Ewald Christian von Kleist
Encyclopedia
Ewald Christian von Kleist (March 7, 1715 – August 24, 1759) was a German
poet
and officer.
, near Köslin (Koszalin)
in Farther Pomerania
, to the von Kleist
family of cavalry leaders. After attending the Jesuit school in Deutsch Krone and the Danzig Gymnasium, he proceeded in 1731 to the University of Königsberg
, where he studied law
and mathematics
. On the completion of his studies, he entered the Danish army, in which he became an officer in 1736. Recalled to Prussia by King Frederick II
in 1740, he was appointed lieutenant in a regiment stationed at Potsdam
, where he became acquainted with J. W. L. Gleim, who interested him in poetry.
After distinguishing himself at the Battle of Mollwitz
(April 10, 1741) and the siege of Neisse
(1741), he was promoted to captain in 1749 and major in 1756. Quartered during the winter of 1757-1758 in Leipzig during the Seven Years' War
, he found relief from his irksome military duties in the society of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
. Shortly afterwards in the battle of Kunersdorf
, on August 12, 1759, he was mortally wounded in the forefront of the attack, and died at Frankfurt (Oder)
on the 24 August 1759.
s, Der Frühling (1749), for which Thomson's Seasons largely supplied ideas. It earned him the nickname "the Poet of the Spring." In his description of the beauties of nature Kleist shows real poetical genius, an almost modern sentiment and fine taste. He also wrote some charming odes, idylls and elegies, and a small epic poem Cissides und Paches (1759), the subject being two Thessalian friends who die an heroic death for their country in a battle against the Athenians
. Likewise he composed epitaphs for his many friends who were killed in battle, such as Major Heinrich von Blumenthal
:
Witz, Einsicht, Wissenschaft, Geschmack, Bescheidenheit,
und Menschenlieb und Tapferkeit,
und alle Tugenden vereint mit allen Gaben besass der, den man hier begraben.
Er starb für's Vaterland
er starb mit Heldenmuth.
Ihr Winde wehet sanft,
die heilige Asche ruht.
(Wit, perception, learning, taste, modesty, and kindliness and courage, and all virtues united with all gifts, had he who lies here buried. He died for the Fatherland, he died with heroic courage. Ye winds sough softly, the holy ashes are at rest.)
Kleist published in 1756 the first collection of his Gedichte, which was followed by a second in 1758. After his death his friend Karl Wilhelm Ramler
published an edition of Kleist's Sämtliche Werke in 2 vols (1760). A critical edition was published by August Sauer, in 3 vols (1880–1882). See also Arthur Chuquet
, De Ewaldi Kleistii vita et scriptis (Paris, 1887), and Heinrich Pröhle
, Friedrich der Grosse und die deutsche Literatur (1872).
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and officer.
Life
Kleist was born at ZeblinCybulino, Koszalin County
Cybulino is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Bobolice, within Koszalin County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It lies approximately north of Bobolice , south-east of Koszalin , and north-east of the regional capital Szczecin .Before 1945 the area was...
, near Köslin (Koszalin)
Koszalin
Koszalin ; is the largest city of Middle Pomerania in north-western Poland. It is located 12 km south of the Baltic Sea coast. Koszalin is also a county-status city and capital of Koszalin County of West Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999...
in Farther Pomerania
Farther Pomerania
Farther Pomerania, Further Pomerania, Transpomerania or Eastern Pomerania , which before the German-Polish border shift of 1945 comprised the eastern part of the Duchy, later Province of Pomerania, roughly stretching from the Oder River in the West to Pomerelia in the East...
, to the von Kleist
Von Kleist
Von Kleist is a Pomeranian Prussian noble family. Notable members of this family include:* Ewald Jürgen Georg von Kleist ; co-inventor of the Leyden jar* Ewald Christian von Kleist ; German poet and soldier...
family of cavalry leaders. After attending the Jesuit school in Deutsch Krone and the Danzig Gymnasium, he proceeded in 1731 to the University of Königsberg
University of Königsberg
The University of Königsberg was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as second Protestant academy by Duke Albert of Prussia, and was commonly known as the Albertina....
, where he studied law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
. On the completion of his studies, he entered the Danish army, in which he became an officer in 1736. Recalled to Prussia by King Frederick II
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
in 1740, he was appointed lieutenant in a regiment stationed at Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
, where he became acquainted with J. W. L. Gleim, who interested him in poetry.
