Ernst Schulze
Encyclopedia
Ernst Conrad Friedrich Schulze (22 March 1789 – 29 June 1817) was a German
Romantic
poet
, born at Celle
.
of Celle, his mother died while he was only two years old and much of his early education was overseen by his two grandfathers, who were a Celle bookseller and a minister.
Widely respected by his contemporaries in early youth, he found himself increasingly drawn into a new poetische Welt (world of poetry) in his mid-teens, showing a particular interest in folklore
, fairy tales and diverse French literature. He said of himself, "I lived in a fantasy world and was on the way to becoming a complete obsessive." Despite these early Romantic daydream
s, he was able to apply himself to his school work and was, at age 16, a model student.
Given his upbringing, it is probably unsurprisingly that he initially studied theology
at the Georg-August University of Göttingen from 1806. He went on to study philosophy
, literature
and aesthetics
from 1808, and received his doctorate
in 1812. Afterward, he devoted himself to philology
, which he taught privately in Göttingen
. During his time at university he became a member of the Göttingen 'Corps Hannovera'
, one of the original German Student Corps
.
s reflected his particular poetical interests, particularly Ancient Greek
lyric poetry
; his first two lectures were entitled „Ueber die Geschichte der lyrischen Poesie bey den Griechen“ and „Metrik […] und Prometheus des Aeschylus“. Perhaps more importantly than his profession, however, became his love for Cäcilie Tychsen, daughter of the Orientalist
and theologian Thomas Christian Tychsen
. Cäcilie and her sister Adelheid were regarded by as Göttingen society
as beautiful and musically talented and Schulze first met Cäcilie in 1811. A brief romance followed, which intensified on Schulze's part after Cäcilie fell incurably sick from pulmonary tuberculosis
the following year at the age of eighteen. The couple's engagement
came shortly before Cäcilie's death on 3 December 1812. Schulze wrote, "In Cäcilie, whilst truly chaste, I was made many times more beautiful and wonderful. It was what, perhaps, I could become if there were immortality, instead of now residing in gloom."
er by Franz Schubert
. The autobiographical information contained therein, in poetic form, came about largely under the influence of his engagement to Cäcilie Tychsen, and her subsequent death. Her early demise, in whose memory his epic Cäcilia (1818) was written, clouded all of his later life.
Typical of this influence is a reference in Um Mitternacht (1815), subsequently set to music by Schubert:
Ach, nur einmal, nur verstohlen
Dein geliebtes Bild zu sehn,
Wollt' ich gern in Sturm und Wetter
Bis zum späten Morgen stehn!
Ah, if only once, only secretly
I might again see your belovèd form,
I would, through storm and weather,
Stand until the late morning.
Whilst the vast majority of his writings are Romantic
in style and mainly in allegorical form, other poems, such as Lebensmut ('Courage'), were written as a result of his time as a volunteer
in the fight for liberation
against Napoleon's French Empire
.
His last epic romantic work Die Bezauberte Rose
(1818) is a poem of classic beauty of style. It is in three cantos, comprising 107 stanza
s of ottava rima
. The 'enchanted rose' is a princess
named Klothilde who has been placed under a spell. After various, powerful suitors have failed to secure her release, the minstrel
Alpino is successful and she is restored to her proper form.
In a poetic symmetry, Schulze died, like his belovèd Cäcilie, of consumption
at the age of twenty-eight, a few days after receiving word that Die Bezauberte Rose had obtained the prize as the best poetic narration in F. A. Brockhaus' publication "Urania".
('In Spring') (Op.
101, no. 1, D
. 882) which represents the purest expression of love where the beloved is remote and unattainable.
Schubert planned to write an opera based upon Die Bezauberte Rose. His acquaintance, the young Austrian
dramatist Eduard von Bauernfeld
did not, however, think this would work on the stage. Consequently, Schulze's work was dropped by Schubert in preference for Der Graf von Gleichen from a collection of folk tales by Musäus
, the work finally being left incomplete owing to Schubert's death.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
Romantic
German Romanticism
For the general context, see Romanticism.In the philosophy, art, and culture of German-speaking countries, German Romanticism was the dominant movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. German Romanticism developed relatively late compared to its English counterpart, coinciding in its...
poet
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, born at Celle
Celle
Celle is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the River Aller, a tributary of the Weser and has a population of about 71,000...
.
