Ludwig Tieck | |
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 Portrait of Tieck byRobert Schneider, 1833 | |
| Born | Johann Ludwig Tieck (1773-05-31)May 31, 1773 Berlin,Kingdom of Prussia |
| Died | 28 April 1853 (aged 79) Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia |
| Resting place | Dreifaltigkeitskirchhof II, Berlin |
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| Language | German |
| Alma mater | University of Halle University of Göttingen University of Erlangen |
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Johann Ludwig Tieck (/tiːk/;German:[tiːk]; 31 May 1773 – 28 April 1853) was a German poet, fiction writer, translator, and critic. He was one of the founding fathers of theRomantic movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Tieck was born inBerlin, the son of a rope-maker. His siblings were the sculptorChristian Friedrich Tieck and the poetSophie Tieck. He was educated at theFriedrichswerdersches Gymnasium [de], where he learned Greek and Latin, as required in most preparatory schools. He also began learning Italian at a very young age, from a grenadier with whom he became acquainted. Through this friendship, Tieck was given a first-hand look at the poor, which could be linked to his work as a Romanticist. He later attended the universities ofHalle,Göttingen, andErlangen. At Göttingen, he studiedShakespeare andElizabethan drama.[1]
On returning to Berlin in 1794, Tieck attempted to make a living by writing. He contributed a number of short stories (1795–98) to the seriesStraussfedern, published by the booksellerC. F. Nicolai and originally edited byJ. K. A. Musäus. He also wroteAbdallah (1796) and a novel in letters,William Lovell (3 vols, 1795–96).[1]
Tieck's transition toRomanticism is seen in the series of plays and stories published under the titleVolksmärchen von Peter Lebrecht (3 vols., 1797), a collection containing the fairy taleDer blonde Eckbert, which blends exploration of the paranoiac mind with the realm of the supernatural, and a witty dramatic satire on Berlin literary taste,Der gestiefelte Kater. With his school and college friendWilhelm Heinrich Wackenroder (1773–1798), he planned the novelFranz Sternbalds Wanderungen (vols. i–ii. 1798) which, with Wackenroder'sHerzensergiessungen (1796), was the first expression of the Romantic enthusiasm for old German art.[1]
In 1798 Tieck married and in the following year settled inJena, where he, the two brothersAugust andFriedrich Schlegel, andNovalis were the leaders of the early Romantic school (also known asJena Romanticism). His writings between 1798 and 1804 include the satirical drama,Prinz Zerbino (1799), andRomantische Dichtungen (2 vols., 1799–1800). The latter contains Tieck's most ambitious dramatic poems,Leben und Tod der heiligen Genoveva,Leben und Tod des kleinen Rotkäppchens, which were followed in 1804 by the "comedy" in two parts,Kaiser Oktavianus. These dramas are typical plays of the first Romantic school. Although formless and destitute of dramatic qualities, they show the influence of bothCalderón and Shakespeare.Kaiser Oktavianus is a poetic glorification of theMiddle Ages.[1]
In 1801 Tieck went toDresden, then lived for a time atZiebingen nearFrankfurt (Oder), and spent many months in Italy. In 1803 he published a translation ofMinnelieder aus der schwäbischen Vorzeit, then between 1799 and 1804 an excellent version ofDon Quixote, and in 1811 two volumes of Elizabethan dramas,Altenglisches Theater. From 1812 to 1817 he collected in three volumes a number of his earlier stories and dramas, under the titlePhantasus. In this collection appeared the storiesDer Runenberg,Die Elfen,Der Pokal, and the dramatic fairy taleFortunat.[1]
In 1817 Tieck visited England in order to collect materials for a work on Shakespeare, which was never finished. In 1819 he settled permanently in Dresden, and from 1825 he was literary adviser to the Court Theatre. His semi-public readings from the dramatic poets gave him a reputation which extended far beyond the capital of theKingdom of Saxony. The new series of short stories which he began to publish in 1822 also won him a wide popularity. Notable among these are "Die Gemälde", "Die Reisenden", "Die Verlobung", and "Des Lebens Überfluss".
More ambitious and on a wider canvas are the historical or semi-historical novelsDichterleben (1826),Der Aufruhr in den Cevennen (1826, unfinished), andDer Tod des Dichters (1834).Der junge Tischlermeister (1836; but begun in 1811) is a work written under the influence ofGoethe'sWilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship. His story ofVittoria Accorombona (1840) was written in the style of the French Romanticists and shows a falling-off.[1]
In later years Tieck carried on a varied literary activity as a critic (Dramaturgische Blätter, 2 vols., 1825–1826;Kritische Schriften, 2 vols., 1848). He also edited the translation of Shakespeare byAugust Wilhelm Schlegel, who was assisted by Tieck's daughterDorothea (1790–1841) and byWolf Heinrich, Graf von Baudissin (1789–1878);Shakespeares Vorschule (2 vols., 1823–1829); and the works ofHeinrich von Kleist (1826) and ofJakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (1828). In 1841Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia invited Tieck to Berlin, where he received a pension for his remaining years. He died in Berlin on 28 April 1853.[1]
Tieck's importance lay in the readiness with which he adapted himself to the emerging new ideas which arose at the close of the 18th century, as well as his Romantic works, such asDer blonde Eckbert. However, his importance inGerman poetry is restricted to his early period. In later years it was as the helpful friend and adviser of others, or as the well-read critic of wide sympathies, that Tieck distinguished himself.[1]
Tieck also influencedRichard Wagner'sTannhäuser. It was fromPhantasus that Wagner based the idea of Tannhäuser going to see the Pope and of Elisabeth dying in the song battle.
German composerWilhelmine Schwertzell (1787-1863) used Tieck’s text in her songs “Herbstlied” and “Aus Genoveva.”[2]
Tieck'sSchriften appeared in twenty volumes (1828–1846), and hisGesammelte Novellen in twelve (1852–1854).Nachgelassene Schriften were published in two volumes in 1855. There are several editions ofAusgewählte Werke by H. Welti (8 vols., 1886–1888); by J. Minor (in Kirschner'sDeutsche Nationalliteratur, 144, 2 vols., 1885); by G. Klee (with an excellent biography, 3 vols., 1892), and G. Witkowski (4 vols., 1903)[1] and Marianne Thalmann (4 vols., 1963–66).
"The Enchanted Castle", "Auburn Egbert" and "Elfin-Land" were translated inPopular Tales and Romances of the Northern Nations (1823). "The Fair-haired Eckbert", "The Trusty Eckart", "The Runenberg", "The Elves" and "The Goblet" were translated byThomas Carlyle inGerman Romance (1827), "The Pictures" and "The Betrothal" by Bishop Thirlwall (1825). A translation ofVittoria Accorombona was published in 1845.[1] In the same yearJames Anthony Froude,Julius Hare and others collaborated in translating ten of Tieck's stories, published asTales from the "Phantasus" Etc.[3] "Des Lebens Überfluss" was translated anonymously asThe Superfluities of Life. A Tale Abridged from Tieck inBlackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in February 1845, and again by E. N. Bennett as "Life's Luxuries" inGerman Short Stories in theOxford University PressWorld's Classics series in 1934.The Journey into the Blue Distance (Das Alte Buch: oder Reise ins Blaue hinein, 1834). "The Romance of Little Red Riding Hood" (1801) was translated by Jack Zipes and included in his bookThe Trials and Tribulations of Little Red Riding Hood (1983).
Tieck's Letters have been published at various locations:
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Tieck, Johann Ludwig".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 962.
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