Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock | |
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.jpg) Klopstock byJohann Caspar Füssli (1750) | |
| Born | (1724-07-02)2 July 1724 |
| Died | 14 March 1803(1803-03-14) (aged 78) Hamburg, Holy Roman Empire |
| Language | German |
| Genre | |
| Literary movement | |
| Spouse | Meta Moller Johanna Elisabeth von Winthem |
Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (German:[ˈklɔpʃtɔk]; 2 July 1724 – 14 March 1803) was a German poet. His best known works are the epic poemDer Messias ("The Messiah") and the poemDie Auferstehung ("The Resurrection"), with the latter set to music in the finale ofGustav Mahler'sSymphony No. 2. One of his major contributions toGerman literature was to open it up to exploration outside of French models.[1]
Klopstock was born on 2 July 1724 atQuedlinburg,[2] the eldest son of a lawyer. Both in his birthplace and on the estate ofFriedeburg on theSaale, which his father later rented, he spent a happy childhood. Having been given more attention to his physical than to his mental development, he grew up strong and healthy and was considered an excellent horseman. In his thirteenth year, he returned to Quedlinburg and attended thegymnasium there, and in 1739 went on to the famous classical school namedSchulpforta. Here he soon became adept in Greek and Latin versification, and wrote some meritorious idylls and odes in German. His original intention of makingHenry the Fowler the hero of an epic was abandoned in favor of a religious epic, under the influence ofMilton'sParadise Lost, with which he became acquainted throughBodmer's translation.[3]
While still at school, he had already drafted the plan ofDer Messias on which most of his fame rests. On 21 September 1745 he delivered, on quitting school, a remarkable "departing oration" onepic poetry—Abschiedsrede über die epische Poesie, kultur- und literargeschichtlich erläutert—and next proceeded toJena as a student oftheology, where he drew up in prose the first three cantos of theMessias. Finding life at that university not to his liking, he transferred in the spring of 1746 toLeipzig, where he joined a circle of young men of letters who contributed to theBremer Beiträge. In this periodical the first three cantos ofDer Messias were published anonymously inhexameter verse in 1748.[3]
A new era in German literature had commenced, and the identity of the author soon became known. In Leipzig he also wrote a number of odes, the best known of which isAn meine Freunde (1747), afterwards recast asWingolf (1767). He left the university in 1748 and became a private tutor in the family of a relative atLangensalza, where unrequited love for a cousin (the "Fanny" of his odes) disturbed his peace of mind. For that reason he gladly accepted in 1750 an invitation from Bodmer, the translator ofParadise Lost, to visit him inZürich, where Klopstock was initially treated with every kindness and respect and rapidly recovered his spirits. Bodmer, however, was disappointed to find in the young poet of theMessias a man of strong worldly interests, and a coolness sprang up between the two men.[3]
At this juncture Klopstock received fromFrederick V of Denmark, on the recommendation of his ministerCount von Bernstorff (1712–1772), an invitation to settle inCopenhagen with an annuity of 400thalers, in the hope that he would completeDer Messias there. The offer was accepted.[3]
On his way to the Danish capital, Klopstock met inHamburg the woman who later in 1754 became his wife, Margareta orMeta Moller, the "Cidli" of his odes. She was the daughter of a Hamburg merchant and an enthusiastic admirer of his poetry. His happiness was short, as she died in childbirth in 1758, leaving him broken-hearted. His grief at her loss finds pathetic expression in the fifteenth canto of theMessias.The poet subsequently published his wife's writings,Hinterlassene Werke von Margareta Klopstock (1759), which give evidence of a tender, sensitive and deeply religious spirit.[3] See alsoMemoirs of Frederick and Margaret Klopstock (English translation byElizabeth Smith, London, 1808) and her correspondence withSamuel Richardson, published 1818.[4]
Klopstock now relapsed intomelancholy; new ideas failed him, and his poetry became more introspective. He continued to live and work in Copenhagen, however, and next, followingHeinrich Wilhelm von Gerstenberg, turned his attention to northern mythology, which in his view should replace classical subjects in a new school of German poetry. In 1770, whenKing Christian VII dismissed Count Bernstorff from office, he retired with the latter toHamburg but retained his pension, together with the rank of councillor of legation.[3]
In 1773 were published the last five cantos of theMessias. In the following year he published a scheme for the regeneration of German letters,Die Gelehrtenrepublik (1774). In 1775 he traveled south, and making the acquaintance ofGoethe on the way, spent a year at the court of theMargrave ofBaden atKarlsruhe. Thence, in 1776, with the title ofHofrath and a pension from the Margrave, which he retained along with that from the king of Denmark, he returned to Hamburg where he spent the remainder of his life.[3]
