August Wilhelm Schlegel
August Wilhelm Schlegel: A Life of Literary Pursuits
Full Name and Common Aliases
August Wilhelm Schlegel was a German literary critic, historian, and philosopher who is often referred to as the "father of Romantic criticism" in Germany. His full name reflects his noble heritage, with "August Wilhelm" being a common combination among German aristocrats.
Birth and Death Dates
Schlegel was born on September 8, 1767, in Hamburg, Germany, and passed away on January 18, 1845, in Bonn, Prussia. His life spanned nearly eight decades, during which he witnessed significant changes in European culture, literature, and philosophy.
Nationality and Profession(s)
Schlegel was a German by nationality and held various professions throughout his life. He is best known for his work as a literary critic, historian, and philosopher. His expertise extended to multiple languages, including Greek, Latin, French, Italian, Spanish, English, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Portuguese, Russian, Polish, Hungarian, and Arabic.
Early Life and Background
Born into an aristocratic family, Schlegel's early life was marked by a strong interest in literature and language. His father, Johann Adolf Schlegel, was a clergyman, theologian, and writer who had a significant influence on his son's intellectual development. The younger Schlegel attended the University of Göttingen, where he studied theology, philosophy, and philology. It was during this period that he began to cultivate his writing skills and developed an appreciation for classical literature.
Major Accomplishments
Schlegel's career was marked by numerous accomplishments in various fields. His most significant contributions include:
Literary criticism: Schlegel is considered one of the founders of German literary criticism. He wrote extensively on Shakespeare, Goethe, and other prominent authors, providing insightful analyses that helped shape the field.
Philological research: His philological work focused on classical languages, including Greek and Latin. He was particularly interested in Homer's epics and produced several influential translations and commentaries.
Historical studies: Schlegel's historical writings spanned various periods, from ancient Greece to modern Europe. He was drawn to the study of art, literature, and culture, often integrating these disciplines into his work.Notable Works or Actions
Some of Schlegel's notable works include:
"Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature": This series of lectures, delivered in 1803-1804, showcased his expertise as a literary critic. He discussed the development of drama from ancient Greece to modern times.
"Vorlesungen über dramatische Kunst und Literatur": Published posthumously in 1846, these lectures demonstrated Schlegel's comprehensive knowledge of dramatic literature and theory.Impact and Legacy
Schlegel's impact on literary criticism, philology, and historical studies is still evident today. His work has influenced generations of scholars, including notable figures like Friedrich Schelling, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.
His legacy extends beyond academia to the broader cultural sphere:
Romanticism: As a key figure in the German Romantic movement, Schlegel helped shape the intellectual landscape of his time. His emphasis on emotion, imagination, and individual experience contributed significantly to the development of Romantic thought.
Interdisciplinary approaches: By integrating literature, history, philosophy, and philology into his work, Schlegel laid the groundwork for modern interdisciplinary research methods.Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
Schlegel's writings are widely quoted due to their:
Insightful analysis: His critical essays offer nuanced understandings of literary works, often revealing new perspectives on familiar texts.
* Influence on contemporaries: Schlegel's ideas and critiques had a direct impact on the work of his peers, including prominent writers and thinkers of his time.
By examining the life and achievements of August Wilhelm Schlegel, we gain a deeper appreciation for the interconnectedness of literature, history, philosophy, and culture. His legacy serves as a testament to the power of interdisciplinary inquiry and the enduring importance of literary criticism in shaping our understanding of human expression.
Quotes by August Wilhelm Schlegel
But the mighty course of human destinies proceeds: like the change of season, with measured pace: great designs ripen slowly; stealthily and hesitantly the dark suggestions of deadly malice quit the abysses of mind for the light of day. and, as Horace, with equal truth and beauty observes, “the flying criminal is only followed limpingly by penal retribution.
Alas! it is the artificial refinements, the oppressive burden of a relaxing and deadening superfluity which render man indifferent to the value of life: when it is stripped of all foreign appendages, though borne down with sufferings so that the naked existence alone remains, still will its sweetness flow from the heart at every pulse through all the veins.
Such a tragic exhibition resembles a comet's course, hardly visible at first, revealing itself only to the eyes astronomic eye, appears in nebulous distance in heavens, but soon soars with unheard-of and accelerating rapidity towards the central point of our system, scattering dismay among the nations of the earth, till, a moment, when least expected, with its portentous tail it overspeads half of the firmament with resplendent flame.
As the poets for the most part had their share of scholarship, it gave rise to a curious struggle between their natural inclination and their imaginary duty. When they sacrificed to the latter, they were praised by the learned; but by yielding to the former, they became the favourites of the people.
But the mighty course of human destinies proceeds: like the change of season, with measured pace: great designs ripen slowly; stealthily and hesitantly the dark suggestions of deadly malice quit the abysses of mind for the light of day. and, as Horace, with equal truth and beauty observes, "the flying criminal is only followed limpingly by penal retribution.
Reason and understanding are represented as the voluntary slaves of the senses.
Those critics who consider the authority of the ancients as models to be such, that in poetry, as in all the other arts, there can be no safety out of the pale of imitation, affirm, that as the nations in question have not followed this course, they have brought nothing but irregular works on the stage, which, though they may possess occasional passages of splendour and beauty, must yet, as a whole, be for ever reprobated as barbarous, and wanting in form.
Euripides, however, has drawn Fate down from the region of the infinite; and with him inevitable necessity not unfrequently degenerates into the caprice of chance. Accordingly, he can no longer apply it to its proper purpose, namely, by contrast with it, to heighten the moral liberty of man. How few of his pieces turn upon a steadfast resistance to the decrees of fate, or an equally heroic submission to them! His characters generally suffer because they must, and not because they will.
The poetic spirit requires to be limited, that it may move with a becoming liberty, within its proper precincts, as has been felt by all nations on the first invention of metre; it must act according to laws derivable from its own essence, otherwise its strength will evaporate in boundless vacuity.