After distinguishing himself at the Battle of Mollwitz
Battle of Mollwitz
The Battle of Mollwitz was fought by Prussia and Austria on April 10, 1741, during the early stages of the War of the Austrian Succession. It was the first battle of the new Prussian King Frederick II, in which both sides made numerous military blunders but Frederick the Great still managed to...
(April 10, 1741) and the siege of Neisse
Nysa, Poland
Nysa is a town in southwestern Poland on the Nysa Kłodzka river with 47,545 inhabitants , situated in the Opole Voivodeship. It is the capital of Nysa County. It comprises the urban portion of the surrounding Gmina Nysa, a mixed urban-rural commune with a total population of 60,123 inhabitants...
(1741), he was promoted to captain in 1749 and major in 1756. Quartered during the winter of 1757-1758 in Leipzig during the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
, he found relief from his irksome military duties in the society of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing was a German writer, philosopher, dramatist, publicist, and art critic, and one of the most outstanding representatives of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the development of German literature...
. Shortly afterwards in the battle of Kunersdorf
Battle of Kunersdorf
The Battle of Kunersdorf, fought in the Seven Year's War, was Frederick the Great's most devastating defeat. On August 12, 1759, near Kunersdorf , east of Frankfurt , 50,900 Prussians were defeated by a combined allied army 59,500 strong consisting of 41,000 Russians and 18,500 Austrians under...
, on August 12, 1759, he was mortally wounded in the forefront of the attack, and died at Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Oder River, on the German-Polish border directly opposite the town of Słubice which was a part of Frankfurt until 1945. At the end of the 1980s it reached a population peak with more than 87,000 inhabitants...
on the 24 August 1759.
Poetry
Kleist's chief work is a poem in hexameterHexameter
Hexameter is a metrical line of verse consisting of six feet. It was the standard epic metre in classical Greek and Latin literature, such as in the Iliad and Aeneid. Its use in other genres of composition include Horace's satires, and Ovid's Metamorphoses. According to Greek mythology, hexameter...
s, Der Frühling (1749), for which Thomson's Seasons largely supplied ideas. It earned him the nickname "the Poet of the Spring." In his description of the beauties of nature Kleist shows real poetical genius, an almost modern sentiment and fine taste. He also wrote some charming odes, idylls and elegies, and a small epic poem Cissides und Paches (1759), the subject being two Thessalian friends who die an heroic death for their country in a battle against the Athenians
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. Likewise he composed epitaphs for his many friends who were killed in battle, such as Major Heinrich von Blumenthal
Von Blumenthal
The von Blumenthal family are German nobility from Brandenburg-Prussia. Other, unrelated, families of this name exist in Switzerland and formerly in Russia, and many unrelated families called "Blumenthal" without "von" are to be found worldwide.The family was already noble from earliest times ,...
:
Witz, Einsicht, Wissenschaft, Geschmack, Bescheidenheit,
und Menschenlieb und Tapferkeit,
und alle Tugenden vereint mit allen Gaben besass der, den man hier begraben.
Er starb für's Vaterland
er starb mit Heldenmuth.
Ihr Winde wehet sanft,
die heilige Asche ruht.
(Wit, perception, learning, taste, modesty, and kindliness and courage, and all virtues united with all gifts, had he who lies here buried. He died for the Fatherland, he died with heroic courage. Ye winds sough softly, the holy ashes are at rest.)
Kleist published in 1756 the first collection of his Gedichte, which was followed by a second in 1758. After his death his friend Karl Wilhelm Ramler
Karl Wilhelm Ramler
Karl Wilhelm Ramler was a German poet.Ramler was born in Kolberg. After graduating from the University of Halle, he went to Berlin, where, in 1748, he was appointed professor of logic and literature at the cadet school...
published an edition of Kleist's Sämtliche Werke in 2 vols (1760). A critical edition was published by August Sauer, in 3 vols (1880–1882). See also Arthur Chuquet
Arthur Chuquet
Arthur Chuquet was a French historian and biographer.He was born in Rocroi, Ardennes. He is now best known for his Jeunesse de Napoléon appearing in three volumes from 1897 to 1899...
, De Ewaldi Kleistii vita et scriptis (Paris, 1887), and Heinrich Pröhle
Heinrich Pröhle
Prof. Dr. Christoph Ferdinand Heinrich Pröhle was a German literary historian, teacher , writer, and folk tale—fairy tale collector .-Disambiguation of Heinrich:The given name »Heinrich« occures in several cases among the...
, Friedrich der Grosse und die deutsche Literatur (1872).