the comparison : the predominance o f hereditary and pathological traits as causative influences in ’ the case of Le nau the fact that whereas H Olde rli n s quarrel wa s ’ Lena u s m largely with the world , was chiefly within hi self ; the ’ c t m m passive and as e ic nature of Le an s attitude , as co pared with the often hopeful striving Of H Olde rlin ; the patriotism o f ’ ff c Le na u s the latter, and the relative indi eren e Of the former ;

o o c c to strongly devel ped er ti instin t , which gave his relations with Sophie such a vastly differe nt influence upon his Welt schmerz from that exerted up on H Olderli n by his relations with Diotima ; and finally the marked difference in the attitude Of

o these two p ets toward nature . A careful consideration o f all the points involved will lead to

' n o othe r conclusion than that whereas in H Olde rlin the c osm ic

m a s o f element predo inates , Lenau stands a type egoistic Welt schm erz l TO quote from our classification attempted in the “ c o first hapter , he is one of those intr spective natures who

c o f co are first and hiefly aware their own misery , and finally me ” to regard it as representative of universal evil . Nowhere is ’ “ this more clearly stated than in the p oet s own words : E s TrOstli che s fii r c i ch m m m hat etwas mi h , wenn in eine Privatu

lii ck g den Familienzug lese , der durch alle Geschlechter der n lii ck i st m i r c . U armen Mens hen geht Mein g mein Liebstes ,

' und ich betrachte e s gerne im verklarende n Lichte eines allge ' ” 3 rhan ni sse s meinen V e g .

1 u 1 0 . Sch rz , Vol . II , p . 4 2 ’ - n s n s . v on For an exhau stive di scu s sio n of Leman s ature e e cf. Prof Camillo ’ “ Kle n ze s n n on the su The n i n the excelle t mo ograph bject, Treatme t of Nature ” s u s n u a U n e s ss 1 02 . Work of Nikola Le a , Chic go , iv r ity Pre , 9 2 n ] 1 1 6 . Fra k , p . CHAPTER IV

H ei n e

Heine wa s probably the first German writer to use the term

m its B re iti n e r Welts ch erz in present sense . g in his essay “ Neues fi ber den alten Welts chmerz en deavors to trace the earliest u se of the w ord and finds an instance Of it in Julian ’ “ ” m 2 1 m o 8 . Schmidt s Geschichte der R antik, 47 He see s to ’ have entirely overl ooked Heine s use of the word in his discus ’ “ sion Of Delaroche s painting Oliver Cromwell before the body ” o f c of m o Charles I . The a tual inventor the co p und

“ ' o who 1 8 1 0 was no d ubt Jean Paul , wrote ( ) Diesen Welt schmerz kann er (Gott) s ozusagen nur aushalten durch den ” 4

c v e r ii tet . Anblick der Seligkeit , die na hher g But although Heine may have been the first to adapt the w ord use o to its present , and alth ugh we have fallen into the habit of thinking of him as the chief representative of German Welt

is m c schmerz , it must be admitted that there u h less genuine Welts chmerz to be found in his poems than in those Of either

H lde rlin for O or Lenau . The reason this has already been ’ c H Olde rli n s briefly indicated in the pre eding chapter . Welt ’ m i Le n au s sch erz is altogether the most na ve Of the three ; ,

c m - c c while it still remains sin ere , beco es sel f ons ious , while Heine has an unfailing antidote for p ro found feeling in his ‘ c - o mer iless self ir ny . And yet his condition in life was such as would have wrung from the heart Of alm ost any other poet of notes sincerest pathos . ’ In Lena-u s case we noted circum stances which point to a

1 “ ” u n u n n n u 1 8 8 . St die d Wa dertage , Fraue feld , H ber, 4 2 2 6 . Vol . II , p . 5 “ 3 - ra nz Osi sche . Ge m alde ss u n i n s 1 1 n mm li ch F Maler Au tell g Pari , 83 . Hei es S a t e

n un v on . s . B ibli o r. n st 1 8 0 . Werke , mit Ei leit g E El ter Leipzig, g I , 9 (Hereafter e as 6 1 quot d Vol . IV , p . . 1 “ n O u di e U n s e i . 1 2 . Seli a, der ber terblichk t , II , p 3 5 9 60 direct transmission from parent to child of a predisposition to ’ i f o the . ue st on o melancholia . In Heine s , on the ther hand , q heredity has apparently only an indirect bearing upon his

Weltschmerz . To what extent was his long and terrible dis ease of hereditary origin , and in what measure may we ascribe his Weltschmerz to the sufferings which that disease caused him ? The first o f these questions has been answered as con on of b elusively as seems possible the basis all available data , y a of Rahm e r doctor medicine , S . , in what is at this time the most recent and mo st authoritative study that has been pub li h 1 s ed on the subj ect . Stage by stage he follows the develop ’ its ment of the disease , from earliest indications in the poet s to incessant nervous headaches , which he ascribes neurasthenic ’ causes . He attempts to quote all the passages in Heine s let

o ters which thr w light upon his physical condition , and points out that in the second stage of the disease the first symptoms 1 8 2 Of paralysis made their appearance as early as 3 , and not 1 in 837 as the biographers have stated . To this was added in 1 8 c t ff 37 an a u e a ection of the eyes , which continued to recur m from this ti e on . In addition to the pathological process

c of m o whi h led to a complete paralysis al ost the whole b dy ,

Rahm e r 1 8 6 notes other symptoms first mentioned in 4 , which “ ” b ulbii r c fi he describes as in their origin , su h as dif culty in f controlling the muscles of speech , di ficulty in chewing and Of swallowing, the enfeebling of the muscles the lips , disturb a n ces in the functions of the glottis and larynx , together with

abnormal secretio n of saliva . He discredits altogether the diagnosis of Heine ’ s disease as consumption of the spinal mar

row - on H Olde rli n , to which Klein Hattingen in his recent book , 2 c Lenau and Heine still adheres , dismisses as s ientifically unten ’ able the p opular idea that the poet s physi cal dissolution wa s

Of c a s the result his sensual ex esses , finally diagnoses the case “die spinale Form der progressiven Muskelatrophie ”3 and main

tains that it was either directly inherited , or at least developed on

1 “ ” n i n s Hei r ch Hei n es Kran kheit un d Leiden sgeschichte . Ei e kriti che Studie , n m v o . Ra h e r . Me d. n 1 0 1 . S , Dr , Berli , 9 2 “ ’ Da Li H Olde rl n n a u n s . 1 s s n s Le s n 1 0 . ebe lebe i , , Hei e Berli , 9 3 R h m a e r . , op . cit. p 45 . 61

1 the basis of an inherited disposition . He finds further evidence in support of the latter theory in the fact that the first symptoms of c n ot the disease made their appearan e in early youth , many i n for years after puberty , and concludes that , in spite of scant ’ a s mation to Heine s ancestors , we are safe in assuming a heredi ’ n tary taint o the father s side .