His latter years he passed, as had always been his inclination, in retirement, only occasionally relieved by socializing with his most intimate friends, occupied inphilological studies and taking scant interest in the new developments in German literature. However, he was enthusiastic about theAmerican War of Independence and theFrench Revolution. TheFrench Republic sent him a diploma of honorary citizenship; but, horrified at the terrible scenes the Revolution had enacted in the name of liberty, he returned it.[3]
At the age of 67 he undertook a second marriage, to Johanna Elisabeth von Winthem, a widow and a niece of his late wife, who for many years had been one of his most intimate friends. He died in Hamburg on 14 March 1803,[2] mourned throughout Germany, and was buried with great ceremony next to his first wife in the churchyard of the village ofOttensen.[3]
TheMessias follows from the aspirations to become an epic poet, which Klopstock nurtured in his early years. The leitmotif of the work is theRedemption, which is given an epic treatment. He resorted to Christian literary traditions in trying to circumscribe the subject-matter within thedogmas of the Church.[3]
Milton'sParadise Lost was one of the models Klopstock had in mind in giving form to his poem. The poem took twenty-five years to complete. The work aroused intense public enthusiasm at its commencement. It has been translated into seventeen languages, and led to numerous imitations.[3]
In his odes Klopstock had more scope for his distinctive talent.[3] Some have Nordic mythological inspiration, while others emphasize religious themes.Among the most celebrated and translated areAn Fanny;Der Zürchersee;Die tote Klarissa;An Cidli;Die beiden Musen;Der Rheinwein;Die frühen Gräber,Mein Vaterland. His religious odes mostly take the form ofhymns, of which the most beautiful isDie Frühlingsfeier.[3]
In some of his dramas, notablyHermanns Schlacht (1769) andHermann und die Fürsten (1784), Klopstock celebrated the deeds of the ancient German heroArminius, and in others,Der Tod Adams (1757) andSalomo (1764), he took his materials from theOld Testament.[3] These also represent an important part of his body of work. ComposerSigrid Henriette Wienecke used Klopstock's writings as the text for her musical drama Fader Vor. He immortalized his 1750s visit at the SwissAu peninsula in hisOde an den Zürichsee ("Ode toLake Zurich").
It has been said that Klopstock's hymn "Die Auferstehung" at the funeral ofHans von Bülow in 1894 gaveGustav Mahler the inspiration for the final movement of hisSecond Symphony. Mahler incorporated the hymn with extra verses he wrote himself to bring a personal resolution to this work.[5]
Klopstock published odes and hymns, includingDer am Kreuz ist meine Liebe, which is in shortened and revised form part of the 2013 Catholic hymnalGotteslob.
In addition toDie Gelehrtenrepublik, he was also the author ofFragmente über Sprache und Dichtkunst (1779) andGrammatische Gespräche (1794), works in which he made important contributions to philology and to the history of German poetry.[3]
As was common in the period, Klopstock kept up an abundant correspondence with his contemporaries, friends, and colleagues, and this has been published in diverse collections. Some of them are listed below:
Klopstock'sWerke first appeared in sevenquarto volumes (1798–1809). At the same time a more complete edition in twelveoctavo volumes was published (1798–1817), to which six additional volumes were added in 1830. Other nineteenth-century editions were published in 1844–1845, 1854–1855, 1879 (ed. by R. Boxberger), 1884 (ed. by R. Hamel) and 1893 (a selection edited by F. Muncker). A critical edition of theOdes was published byF. Muncker and J. Pawel in 1889; a commentary on these byH. Düntzer (1860; 2nd ed., 1878).[3]
Goethe in hisautobiography recorded his personal impression of Klopstock: "He was of small stature, but well built. His manners were grave and decorous, but free from pedantry. His address was intelligent and pleasing. On the whole, one might have taken him for a diplomatist. He carried himself with the self-conscious dignity of a person who has a great moral mission to fulfil. He conversed with facility on various subjects, but rather avoided speaking of poetry and literary matters."[4]
Klopstock's enrichment of poetic vocabulary and attention to prosody did great service to the poets who immediately followed him.[6] In freeing German poetry from its exclusive interest inAlexandrine verse, he became the founder of a new era inGerman literature, so thatSchiller andGoethe were artistically indebted to him.[7] An 800-year-old oak tree where Klopstock spent time in Denmark was named after him.[8]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Klopstock, Gottlieb Friedrich".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 847–848.
Media related toFriedrich Gottlieb Klopstock at Wikimedia Commons
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