Early life and education
The son of the MayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Celle, his mother died while he was only two years old and much of his early education was overseen by his two grandfathers, who were a Celle bookseller and a minister.
Widely respected by his contemporaries in early youth, he found himself increasingly drawn into a new poetische Welt (world of poetry) in his mid-teens, showing a particular interest in folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, fairy tales and diverse French literature. He said of himself, "I lived in a fantasy world and was on the way to becoming a complete obsessive." Despite these early Romantic daydream
Daydream
A daydream is a visionary fantasy, especially one of happy, pleasant thoughts, hopes or ambitions, imagined as coming to pass, and experienced while awake. There are many types of daydreams, and there is no consistent definition amongst psychologists. The general public also uses the term for a...
s, he was able to apply himself to his school work and was, at age 16, a model student.
Given his upbringing, it is probably unsurprisingly that he initially studied theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
at the Georg-August University of Göttingen from 1806. He went on to study philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
and aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
from 1808, and received his doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in 1812. Afterward, he devoted himself to philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
, which he taught privately in Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
. During his time at university he became a member of the Göttingen 'Corps Hannovera'
Corps Hannovera Göttingen
thumb|Bismarck 1836The Corps Hannovera Göttingen is one of the oldest German Student Corps, a Studentenverbindung or student corporation founded 18 January 1809 at the Georg August University of Göttingen by students like Georg Kloss. The name was chosen because the founders had their home...
, one of the original German Student Corps
German Student Corps
Corps are the oldest still-existing kind of Studentenverbindung, Germany's traditional university corporations; their roots date back to the 15th century. The oldest corps still existing today was founded in 1789...
.
Post-University
Schulze's early post-graduation lectureLecture
thumb|A lecture on [[linear algebra]] at the [[Helsinki University of Technology]]A lecture is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history,...
s reflected his particular poetical interests, particularly Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
lyric poetry
Lyric poetry
Lyric poetry is a genre of poetry that expresses personal and emotional feelings. In the ancient world, lyric poems were those which were sung to the lyre. Lyric poems do not have to rhyme, and today do not need to be set to music or a beat...
; his first two lectures were entitled „Ueber die Geschichte der lyrischen Poesie bey den Griechen“ and „Metrik […] und Prometheus des Aeschylus“. Perhaps more importantly than his profession, however, became his love for Cäcilie Tychsen, daughter of the Orientalist
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
and theologian Thomas Christian Tychsen
Thomas Christian Tychsen
Thomas Christian Tychsen was a German orientalist and Lutheran theologian. He is known for his 1823 grammar of the Arabic language.-External links:...
. Cäcilie and her sister Adelheid were regarded by as Göttingen society
Upper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...
as beautiful and musically talented and Schulze first met Cäcilie in 1811. A brief romance followed, which intensified on Schulze's part after Cäcilie fell incurably sick from pulmonary tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
the following year at the age of eighteen. The couple's engagement
Engagement
An engagement or betrothal is a promise to marry, and also the period of time between proposal and marriage which may be lengthy or trivial. During this period, a couple is said to be betrothed, affianced, engaged to be married, or simply engaged...
came shortly before Cäcilie's death on 3 December 1812. Schulze wrote, "In Cäcilie, whilst truly chaste, I was made many times more beautiful and wonderful. It was what, perhaps, I could become if there were immortality, instead of now residing in gloom."
Work
He was the author of many poems, among them a Poetisches Tagebuch (Poetic Diary), nine of the poems from which were set to music as liedLied
is a German word literally meaning "song", usually used to describe romantic songs setting German poems of reasonably high literary aspirations, especially during the nineteenth century, beginning with Carl Loewe, Heinrich Marschner, and Franz Schubert and culminating with Hugo Wolf...
er by Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
. The autobiographical information contained therein, in poetic form, came about largely under the influence of his engagement to Cäcilie Tychsen, and her subsequent death. Her early demise, in whose memory his epic Cäcilia (1818) was written, clouded all of his later life.
Typical of this influence is a reference in Um Mitternacht (1815), subsequently set to music by Schubert:
Ach, nur einmal, nur verstohlen
Dein geliebtes Bild zu sehn,
Wollt' ich gern in Sturm und Wetter
Bis zum späten Morgen stehn!
Ah, if only once, only secretly
I might again see your belovèd form,
I would, through storm and weather,
Stand until the late morning.