m c The poet himself evidently would have us believe as u h , “ for in his Reisebilder he says : Wie ein Wurm nagte das — Elend in meinem Herzen und nagte, ich habe dieses Elend

m it . mir zur Welt gebracht Es lag schon mit mir in der Wiege , so si e und wenn meine Mutter mich wiegte , wiegte es mit , und

si e m S so e s m it wenn ich in den chlaf sang, schlief mir ein , und Als es erwachte , sobald ich wieder die Augen aufschlug . ich

rOsse r c c g wurde , wuchs au h das Elend , und wurde endli h ganz gross und zersprengt e mein . Wir wollen von andern Dingen

sprechen . ’ And yet Heine s disposition was n ot naturally inclined to

hi s hi s In earlier letters , especially to intimate s friend , there is often more than cheerfulness , sometimes a n decided b uoyancy if ot exuberance of spirits . A typical “ instance we find in a letter to M oser 1 824 ) I ch hoff e Dich

' wohl n achS tes F rii hjah r wiederzusehen und zu um armen und ” 3 z r n ii t zu u v e . necken und g g sein Only here and there , but

c very rarely , does he acknowledge any influen e of his physical

o TO I mme rma n n condition up n his mental labors . he writes “ ( 1 8 2 3 ) Mein Unwohlsein mag meinen letzten Di chtungen auch etwas Krankhaftes mitgeteilt And to Merkel

2 i ch he Ii te ( 1 8 7 ) bin sehr verdriesslich . Krank und f hi ” 5 un a . g , gesund aufzufassen In the main , however, he

c makes a very brave appearance of heerfulness , and especially

c to of patience , whi h seems grow with the hopelessness of his “ I ch b efin de c affli ction . To his mother mi h wieder frii he r krankhaft gestimmt , etwas wohler wie , vielleicht viel o wohler ; aber gr sse Nervenschmerzen habe ich noch immer,

1 Rahme r . 6 . , p 4 2 I I I . 1 . Werke , Vol . , p 94 3 Au fl . 1 . 1x2 r e le s e d. 2 . . p Werke ( ) VIII , p 44 4 I i . . 8 . b d , p 3 7 3 I i . . 2 0 . b d , p 5 62

o und leider ziehen sich die Krampfe j etzt fter nach Oben , was rm i h mir den Kopf zuweilen sehr e ii det . S O muss c nun ruhig

fi c v erhéi n t i ch aushalten , was der liebe Gott ber mi h g , und trage ” 1 mein S chicksal mit Geduld Gottes Wille geschehe !

f

' " Again a fe w weeks later : Ich hab é mit die Sem L é b e n abg e

’ s so im schlos en , und wenn ich sicher ware , dass ich Himmel e so e rtrii e i inst gut aufgenommen werde , g ich geduld g meme ” " 2 a ff ec Existenz . Not only to his mother , whom for years he ti on atel o of hi s o h y kept in ign rance deplorable condition , d es e o 1 8 2 KOr er write thus , but als to Campe ( 5 ) Mein p leidet ua] -el grosse ! , aber meine Seele ist ruhig wie ein Spieg und hat

' m anchmal au ch noch ihre schOn enS onn ena ufgange und Son ' — ' W ” 3 “ n n n r n 1 8 : GOttlOb dass i ch . e u te ga g e . 54 Z bei all meinem — i d s hr Ge mutes Le e heiteren bin , und die lustigsten Gedanken ” 4 i r o o f springen m durchs Hirn . Much of this S rt thing was no

c c c ff m doubt ni ely al ulated for e ect , and yet these and si ilar pas sages sh ow that he was not in clined to magnify his physical

affli ctions either in hi s ow n eyes or in the eyes of others . Nor is “ he abs olutely unreconciled to his fate : Es i st mi r ni chts

' ‘ e lii ckt e s o o c g g in dieser Welt , aber hatte mir d ch n ch s hlimmer ” 3 k n nen gehen O . h si cal suff eri n a re t e e , In, his p o ms references to his p y gg “ rkabl h der ma y infrequent . We look in vain in the Buc ” “ ” hi s Lieder , in the Neue Gedichte , in fact in all lyrics written “ ” o the bef re Romanzero , not only for any allusion to his illness , but even for any complaint against life whi ch might have been

dire ctly occasioned by his physical condition . What is there then in these earlier poems that might fitly be called Welt ? schmerz Very little , we shall find . ’ Their inspiration is to be found almost exclusively in Heine s

- f c di sa love a fairs , decent and inde ent . Now the pain of p pointed love is the motive and the theme o f very many of ’ ’ H Olderli n S Lenau s v and lyrics , poems which are hea y with ’ l Weltschmerz , while most of Heine s are not . To speak on y

1 Ka r e le s e d. I ! . 1 . p Werke , , p 3 7 2 i Ib d . , p . 3 7 4 . 3 I i . ff . b d , p . 4 59 ‘ I bid p . 5 1 3 . 11 I . bid , p . 47 5 .

64

Un d i st so ass wi e bl Kreide .

Der Pe ter spricht lei se vor sich her Un d schauet b etrii b et a uf beide “ ’ A ch ! nn i ch n c zu vernii n fti we i ht g war , ’ ”1 I ch mi r z that w as u leide .

It i s scarcely necessary to c ite further examples of this man ’ “ ne ri sm for so hi s of Heine s , it early became , such as Erbsen ” 2 “ ” 3 “ I ch schOsse t suppe , wollte , er mich tot , Dok or, sind Sie “ des Teufels Madame , ich liebe Sie and many other glar “ ” n of to ing insta ces the Sturzbad , in order Show how the poet

c himself deliberately attempted , and usually with suc ess , to

c - destroy the traces of his grief . This pro ess Of self irony , which plays such havoc with all sincere feeling and therefore

so with his Weltschmerz , becomes fixed a habit that we are of th e . almost incapable , finally , taking poet seriously He makes a sig nificant c onfession in this regard in a letter to “ so Moser Aber es geht mir oft , ich kann meine

e rzé hle n eigenen Schmerzen nicht , Ohne dass die Sache ” 6 H o o m komisch wird . w th roughly this ental attitude had become second nature with Heine , may be inferred from a statement which he makes to Friederike Roberts ( 1 82 5 ) “ E n setzli chste das S chaudervollste Das Ungeheuerste, das , ,

c wenn es nicht unpoetis h werden soll , kann man auch nur in

Lé cherli chen dem buntscheckigen Gewande des darstellen , — gleichsam v e rsOhnend darum hat auch Shakespeare das “ rassli chste im G Lear durch den Narren sagen lassen , darum “ ” c h zu c ff zum hat au h Goet e dem fur htbarsten Sto e , Faust , die

' P u e ns i elform ewahlt rOssere pp p g , darum hat auch der noch g

U r oet t néimli ch - Poet (der p , sag Friederike) , Unser Herrgott , allen Schreckensszenen dieses Lebens eine gute Dosis Spass ” 7 ha fti k i g e t beigemis cht .

1 Werke , Vol . I , p . 3 7 . 2 i 1 1 . Ib d ., Vol . II , p . 3 i Ib d Vol . I , p . 97 . 1 i 1 . Ib d . , Vol . I , p . 7 7 3 1 . Ibid Vol . I , p . 97 3 K d . 0 8 . ar e le s e . p Werke , VIII , p 4 7 I i . 6 8 b d , p . 4 . 65

In not a few of his lyrics Heine gives us a truly Lenaue sque “ - for ' nature setting, as instance in Der scheidende Sommer

Da s u zi gelbe La b er ttert , E s fallen di e Blatter herab ; Ach a e s wa s o un d c , ll , h ld liebli h 1 Verwelkt un d sinkt i ns Grab .

