stories in any language and is characteristic of Germany's production in this field. Among novelists of the mid-century a few call for special notice. Friedrich Spielhagen, a very prolific writer, has left a long series of novels as well as dramatic works and miscellaneous writings. Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, an Austrian novelist, achieved great success in her story of Austrian society life, "Two Countesses," and in later writings. She has a graceful and artistic style, and her psychological studies are particularly effective. Gustav Freytag, esteemed for his work in the dramatic field, especially "Die Journalisten," has left a great social novel in three volumes, "Soll und Haben." Gottfried Keller, a Swiss writer of decidedly original powers, thoroughly artistic and gifted with a strong sense of humor, is honored as a novelist, but perhaps even more as a poet. The most impressive of his poems belong to the period succeeding the Franco-Prussian War. In the field of drama, in addition to several writers already mentioned, Friedrich Hebbel and Otto Ludwig should be named. To this period belong the music dramas of Richard Wagner, to which reference has already been made. The momentous history of Germany during the years just preceding the Franco-Prussian War, and the establishment of the German empire as the direct outcome of that conflict, had little immediate effect upon literature. Yet there were undercurrents, and since the eighties the flow seems to have become richer and deeper. During this general period the philosophic ideas of both Hegel and Schopenhauer have had less weight, a return to the basic ideas of Kant has been noticeable, and the optimistic and individualistic philosophy of Nietzsche has had its followers in Germany. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) did not live a long life, and the ill health and insanity of his later years checked his work. He had earned before this a great reputation for the brilliance of his style and the unique qualities of his thought. His works have been widely read in Europe and America. "Thus Spake Zarathustra " gives perhaps the most characteristic expression of his philosophy. It seems to be as much poetry as prose, and it is illuminated with flashes of genius. But it may well be questioned whether Germany has profited by the dissemination of some of the Nietzschean ideas: that all the standards of the past are to be abolished; that altruism and conscience are signs of weakness; that the world can be moved only by deeds, not by tears and repentance; and that the race is to be saved by the "superman," the strong man, who will triumph over common humanity. The doctrine of Naturalism has found exponents in Germany since 1870, but the movement has taken a different trend from that taken in France. Its general effect has been to awaken Germany and to give an impulse to new theories of art. A series of poets whose best work falls within the limits of this later period must claim our attention. Conrad Ferdinand Meyer and Keller (mentioned above) were both stirred by the events of 1870. Meyer is a Swiss writer who has produced delicate and searching poems written in a highly individual and restrained style. His strength is in the field of the historical poem. Keller has been spoken of as "the most creative spirit that has appeared in modern German literature since Goethe." His style has color and is full of images and metaphors. Detlev von Liliencron was born in North Germany and is of Danish origin. While not an important thinker, he has a vivid and eager style and a rich vocabulary, and his lyrics and ballads are very carefully written. Arno Holz, an East Prussian poet, has not achieved very great popularity, but has had considerable effect upon recent German literature because of his theories of poetry and art. His plays have an extraordinary sense of reality. He has thought of his mission as in the direction of social reform (hence his vivid pictures of the life of the poor), and in the field of literary art his impulse has been to encourage realistic, concise, and sincere expression. German prose, influenced largely by Nietzsche, has had the tendency latterly to rival that of France in richness and flexibility, thus upsetting the traditions of the past. Among recent writers of prose a group of women novelists must not be overlooked. Of these the most conspicuous are Ricarda Huch, a novelist, critic, and historian, and Clara Viebig, an author of novels which present studies in environment. Some of the novelists mentioned above have produced well-known work in this later period. In addition, a number of others might be named; such, for instance, as Arthur Schnitzler, a versatile writer of fiction and drama, who has achieved considerable popularity for his descriptions of life and for his prose style; and Hermann Bahr, one of the best of German impressionist critics. No writer, however, seems to speak for Germany as a whole, although much work of conspicuous merit is being produced constantly. In recent decades the theater has become a more important part of life in Germany than in other countries. Among dramatists of our era Germany has produced at least two important representatives -Hermann Sudermann (1857-1928) and Gerhart Hauptmann (1862- ). The Naturalistic drama, to which both have made considerable contributions, is a modern development which has been described in another chapter. Sudermann began his literary career as a novelist; his "Frau Sorge" ("Dame Care") is the best of his stories and one of the foremost of recent German novels. In 1888 "Die Ehre" ("Honor"), his earliest play, appeared and was recognized at once as an achievement. Among his other plays "Sodom's End" and "Heimat" ("Magda," as it is called in its English version) are prominent. The last impresses the reader as one of the best plays in the school which it represents. Sudermann has chosen several vital themes for his dramas and has displayed considerable art as a playwright. Hauptmann, a Silesian, used Silesia for the background of his earliest important play, "The Weavers," which still seems the most striking of his Naturalistic plays. It is hard to forgive him for the gross realism revealed in such a play as "Fuhrmann Henschel." But Hauptmann has proved versatile and original and has tried his hand at several forms of dramatic art. He is at his best in his poetic dramas, "Hannele" and "Die Versunkene Glocke" ("The Sunken Bell"). In the former the sordid picture of life in an almshouse is blended with the beautiful dreams of a dying child. "The Sunken Bell" is a fairy tale in dramatic form, glorified by poetry and imagination, and intended as an allegory to show the tragedy of the artist who cannot adapt himself to his surroundings. Reference List HENDERSON. Short History of Germany. The Macmillan Company. ROBERTSON. Literature of Germany (Home University Library). Henry PRIEST. Brief History of German Literature. Charles Scribner's Sons. THOMAS. German Literature. D. Appleton and Company. WELLS. Modern German Literature. Roberts Bros. HELLER. Studies in Modern German Literature. Ginn and Company. COAR. Studies in German Literature in the Nineteenth Century. The Macmillan Company. BRANDES. Main Currents of Nineteenth Century Literature, Vol. II. The Macmillan Company. BOYESEN. Essays on German Literature. Charles Scribner's Sons. FRANCKE. History of German Literature as Determined by Social Forces. Henry Holt and Company. CARLYLE. Various essays on German literature. Houghton Mifflin Company. BIELSCHOWSKY. Life of Goethe (3 vols.). G. P. Putnam's Sons. CARLYLE. Life of Schiller. Charles Scribner's Sons. KÜHNEMANN. Life of Schiller (2 vols.). Ginn and Company. Oxford Book of German Verse gives the German text only. Oxford University Press. Translations: Several good versions of the "Nibelungenlied" are available; for example, the Everyman's Library edition. E. P. Dutton & Company. The Bohn Library covers a number of German classics in English, including Goethe and Schiller. Harcourt, Brace and Company. Goethe's "Wilhelm Meister" (Carlyle) (2 vols.). A. C. McClurg & Co. Goethe's "Faust" (Taylor). Houghton Mifflin Company. Editions of recent German literature, such as Hauptmann's and Sudermann's plays, are easily obtainable in English. Suggested Topics The "Nibelungenlied." Examples of German folk songs. Lessing's "Nathan the Wise." The personality of Schiller. Schiller's "Wilhelm Tell.” Striking episodes in the life of Goethe. "Wilhelm Meister." The Gretchen passages from "Faust." |