Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T18:06:38.773Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

German Romantic Poetry in Theory and Practice: The Schlegel Brothers, Schelling, Tieck, Novalis, Eichendorff, Brentano, and Heine

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2013

Bernadette Malinowski
Affiliation:
University of Augsburg
Dennis F. Mahoney
Affiliation:
University of Vermont
Get access

Summary

Historical and Philosophical Prerequisites

When discussing German Romantic poetry and poetic theory, it is important to keep in mind the turbulence of the era during which these innovations in poetic theory and practice took place. While many thinkers throughout Europe initially greeted the storming of the Bastille and the proclamation of the Rights of Man in the summer of 1789 as the culmination of an age of Enlightenment, it quickly became apparent that the French Revolution did not signal the establishment of humane, enlightened, and autonomous reason as the guiding force in politics. On the contrary: France, and soon the rest of Europe, was plunged into over two decades of war and a succession of governments, culminating in Napoleon's effort to extend French hegemony across the continent. Within the perspective of German territory, the so-called Wars of Liberation of 1813–15 ended in the final defeat of Napoleon, the stabilization of the European peace at the Congress of Vienna, and the establishment of the German Confederation. At the same time, the Austrian chancellor Metternich's (1773–1859) policies led to a restorative phase of anti-liberalism and conservatism that in turn inspired further social unrest across Europe, culminating in the Revolution of 1830 in Paris. Meanwhile, the effects of the Industrial Revolution were becoming evident; technological and industrial progress not only sped up the pace of life, but also intensified social stratification and alienation.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Print publication year: 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×