’ This is one of the comparatively few instances in Heine s lyrics in which he maintains a dignified seriousness throughout too the entire poem . It is worth noting , , because it touches a — note a s i n fggquen t in Heine as it is persistent in Lenau the 2 f a ll fleeting nature o things l ovely and desirable . This is one of c ff two the characteristi di erences between the poets ,

n H e i n e s e , ’ e y is o _ _the_ present and the future much more than on the past ; Lenau i s ever mourning the happiness that 15 past o f and gone . Logically then , thoughts and yearnings for 3 m m u death are uch ore freq ent with Lenau than with Heine . Reverting to the point under consideration : even in those love- lyrics in which Heine does not wilfully destroy the first ’ of as serious impression by the j ingling his harlequin s cap , 4 it o n ot cc — exce he himsel f styles , he d es su eed with the few p — i n Of tions j ust referred to , convincing us very deeply the or xtr reality of his feelings . They are either trivially e ava

n l 18 ga t y stated . Sometimes this sense Of triviality caused by ’ the poet s excessive fondness for all Sorts o f diminutive ex “ ” ff ff Tifndelei pressions , giving an artificial e ect , an e ect of F or to his verses . example

Du s s m c an w ehmuti li ch ieh t i h g , Un d schii ttelst da s b l on de KOpfch en Aus dein en A ugen schleichen sich “ i r r n n r D e P e lenth éi e t Opfchen .

Sometimes this eff ect is produced by a distinct though unin

1 Ka r e le s e d. . . 1 . p Werke , Vol II , p 3 2 ’ A f e w other examples of thi s sa me colori n g i n Hei n e s lyrics a re to b e fou n d “ ” n Nos . 0 1 a n d i he u F rii hli . n t Ne er g , 4 , 4 43 3 . . 8 . O w i e hfissli ch i da n Werke , Vol II , p 9 , No 5 5 , Gott, bitter st s Sterbe !

4 ’ n ] : n s n . 1 E ge Hei e Memoire , p 3 3 . 3 . 8 . Werke , Vol . I , p 7 66

- tended anti climax . Nowhere has Heine struck a more truly elegiac note than in the stanza

To d da s i st die u c Der , k hle Na ht, Das e n i st schwii le L be der Tag . E S un sc on m c schléi fe rt d kelt h , i h , m 1 Der Tag hat mich mii de ge acht . h There is the most profound Weltschmerz in that . But in t e second stanza there is relatively little

e m n e s c e in a um Ueb r ei B tt erhebt i h B , Drin singt di e j unge Na chtigall ; S ie s n von u i gt la ter Liebe , ’ I ch hOr s so im um e gar Tra .

’ Lenau s lyrics have shown that much Weltschmerz may grow ’ out ; o that m e re of unsatisfied love Heine s dem nstrate ‘ love fre sickness is not Weltschmerz . The fact is that Heine quently destroys what would have been a certain impression of YVe ltschm e rz by forc ing up on us the im mediate c ause o f his — i t distemper , may be a real inj ury , or merely a passing annoy of ance . What a strange mixture acrimonious , sarcastic pro “ test and We ltschm e rz elements we find in the poem Ruhele ch ” 2 of f e w to zend which a stanzas will serve illustrate . Again he strikes a full minor chord :

La s u n n un n ss bl te dei e W de , la

' Di e Thran en fl i e s sen un aufhalt sam ; m o us sc w im c m Gehei e W ll t h elgt S h erz, m U n d Wein en i st e i n sii sse r Balsa . This in practice rather than in theory is what we observe in

— c o Lenau , his melan h ly satis faction in nursing his grief, o O f and we have pr mise a poem of genuine Weltschmerz . Even through the second and third stanzas this feeling is not “ ” “ ” TOl el destroyed , although the terms Schelm and p gently arouse our suspi cion

De s s a m es s t Tage L r verhallt , teig Die c mi n n F r Na ht herab t la ge t en . I n m c oss n c m ihre S h e wird kei S hel , n T l r Kei Opel deine Ruhe stO en .

1 1 . Werke , Vol . I , p . 3 4 2 i . 1 0 2 . Ib d , Vol . II , p . 67

But the very next stanza brings the transition from the sublime to the ridiculous :

s du s c vor us Hier bi t i her M ik, V or des nofo s o Pia rte F lter , U n d v o r der gr o s s e n O p er Pra cht m B r ur e lte r U n d schre ckli che avo g po .

0 du s das s Grab , bi t Paradie Fur Ob elsche ue z n p , arte Ohre ’ Tod i st ut oc ss s Der g , d h be er war , ' ’ Die Mutter hatt uns n i e geb oren .

It is scarcely necessary to point out that the specific cause “ ” c o of whi h the poet c nfides to us his wounds , tears and pains is ridiculously unimportant as compared with the conclusion t o which he draws in the last w lines . n ot Evidently then , he does wish us to take him seriously ,

co . nor uld we , if he did Thus in their very attitude toward of the ills and vexations life , there appears a most essential ff t e di erence between Lenau and Heine . Auerbach aptly “ : marks Spott und Satire verkleinern , Zorn und Hass ver ”1 rOsse rn das no g Obj ect . And Lenau knew satire ; where f Heine sco fed and ridiculed , he hated and scorned , with a a own hatred th t only contributed to his undoing . With Heine ’ of the satire s the thing, whether of himself or others , and to this he willingly sacrifices the lofty sentim ents of which he is

capable . Indeed he frequently introduces these for no other purpose than to make the laugh or grimace all the more strik ff ing . And with reference to his love a air with Amalie , while the question as to the reality and depth of hi s feelings may be out of left entirely discussion , this much may be safely asserted , that in comparatively few poems do those feelings find expres Now i s sion in the form of Weltschmerz . there something

essentially vague about Weltschmerz ; it is an atmosphere , a “ ” or i nde finable Stimmung more less , rather than the state ment in lyric form of certain definite grievances with their par ti cula r c and definite auses . And that is exactly what we find - - i s in Lenau , even in his love songs . His love sorrow blended h - with his many other eart aches , with his disappointments and

1 “ s n . n n n un d n n 1 8 6 . Nicolau Le au Eri eru g Betrachtu g . Wie , 7 68

regrets , with his yearning for death . He Sings of his pain of rather than its immediate causes , and the result is an atmos phe re Of Weltschmerz . ’ to Turning Heine s later poems , especially to the Roman ” zero , we find that atmosphere much more perceptible . But i s for even here the poet the most part specific , and his method “ D r c oncrete . So for instance in e Dichter Firdusi in which he tells a story to illustrate his belief that merit is appreciated and rewarded only after the death o f the one who should have “ ” 2 of reaped the reward . So also in Weltlauf, the first stanza ’ which suggests a poetic rendering Of Matth ; For who soever hath , to him shall be given and he Shall have more n abundance ; but whosoever hath not , from him shall be take ” —to away even that he hath , which the poet adds a stanza of caustic ironical comment

nn du n c s s We aber gar i ht ha t , Ach so s s c n , la e di h begrabe nn ei n c zum n um De Re ht Lebe , L p ,

n n ur di e s n . Habe , etwa habe

“ ” 3 Lum entum And again , the poem p presents an ironical of eulogy of flattery . His failure to realize the hopes his youth is made the subj ect of which maintains of throughout a strain seriousness quite unusual for Heine , and concludes Goldne Wun sche ! Seifenblase n ! S i e zerrinne n wi e mein Leben