Whilst the vast majority of his writings are Romantic
German Romanticism
For the general context, see Romanticism.In the philosophy, art, and culture of German-speaking countries, German Romanticism was the dominant movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. German Romanticism developed relatively late compared to its English counterpart, coinciding in its...
in style and mainly in allegorical form, other poems, such as Lebensmut ('Courage'), were written as a result of his time as a volunteer
Military volunteer
A military volunteer is a person who enlists in military service by free will, and is not a mercenary or a foreign legionaire. Volunteers often enlist to fight in the armed forces of a foreign country. Military volunteers are essential for the operation of volunteer militaries.Many armies,...
in the fight for liberation
War of the Fourth Coalition
The Fourth Coalition against Napoleon's French Empire was defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. Coalition partners included Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, and the United Kingdom....
against Napoleon's French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
.
His last epic romantic work Die Bezauberte Rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
(1818) is a poem of classic beauty of style. It is in three cantos, comprising 107 stanza
Stanza
In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. In modern poetry, the term is often equivalent with strophe; in popular vocal music, a stanza is typically referred to as a "verse"...
s of ottava rima
Ottava rima
Ottava rima is a rhyming stanza form of Italian origin. Originally used for long poems on heroic themes, it later came to be popular in the writing of mock-heroic works. Its earliest known use is in the writings of Giovanni Boccaccio....
. The 'enchanted rose' is a princess
Princess
Princess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
named Klothilde who has been placed under a spell. After various, powerful suitors have failed to secure her release, the minstrel
Minstrel
A minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events. Although minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty...
Alpino is successful and she is restored to her proper form.
In a poetic symmetry, Schulze died, like his belovèd Cäcilie, of consumption
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
at the age of twenty-eight, a few days after receiving word that Die Bezauberte Rose had obtained the prize as the best poetic narration in F. A. Brockhaus' publication "Urania".
Settings by Schubert
It has been argued that Schubert was particularly drawn to Schulze's verse because his life was so akin to that of Schulze. The most apparent example of this is, perhaps, Im FrühlingIm Frühling
Im Frühling in G major is a Lied by Austrian composer Franz Schubert.Schubert composed the song in 1826 to a poem by Ernst Schulze as part of ten poems by Schulze he set to music; they were part of Schulze's Poetic Diary which he wrote from 29 June 1813 until 17 February 1817...
('In Spring') (Op.
Opus number
An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
101, no. 1, D
Otto Erich Deutsch
Otto Erich Deutsch was an Austrian musicologist. He is known for compiling the first comprehensive catalogue of the works of Franz Schubert, first published in 1951 in English, new edition in 1978 in German...
. 882) which represents the purest expression of love where the beloved is remote and unattainable.
Schubert planned to write an opera based upon Die Bezauberte Rose. His acquaintance, the young Austrian
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
dramatist Eduard von Bauernfeld
Eduard von Bauernfeld
Eduard von Bauernfeld , Austrian dramatist, was born at Vienna.Having studied jurisprudence at the university of Vienna, he entered the government service in a legal capacity, and after holding various minor offices was transferred in 1843 to a responsible post on the Lottery Commission...
did not, however, think this would work on the stage. Consequently, Schulze's work was dropped by Schubert in preference for Der Graf von Gleichen from a collection of folk tales by Musäus
Johann Karl August Musaus
Johann Karl August Musäus was a German author from Jena. He studied theology at the university of Jena, and would have become the pastor of a parish but for the resistance of some peasants, who objected that he had been known to dance.From 1760–62 Musäus published in three volumes his first...
, the work finally being left incomplete owing to Schubert's death.
Further reading
- Sämtliche poetische Werke edited by BouterwekFriedrich BouterwekFriedrich Bouterwek , German philosopher and critic, was born to a mining director at Oker, today a district of Goslar in Lower Saxony, and studied law and philology under Christian Gottlob Heyne and Johann Georg Heinrich Feder at the University of Göttingen.After he had finished his studies he was...
(third edition, with biography by MarggraffHermann MarggraffHermann Marggraff was a German poet and humorous author. He was born at Züllichau;Brandenburg, studied at Berlin; and, devoting himself to journalism, lived and wrote in Leipzig, Munich, Augsburg, and Frankfort, finally settling in Leipzig as editor of the Blätter für literarische...
, Leipzig, 1855).