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Christian Morgenstern | |
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| Born | Christian Otto Josef Wolfgang Morgenstern (1871-05-06)6 May 1871 |
| Died | 31 March 1914(1914-03-31) (aged 42) |
| Occupation(s) | Poet Author |
Christian Otto Josef Wolfgang Morgenstern (6 May 1871 – 31 March 1914) was a German writer andpoet fromMunich.[1] Morgenstern married Margareta Gosebruch von Liechtenstern on 7 March 1910. He worked for a while as a journalist in Berlin, but spent much of his life traveling through Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, primarily in a vain attempt to recover his health. His travels, though they failed to restore him to health, allowed him to meet many of the foremost literary and philosophical figures of his time in central Europe.
Morgenstern'spoetry, much of which was inspired by Englishliterary nonsense, is immensely popular, even though he enjoyed very little success during his lifetime. He made fun of scholasticism, e.g. literary criticism in "Drei Hasen", grammar in "Der Werwolf", narrow-mindedness in "Der Gaul", and symbolism in "Der Wasseresel". In "Scholastikerprobleme" he discussedhow many angels could sit on a needle. Still many Germans know some of his poems and quotations by heart, e.g. the following line from "The Impossible Fact" ("Die unmögliche Tatsache", 1910):
Embedded in his humorous poetry is a subtle metaphysical streak, as e.g. in "Vice Versa", (1905):
Ein Hase sitzt auf einer Wiese, | "A rabbit in his meadow lair |
Gerolf Steiner's mock-scientific book about the fictitious animal orderRhinogradentia (1961), inspired by Morgenstern's nonsense poemDas Nasobēm, is testament to his enduring popularity.
Morgenstern was a member of theGeneral Anthroposophical Society.Dr. Rudolf Steiner called him 'a true representative of Anthroposophy'.
Morgenstern died in 1914 oftuberculosis, which he had contracted from his mother, who died in 1881.
Morgenstern's best known works are theGalgenlieder (Gallows Songs, 1905). This volume of humorous verses was followed byPalmström in 1910. Published posthumously were the important companion volumesPalma Kunkel in 1916,Der Gingganz in 1919, andAlle Galgenlieder in 1932. In German these works have gone through dozens of different editions and reprints and sold hundreds of thousands of copies.
Christian Morgenstern was also an acclaimed translator, rendering into German various prominent works from Norwegian and French, including the dramas and poems ofHenrik Ibsen,Knut Hamsun,Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson andAugust Strindberg.
Morgenstern's poems have been set to music by composers such asErik Bergman (four Galgenlieder,Das große Lalula,Tapetenblume,Igel und Agel,Unter Zeiten),Hanns Eisler,Sofia Gubaidulina, Lera Auerbach,Paul Graener,Friedrich Gulda,Paul Hindemith,Robert Kahn,Yrjö Kilpinen,Margarete Schweikert, Matyas Seiber (Two Madrigals andThree Morgenstern Lieder for soprano and clarinet),Rudi Spring (Galgenliederbuch nach Gedichten von Christian Morgenstern op. 19),Siegfried Strohbach (5 Galgenlieder),Graham Waterhouse (Gruselett, Der Werwolf),Timothy Hoekman ("Der Werwolf" in Drei Legenden) andAlexander von Zemlinsky (Es waren zwei Kinder,Vöglein Schwermut,Der Abend,Abendkelch voll Sonnenlicht,Du gabst mir deine Kette andAuf dem Meere meiner Seele), Andres Condon (CD Corazon de Aguila) andMeinrad Kneer (Meinrad Kneer's Phosphoros Ensemble plays Christian Morgenstern).
In his early years Christian Morgenstern wrote a considerable number of essays and reviews for various German periodicals. They have been collected together and published in Volume 6 (Kritische Schriften, 1987) of the German collected works of Morgenstern. His philosophical and mythical works were largely influenced by the philosopherFriedrich Nietzsche, the Austrian educationalistRudolf Steiner (the originator ofanthroposophy and theWaldorf school movement), and the Russian writersFyodor Dostoyevsky andLeo Tolstoy.
Perhaps Morgenstern's most philosophical volume is a collection of aphorisms published posthumously in 1918 entitledStufen: Eine Entwickelung in Aphorismen und Tagebuch-Notizen (Stages: A Development in Aphorisms and Diary Notes). It has given rise to a number of celebrated quotations. These include:
A complete edition of the works of Christian Morgenstern in German in nine volumes is currently being prepared byVerlag Urachhaus (Stuttgart) under the direction of Professor Reinhardt Habel. Volumes 1 and 2 comprise Morgenstern's lyrical writings and poems; volume 3: humoristic writings, including the complete Gallows Songs; volume 4: epic and theatrical writings; volume 5: collected aphorisms; volume 6: critical essays and reviews; volumes 7-9: complete correspondence. The volume titles in German are:
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