A'ch i ch etzt am o n liege j B de ,

- Kann mich n imme rm eh r erheben .

n Ade ! si e s n onn n U d i d zerr e , o n Wii n sche s ii sse s off n ! G ld e , H e

Ach zu tOtli ch war us sc , der Fa t hlag, ff n Der mich j ust i n s Herz getro e . A number o f these lyrics from the Romanzero show very

’ striking ly Heine s objective treatment Of his p oe ms o f co m “ ” 3 uc c c c plaint . S h sele tions as Sie erlis ht , in whi h he com

1 6 f Werke , Vol . I , p . 3 7 . 3 i . . 1 . Ib d Vol I , p 4 5

8 . I , p . 4 ‘ I . . 2 . bid Vol I , p 4 f 3 i d. . . 2 8 . Ib , Vol I , p 4 69 pares his soul to the last flicker of a lamp in the darkened “ ” 1 or S o theater, Frau orge , which gives us the personificati n of care , represented as a nurse watching by his bedside, bring his ’ Obj ective method into marked contrast with H Olderli n s sub i m of ject ve Weltschmerz . The sa e may be said his auto ” 2 ' i n m u Rii ck schau biography iniat re , , which catalogues the ’ poet s experiences , pleasant and adverse , with evident sincerity though of course with a liberal admixture of witty irony . Needless to say there is no real Weltschmerz discoverable in such a pot pourri as the following

s n m i r um sc m Die Glieder i d rhe ati h gelah t , f hii m Un d mein e Seele i st tie b esc t .

I ch a etrankt mit n ss n w rd g Bitter i e ,

Un d us m v on den n z n ss n e tc. gra a Wa e gebi e , It would scarcely be profitable to attempt to estimate the m - S O im causes and develop ent of this self irony , which plays ’ no portant a part in Heine s poetry . Its possibility lay doubt - its i n in his native mother wit , with genial perception Of the c m congruous , ombined , it must be ad itted , with a relatively lo of — w order self respect . Its first incentive he may have in found his unrequited love for Amalie . Had it been like H Olde rli n o m or for o re ci ro that of for Di ti a , Lenau S phie , p ca te d o co not th ugh unsatisfied , we uld easily imagine the

- ironical tone which pervades most of his love songs . And so for he uses it as a veil his chagrin , preferring to laugh and

w . have the world laug h ith him , rather than to weep alone ’ BUt the in cident in Heine s life whi ch probably m ore than any other experience fostered this habit of making him self the butt Of his witty irony was hi s outward_ . renunci ati on o f udai sm . _ J , _ Little need be said concerning this since the s o m details are o well kn wn . He hi self confesses that the step was taken from the lowest for which he j ustly hated “ To and despised himself . Moser he writes Ich

c i ch 5 0 11 c w eiss ni ht , was sagen , Cohen versichert mi h , Gans predige das Christentum und su che die Kinder Israels zu b e

1 Y ‘ . 2 . erke Vol . I , p 4 4 2 ’ I b zd . . 1 6 . Vol I , p 4 70

U eb e rze u un . so i st kehren Thut er dieses aus g g , er ein Narr ; u Gle i ssn e re i so i st I c th t er es aus , er ein Lump . h werde zwar au t re n zu nicht , Gans lieben ; dennoch gestehe ich , weit

' ’ lieber war s mir gewesen , wenn ich statt Obiger Nachricht

Loffel o E s erfahren hatte , Gans habe silberne gest hlen .

' ai Getauftsei n w re mir sehr leid , wenn mein eigenes Dir in

ii n sti e n i kOnnte I ch einem g g Lichte ersche nen . versichere

“ c G LOff el Di h , wenn die esetze das Stehlen silberner erlaubt ” 1 so m hatten , wurde ich ich nicht getauft haben . But in addi tion to the loss o f self- respect came hi s disappointment and c the non of moVe hagrin at success his , since he realized that it wa s not even bringing him the material gain for whi ch he

. of had hoped Instead , he felt himself an _ contempt _ _Obj ect a n d a k Ich mong Christians a Jews li e . bin j etzt bei Christ und Jude verhasst . Ich bereue sehr, dass ich mich getauft ’ c e s hab ; ich sehe gar ni ht ein , dass mir seitdem besser gegan im i h ” 2 c m c U n lii ck . gen sei ; Gegenteil , habe seitde ni hts als g He i s so unhappy in c onsequence of this step that he earnestly “ to i st m e s desires leave Germany . Es aber ganz besti mt , dass m c c dré n t c zu i h sehnli hst g , dem deuts hen Vaterlande Valet d s u n sagen . Minder die Lust e Wanderns als die ! a] pe rsO héi l n i ss V e r t e . licher (z . B der nie abzuwaschende Jude) treibt ” 3 m c v on i h hinnen .

o 1 8 20 In his tragedy Almans r , written during the years and — his deep roo ted antipathy to Christianity finds strong ex o no pressi n through Alma s r , although the countervailing argu e o f ments are loquently stated by the heroine . Prophetic the ’ own i s o of poet s later experience the representati n the hero , who is beguiled by his love for Zule im a into vowing allegiance to the Christian faith , only to find that the sacrifice has failed to for win for him the Obj ect which it was made . In the char ’ “ acter Of Almansor , more than anywhere else , Heine s Liebes ” “ ” schm erz and Judenschm e rz have combined to produce in

him an inner _ dissonance which expresses itself in lyric lines Of real Weltschmerz

1 K a r e le s e d. p Werke , VIII , p . 47 3 . 2 ’ ’ C f . e n s s an . 1 8 2 6 i n Ka r e le s Au tob . . 1 1 . H i e letter to Mo er , J 9 , , p p 9 3 K l a r e e s e d. 1 . p Werke , VIII , p . 49 1 i . e n u n . . 2 1 . Cf W rke , E leit g , Vol II , p 4

7 2

” 1 wo hi nwun sche ich mich dennoch . Another letter to M oser : 1 is dated Verdammtes Hamburg, den 4 . Dezember , “ o I mm e rm a nn : The foll wing year he writes , in a letter to Ich GOtti n en verliess g , suchte in Hamburg ein Unterkommen , fand ”3 V erklatschun Ae r e r aber nichts als Feinde , g und g . And to “ Varnhagen von Ense ( 1 8 2 8 ) Nach Hamburg werde ich nie in diesem Leben zurii ckk ehre n ; es sind mir Dinge von der éi us serste n si e c zu n Bitterkeit dort passiert , waren auch ni ht ertrage ” 4 gewesen , Ohne den Umstand , dass nur ich sie weiss . To his ’ “ 1 8 mother s insistent pleading he replies ( 33 ) Aber ich will ,

wenn Du es durchaus verlangst , diesen Sommer auf acht Tage

c mm c dem schandli che n wo i ch na h Hamburg ko en , na h Neste , On n e n o meinen Feinden den Triumph g s ll , mich wiederzusehen

' iib e rhau f n zu k nn n und mit Beleidigungen e O e . His several endeavors to establish himself on a firm material

o —he fo ting in life had failed , had sought for a place in a

c o of law Berlin high s ho l , then entertained the idea practising

in Hamburg, then aspired to a professorship in Munich , but

c Without su cess . But more than by all these reverses , more even than by the circum stances and consequences of his Hebrew

parentage , was the poet wrought up by the family strife over the o payment of his pension , which followed up n the death of his

1 8 . uncle in December , 44 , and which lasted for several years From the very beginning he had had much intermittent annoy ance through his dealings with his sporadically generous uncle 1 8 2 Salomon Heine . As early as 3 Heine writes to Moser “ c so m Auch weiss ich , dass mein Oheim , der si h hier ge ein

zu Ge ne rositat e S i st zeigt , andern Zeiten die selbst ist ; aber o doch in mir der Vorsatz aufgek mmen , alles anzuwenden , um mich so bald als mOgli ch von der Gii te meines Oheims loszure i s c nOti se n . Jetzt habe ich ihn freilich no h g , und wie knickerig

c U nte rstii tzun zufli e ssen so au h die g ist , die er mir lasst, kann ” i h 3 m : c dieselbe nicht e ntbehren . And again in the sa e year “ Es ist fatal , dass bei mir der ganze Mensch durch das Budget 1 K a r e le s e d. . 1 . p Werke , VIII , p 3 9 2 i . . 2 Ib d , p 4 7 . 3 I i . . 0 . b d , p 5 3 ‘ I i . . 0 . b d , p 5 4 3 I i . I ! . 2 . b d , , p 5 ° I i . 2 . b d , VIII , p . 39 7 3

regiert wird . Auf meine Grundsatze hat Geldmangel Oder U eb e rfl uss E i nfl uss o m nicht den mindesten , aber dest ehr auf

a . meine Handlungen . J , grosser Moser , der H Heine ist sehr ” 1 ’

. c klein And when , after his un le s demise , the heirs of the ’ off latter threatened to cut the poet s pension , he writes to 2 3 m o o f Campe and to Det ld , in a frenzy wrath and excitement , and shows what he is really capable of under pressure Of cir n to cumsta ce s . Perhaps it is only fair suppose that his long ff hi s c years of su ering , both from physical ondition and from

c c m co the uns rupulous atta ks of his ene ies , had had a rroding

eff ect upon his moral sensibilities . In his request to Campe “ to act as mediator in the disagreeable affair he says S i e kOn

' c des Mi ssve rstandni sse s nen alle S huld auf mich schieben , die " mili he rv rstre i chen sa rifi i ren a e o c c . Grossmut der F , kurz , mich And all this to be submitted to the public in print ! “ Ich gestehe

' ff e W Ihnen heute o en , ich habe gar kein Eitelkeit in der eise

andrer Menschen , mir liegt am Ende gar nichts an der Meinung

n des Publikums ; mir ist nur eins wichtig, die Befriedigu g ” meines inneren Willens , die Selbstachtung meiner Seele . But b hi s - c m how he was a le to preserve self respe t , and at the sa e hi s time be willing to employ any and all means to attain end , n perhaps o one less uns crupulous than he could comprehend . He intimates that he has decided upon threats and public intimidation as being probably m ore eff ective than a servile

c o attitude , whi h , he all ws us to infer , he would be quite willing “ Da s to take if advisable . Beste muss hier die Presse thun zur

Kotwii rfe Intimidation , und die ersten auf Karl Heine und

e namentlich auf Adolf Halle w rden sch on wirken . Die Leute

c et nt sind an Dre k nicht g , wahrend ich ganze Mistkarren a m vertragen kann , j diese , wie auf Blumenbeeten , nur ein Gedeihen It is quite evident that this long drawn out quarrel aroused

all that was mean and vindictive , all that was immoral in the

man , and that the nervous excitement thereby induced had a ff most baneful e ect upon his entire nature , physical as well as

1 K a r e le s e d. 6 . p VIII , p . 3 9 2 I i . 08 ff . b d , IX , p . 3 3 I 1 6 . bid . , p . 3 1 a n . 1 8 Ka r e le s . . 1 0 . Letter to Detmold , J 9 , 4 5 , Werke ( p Vol IX , p 3 74

mental . In a number of poems he has given expression to his

hi s anger and has masterfully cursed adversaries , for example , “ ” 1 “ c kii ssten c Es gab den Dol h in deine Hand , Sie mi h mit ” 2 c ihren fals hen Lippen , and several following ones . But here , too too, his fancy is altogether busy with the suitable charac te ri zation Of his enem ies and the invention o f adequate tortures m a for the , to leave room for even suggestion of the Welt schmerz which we might expect to result from such painful emotions . It i s scarcely necessary to theorize as to what would have been the attitude and conduct of a sensitive H Olderli n or a proud spirited Lenau in a sim ilar position . Lenau is too proud to

to f . protest, preferring su fer Heine is too vain to appear as a

ff h t c su erer, so e meets adversi y , not in a spirit of admirable our

f o c o . age , but in a spirit bravad In giving lyric utteran e to his

o c o the i s o resentment , Heine is c ns i us that world l oking on ,

so o of m and he indulges , even in the expressi n his Weltsch erz , ’ in a vain ostentation which stands in marked contrast to Lena u s to dignified pride . He is quite right when he says in a letter

: E rni e dri his friend Moser Ich bin nicht gross genug, um ” 3 z u gung tragen . As an illustration of the vain display which he makes o f his “ ” sadness , his poem Der Traurige may be quoted in part

n u es in z n Alle th t weh Her e , Di e den c n n n s n blei he K abe eh , Dem di e n de m di e c m en Leide , S h erz ’ 4 uf c s n ehn A s Gesi ht ge chriebe st .

A similar impressi on is made by the concluding numbers of m “ ” 5 o . the Inter ezz , Die alten , bosen Lieder And here again

c - I f a s —of fi the omparison , even merely to size , a cof n with “ ” c sa the Heidelberger Fass is most in ongruous , to y the least , and tends very effectually to destroy the seri ous sentiment which the poem , with less definite exaggerations , might have

1 . I I . 1 0 . Werke , Vol , p 4 2 I i I I . 1 0 . b d Vol , p . 5 3 ’ C i . K a r e le s Au ob . 1 p t . p 6 4 . 4 Werke , Vol . I , p . 3 5 . 3 I . 2 . bid , Vol . I , p . 9 75

conveyed . Similarly overdone is his poetic preface to the “ ” 1 Rabbi sent to his friend Moser :

Bri ch aus in la uten Klagen ar re rlie d Du dustres M ty , Da s i ch so lang getragen I m fl a mmenstillen Gemii t !

E s n in n dri gt alle Ohre , Un d du rch di e Ohren ins He rz ; I ch habe gewaltig be schworen m z De n tause n djahrig en S ch er .

E S i n n di r o s s n un d n n we e Gr e Klei e , o di e n e n S gar kalte H rr , Di e u n un d um n n n Fra e Bl e wei e , E n n m imm die n s wei e a H el Ster .

i s not to to It necessary , even i f it were the point , adduce ’ further evidence of Heine s vanity as expressed in his prose or c - writings , in poems su h as the much quoted

nn m an di e s n m n Ne t be te Na e , 2 m n n S o wird auch der ei e gena nt .

of It cannot be denied that this element vanity , of showiness , only serves to emphasize our impression of the unreality of ’ c o f H mu h eine s Weltschmerz . ’ With the reference to this element o f ostentation in Heine s Weltschmerz there is suggested at Once the question o f the ’ of Byronic pose, and Byron s influence in general upon the h German poet . On the general relations ip between the two 3 o m c so o p ets u h has been w ritten , that we may c nfine ourselves here to the consideration of certain points o f resemblan ce in

their Weltschmerz . Julian Schmidt names Byron as the constellation which ruled the heavens during the period from the Napoleonic wars to the “ ” V Olke rfrii hli n 1 8 8 g , 4 , as the meteor upon which at that time of - the eyes all Europe were fixed . Certainly the English poet could not have wished for a more auspicious introduction and

1 . I I 1 6 . Werke , Vol , p . 4 2 i I I 1 0 2 . b d . , Vol . , p . 3 On e of the mo st exhau stive mo n ograph s on the su bject i s that of Felix Me l

. i n ra . t o a m n a the chior ( Cf bibliography , f p whom I i debted for se ver l of su s parallel s gge ted . 7 6

endorsation in Germany , if he had needed such , than that which was given him by Goethe himself, whose subsequent “ ” tribute in his Euphorion in the second part of Faust is one ’ o f Byron s most splendid memorials . The enthusiasm which Lord Byron aroused in Germany i s attested by Goethe : I m 1 8 1 6 Jahre , also einige Jahre nach dem Erscheinen des ersten ‘ ’ Gesanges des Childe Harold , trat englische Poesie und

Literatur vor allen andern in den Vordergrund . Lord Byrons

e Gedichte , j mehr man sich mit den Eigenheiten dieses ausser rOsse re ordentlichen Geistes bekannt machte , gewannen immer g m so Ma dlei n Teilnah e, dass Manner und Frauen , g und Jung ’ gesellen fast aller Deutschheit und Nati onalitat zu vergessen ” 1 schienen . It is important to note that this first period of unrestrained Byron enthusiasm coincides with the formative and impres ’ s ion ab le o of years Of Heine s y uth . In his first book poems , 1 8 2 1 published in , he included translations from Byron , in 2 ’ reviewing whi ch I mm e rma nn pointed out that while Heine s

c to poems showed a superfi ial resemblance those of Byron , the temperam ent of the fo rmer was far removed from the sinister o o f sc rn the English lord , that it was in fact much more 3 c m o f heerful and ena ored Of life . There is plenty evidence ,

however , to Show that it was exceedingly gratifying to the young Heine to have his name associated with that of Byron ; ’ for and although he had no enthusiasm Byron s philhellenism ,

w a s to 2 1 8 2 on he pleased write , June 5 , 4, hearing of the ’ “ Englishman s death : Der Todesfall Byrons hat mich

ii b ri n s E s e . g sehr bewegt war der einzige Mensch , mit dem fuhlte mO en o ich mich verwandt , und wir g uns w hl in c da rii b er manchen Dingen geglichen haben ; s herze nur , soviel

I ch Du willst . las ihn selten seit einigen Jahren ; man geht

c lieber um mit Mens hen , deren Charakter von dem unsrigen

c i st I ch c vers hieden . bin aber mit Byron immer behagli h um i m r d n m it vOlli S e sska e a e . gegangen , wie einem g gleichen p

S c Mit hakespeare kann ich gar ni ht behaglich umgehen , ich

1 i A . I 2 us Ab t. B d. 6 . 1 8 . We mar g 3 , p

’ 2 - I n the Rhe i n i s ch wes t li s ch e r A n i e 1 1 2 2 NO. 2 . fci ze g r, May 3 , 8 , 3 3 " ” i u 1 88 . dtm n n i n . d a C . tro H s e n u n d e S a . g . 4 , He e Leb Werke . 3 H mb r

. 2 0 0 . Vol . I , p 77

hl zu fu e nur sehr , dass ich nicht seinesgleichen bin , er ist der o e s allgewaltige Minister , und ich bin ein bl sser Hofrat , und ” 1 o . ist mir , als Ob er mich j eden Augenblick absetzen k nnte S ignificant is the allusion in this sam e letter to a proposition which the writer seems to have made to his friend in a previous one : ich darf Dir Dein Versprechen in Hin ‘ ’ sicht des Morgenblattes durchaus nicht erlassen . Robert i st besorgt gern den Aufsatz . Byron j etzt tot , und ein Wort thust fi ber ihn i st j etzt passend . Vergiss es nicht ; Du mir ” 2 not einen sehr grossen Gefallen . We Shall probably be far ” astray in assuming that the Gefallen was to have been the advertising of Heine as the natural successor of Byron in

European literature . Three months later he once more urges

“ ' : c fande a the request Au h ich es noch immer angemessen , j h fi . ve rne j etzt mehr als j e , dass Du Dich ber Byron und Komp ” 3 men liessest . wa s not s But it long before Heine, with an increasing ense of c o literary independen e , reinf rced no doubt by the reaction o f public Opinion against Byron , and influenced also by his ’ 4 I m m e rm a n n s u m c n o o friend j dg ent in parti ular , was l nger willing to be considered a disciple of the English master .

' b etok en thi s of Several unmistakable references change heart , “ ” for m o o hi s 1 82 6 exa ple , the f ll wing from Nordsee III ( ) “ m c fii hle i ch Wahrlich in diese Augenbli ke sehr lebhaft , dass

c Na chfrevler ich kein Na hbeter , Oder , besser gesagt , , Byrons

so s le e ni sch bin , mein Blut ist nicht p schwarz , meine Bitterkeit kOmmt Ga lla feln nur aus den p meiner Dinte , und wenn Gi ft in m i r i st so c , ist es do h nur Gegengi ft , Gegengift wider j ene

S im om u n d S O b e chlangen , die Schutte der alten D e Burgen ” “ dr hli h r 3 f o c . o o laue n Byr n , instead being regarded as kin ” ” co n ow dred spirit and usin , is characterized as a ruthless de

1 Ka r e le s e d. . . p Werke , VIII , p 43 4 2 I i . . b d , p . 43 3 3 I i . 1 . b d , p . 44 4 ’ ” I n s u s s i n the fi s u i n s R se I mm e rman n h a d di c g r t vol me of He e ei bilder , said Ma n ha t H ei n en bei m Begi n n sei n er dichteri schen Lau fba h n mit Byron vergleichen

e n . i e s i u n s n n z u ss n De r i woll D e Vergle ch g chei t icht pa e . Brite br n gt mit un e h e u re n e n n u r as si s E f wii h re n d n n g Mitt l m ge poeti che fekte hervor, Hei e ei e An lage i si k ii n stle ri sch zu n n u n d de n ff é n zli ch i n di e ze gt , ch begre ze Sto g Form zu ab sor ” ' n . J a hrbii clze r . u i ss e n s cha tli che K ri ti k 1 8 2 N O. . biere ( f f , 7 , 9 7 , p 3 W . 1 1 6 . erke , III , p 7 8

o o f m str yer venerable for s , inj uring the most sacred flowers of or life with his melodious poison , as a mad harlequin who o thrusts the steel into his heart , in rder that he may teasingly bespatter ladies and gentlemen with the black Spurting blood . m n ow In remarkable contrast with his for er views , he writes “ V on allen grossen Schriftstellern ist Byron j ust derj enige , ” L ktii r unle i i s e n b e rfi hrt dessen e e mich am d g t . a Perhaps the most interesting p ssage in this connection , be cause S O thoroughly characteristic of the Byronic pose in “ ” “ c : Heine , o curs in the Bader von Lucca Lieber Leser,

e hOrst du zu e V o eln g vielleicht j enen fromm n g , die da ein B roni scher stimmen in das Lied von y Zerrissenheit, das mir schon seit zehn Jahren in allen Weisen vorg epfiffen und vor

c du gezwits hert worden Ach , teurer Leser , wenn fi ber j ene Zerrissenheit klagen willst, so beklage lieber , dass die des Welt selbst mitten entzwei gerissen ist . Denn da das Herz so o Dichters der Mi ttelpunkt der Welt ist , musste es w hl in li j etziger Zeit jamm e r ch zerrissen werden . Wer von seinem rii hmt Herzen , es sei ganz geblieben , der gesteht nur , dass er

i n o c e itab ele ene s Wi nk elhe rz e w . pr sais hes , g g hat Durch das

“ Weltri ss meinige ging aber der grosse , und eben deswegen weiss

GOtte r ich , dass die grossen mich vor vielen andern hoch begnadigt und des Di chte rma rtyrtum s wii rdig geachtet ” 1 c or haben . Here while vociferously dis laiming all kinship sympathy with Byron , he pays him the flattering compliment of o imitation . Probably nowhere in Byr n could we find a more pomp ous display o f egoism under the guise of Welt schmerz .

’ ’ s m its c Byron s Welt ch erz , like Heine s , had first provo ation “ ” 2 “ u o TO m in a p rely pers nal experience . a Lady and Reme ” 3 ’ brance both give expressi on in passi onate terms to the poet s ’ o disappointed love for Mary Chaw rth , the parallel in Heine s

or ne ce s case being his infatuation f his cousin Amalie . The sity for defending himself against a public Opinion actively hos

1 0 . Werke , Vol . III , p . 3 4 2 ’ n s s e d n n a n d Ne w Y 1 8 8 . . . 1 8 ff . Byro Work , Coleridge Lo do ork , 9 Vol I , p 9 3 i I d. . 2 1 1 . b , p

80

’ for thought . Compare example Byron s lines in the poem “ And wilt thou weep when I am low ?”

O h lady ! ble ssed be that tear I t fall s for one who cannot weep ; S uch p recious drops are doubly dea r 1 TO ose o s s n o m a s th wh e eye tear y teep , with Heine ’ s stanza

‘ ’ i ch si e o n Seit verl re hab , ’ S chafft ich a uc h da s Wei n en ab ; s v or da s m i r c Fa t Weh Herz bri ht, i 2 Aber wein en kann ch nicht .

1 6 Or again , Childe Harold , IV, 3

From m ighty wron gs to p etty perfidy Have I n ot seen what h uman things could do ? From the l ou d roar O f foaming cal um ny To the sm all whi sper of the a s paltry fe w 3 A nd su n om o f c btler ve the rep tile rew ,

’ with the first lines o f Heine s ninth sonnet

I ch m oc n n oc i ch n n es n c hte wei e , d h ka i ht ; ’ I ch m Ocht m c rii sti i n di e H Ohe n i h g hebe , ’ oc ann c s n c am o n m uss i ch en D h k i h i ht ; B de kleb , ’ ‘ mk r hz um zi s h n e klem. Wurm e zii ch U ci c t, c t vo g t, a thought which in one of his letters ( 1 82 3 ) he paraphrases “ : zu thus Der Gedanke an Dich , liebe Schwester , muss mich weilen aufrecht halten , wenn die grosse Masse mit ihrem ’ ”ls ni ede rdruck t dummen Hass und ihrer ekelhaften Liebe mich . There can be no doubt that Heine for a time studied dili gently to imitate this fashionable model , pose , irony and all . S o diligently perhaps , that he himself was sometimes unable di s i n li sh to t g between imitation and reality . So at least it “ O of would appear from N . 44 Die Heimkehr

Ach Gott ! im S cherz un d unbew usst c i ch w a s i ch efiihlet Spra h , g I ch hab m it dem To d i n der eign en Brust “ Den sterben den Fechter g espi elet .

1 2 66 . Coleridge cd . , Vol . I , p . f 2 8 . Werke , Vol . I , p . 7 3 e d 2 Coleridge Vol . II , p . 4 9 . 4 . . 6 1 Werke , Vol I , p . 5 Ka r l 1 e e s e d. . 1 . p Werke , VIII , 9 4 5 1 1 Werke , I , p . 7 . 81

In summing up our impressions of the two poets we shall scarcely escape the feeling that While Byron is pleased to dis play his troubles and his heart- aches before the curious gaze si n of the world , they are at least in the main real troubles and - on o cere heart aches , whereas Heine , the ther hand , does a large business in Weltschmerz on a very small capital . Nor is Heine the man more convincing as to his sincerity than Heine the poet . No more striking instance of this fact c ould perhaps be found than his letter to Laube on hearing ’ 1 “ nn the news Of I mm e rm a s death . Gestern Abend erfuhr ich durch das J ournal des De ba ts ganz zufallig den Tod von mm rm nn I ch I e a . habe die ganze Nacht durch geweint . Welch ein U nglfi ck ! Wel ch einen gro ssen Dichter haben zu wir Deutschen verloren , Ohne ihn j emals recht gekannt ! ! haben Wir , ich meine Deutschland , die alte Rabenmutter

Und nicht nur ein grosser Dichter war er , sondern auch brav I h u n d c . c ehrli h , und deshalb liebte ich ihn liege ganz ” vor darnieder Kummer . But scarcely has he turned the page : with a short intervening paragraph , when he continues Ich

o bin , sonderbar genug, sehr guter Laune , and c ncludes the Now c a s letter with some small talk . if he was sin ere , we of may assume he was , in the asseveration his grief at the death i of his fr end , then either that grief must have been anything or c of of but profound , we have the learest sort evidence the ’ poet s incapacity for serious feeling of more than momentary

s duration . It is safe to assert that Heine never et himself a c hi s high artisti task , and remained true to purpose until the c task was ac omplished . In other words , Heine betrays a lack

- o c c of H Olde r O f will energy al ng artisti lines , which in the ase lin and Lenau was more evident in their attitude toward the c pra tical things of life . But the fact that Heine never created a monumental liter ary work Of enduring worth is not attributable solely to a

ficklene ss of or o f l - artistic purpose lack wi l energy . We find ’ “ its explanation rather in the poet s own statem ent : Die ” 2 am oc schOn e c Poesie ist Ende d h nur eine Nebensa he . and to

1 K r a e le s e d. . 1 62 Werke , p Vol . IX , p f. 2 I mm m n to e r a n Kar e le s . Letter , Werke ( p Vol VIII , p . 3 5 4 . 6 8 2

c or o o this prin iple , consciously unc nsci usly , Heine steadily o f hi s adhered . Certain it is that he took a much lower View

l rlin find' him art than did H Ode or Lenau . Hence we ever ready to degrade hi s muse by making it the vehi cle for immoral 1 thoughts and abom inable calumnies . The question Of Heine ’ s patriotism has always been a much

on e so . debated , and must doubtless remain But whatever opinion we may hold in regard to his real attitude and

o f to a d feelings toward the land his birth , this we shall have

fe w of mit, that there are exceedingly traces Weltschmerz

c arising from this sour e . Genuine feeling is expressed in the “ ” 2 two- stanza p oem I ch hatte einst ein schOn e s Vaterland and “ ” 3 o t als in Lebensfahrt , although this la ter poem illustrates a of of m h characteristic so many his writings , na ely that he im i I t c self s their central figure . is the sublime egoism whi h c haracterizes Heine and all his works . No wonder, then , that “ ” one Of his fe w F re iheitsli e der refers to his own personal lib 4 rt F r h i s co e y . o the failings of untrymen he is ever ready 3 c e o with s athing satire , he grieves over his s p aration fr m them 6 only when he thinks Of his m other ; and in regard to the future 7 f r o of o c c . Germany he is the m st part s epti al In a word ,

’ Heine s lyric utterances in regard to his fatherland are of so

o of mixed a character , altogether aside fr m the question _ that o f of the sincerity his feeling toward the land his birth , cer tai nl y none but the blindest partisan would be able to discover. more than a negligible quantity of Weltschmerz directly at

to t tributable his influence . ’ s Heine s conscience is at be t a doubtful quantity . Where Byron with a sincere sense and acknowledgment o f his guilt writes

1 ’ Cf . hi s u n s n n s u u K u v lgar prog o ticatio of Germa y f t re , ap t XXVI ' Wi n t rmarch n e e . 8 8 ff . , Werke , Vol II , p . 4 2 . 2 6 . Werke , Vol I , p . 3 3 I i . . . 08 . b d , Vol I , p 3 4 “ I b i d . . 0 1 de r s Vol I , p 3 , Adam er te . 5 I i . . . 1 6 Zu r u u n b d , Vol I , p 3 , Ber hig g . ° I i . . . 2 0 n b d , Vol I , p 3 , Nachtgeda ken . T Cf . s u ra n I p , ote . 83

My in j urie s cam e down on those who l oved m e On th ose whom I best l oved :

B ut my embrace wa s fatal .

Heine sees it in quite another light : War i ch doch selber jetzt das lebende Gesetz der M oral und der ! uell alles Rechtes und aller B efugnis ; die a n rfi chigste n Magdalenen wurden purifi ziert durch die lautern de und sfi hn ende Macht meiner Liebes ” 2 fl amm en to im , a moral aberration which he attributes an f perfect interpretation of the di ficult philosophy of Hegel . If further evidence were necessary to show the perversity o f ’ o Heine s moral sense , the foll wing paragraph from a letter to f Varnhagen would su fice , in its way perhaps as remarkable a contribution to the theory o f ethi cs as has ever been penned : “ o so zu In Deutschland ist man n ch nicht weit , begrei fen , dass

das c o b e fOrde rn ein Mann , der Edelste dur h W rt und That

oft Lum i k e iten sei will , sich einige kleine p g , es aus Spass Oder a us zu o c Vorteil , schulden k mmen lassen darf, wenn er nur dur h L m i k i n im i nob el u e te . . diese p g (d h Handlungen , die Grunde g c c a sind , ) der grossen Idee seines Lebens ni hts s hadet , j dass

Lum i k e ite n o si e diese p g oft sogar l benswert sind , wenn uns in

S o o wii rdi er den tand setzen , der gr ssen Idee unsres Lebens dest g ” 3 ’ zu c m o dienen . S arcely less re arkable is the poet s confessi n “ to his friend Moser that he has a rubber soul : Ich kann Dir

c o ft o c c das ni ht genug wiederh len , damit Du mi h ni ht misst

M a s ssta nach dem b e Deiner eigenen grossen S eele . Die

i st m c c o ft c meinige Gu mi elasti , zieht si h ins Unendli he rschrum ft S und ve p oft ins Winzige . Aber eine eele habe ich

so doch . I am positive , I have a soul , gut wie Sterne .

n m c Das ge ug e Dir . Liebe i h um der wunderlichen Sorte

Ge fuhls c m i r c Thorhe it willen , die si h bei ausspri ht in und

S c c m . es Weisheit, in Gute und hle htigkeit Liebe ich , weil m al so Dir nun einfallt , nicht , weil Du mich der Liebe wert haltst I ch . o fii r i ch hatte einen P len zum Freund , den

zu ff fii r i ch mich bis Tod beso en hatte, Oder , besser gesagt , den c ffi r mich hatte tots hlagen lassen , und den ich mich noch ] fii r totschlagen liesse , und der Ker taugte keinen Pfennig,

1 " n e e d . 1 01 . Ma fr d , Coleridge IV , p 2 8 . Werke VI , p . 4 3 Ka r e le s e d. 1 p Werke , VIII , p . 5 4 . 84

und war venerisch , und hatte die schlechtesten Grundsatze

m so aber er hatte einen Kehllaut , mit welche er auf wunder ‘ ’ das o ? liche Weise W rt Was sprechen konnte , dass ich in m diese Augenblick weinen und lachen muss , wenn ich daran ” 1 denke .

Taking him all in all then , Heine is not a serious personality , a fact which we need to keep constantly in mind in j udging of a lmost any and every side his nature . ’ o f e As a matter fact , Heine s Weltschmerz , lik his whole of so personality , is complex and contradictory a nature , that

' it would be a hopeless undertaking to attempt to weigh each contributing factor and estimate exactly the amount of its

c influen e . All the elements which have been briefly noted in the foregoing pages , and probably many minor ones which m to have not been mentioned , co bined produce in him that “ ” Zerrissenheit which finds su ch frequent expression in his “ writings . But it must be remembered that this Zerrissen ” m heit does not always express itself as Weltsch erz . In

m c Heine it often appears si ply as pugna ity ; and where wit ,

- satire , self irony or even base calumny succeeds in covering up ’ all traces of the poet s pathos we are n o longer j ustified on sentimental or sympathetic grounds in taking it for granted . ’ ’ In looking for pathos in Heine s verse we shall not have to o lo k in vain , it is true , but we shall find much less than his popular reputation as a poet o f Welts chm erz would lead us to expect ; and we frequently gain the impression that his dis positi o n and his personal experiences are after all largely the

c m ex use for rather than the occasion Of his Weltsch erz . “ P lii m a che r maintains : Der Weltschmerz ist entweder die

' P a ssi vitat Aeusse run absolute , und die Klage seine einzige g , ff Krafte sub e ctivi sti schen Oder aber er verpu t seine in rein j , ' ” 2 e udam on i sche n —a c c Anstrengungen , chara terization whi h certainly holds good in the case of Lenau and HOlde rli n re s i l H l rli n e ct v e . Ode p y , although in a visionary , idealistic way m c c . re ains , even in his Welts hmerz , altruistic and constru tive

Lenau is passive , while Heine is solely egoistic and destructive .

1 Ka r e le s e d p . Werke , VIII , p . 399 . 2 P l m a ch e D i ii r: e r ss s u s . 1 8 8 8 . 1 0 . Pe mi m Heidelberg , , p 3 CHAPTER V

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