August Wilhelm (after 1812: von) Schlegel (; 8 September 176712 May 1845), usually cited as August Schlegel, was a German poet, translator and critic, and with his brother

Friedrich Schlegel Karl Wilhelm Friedrich (after 1814: von) Schlegel (; ; 10 March 1772 – 12 January 1829) was a German poet, literary critic, philosopher, philologist, and Indologist. With his older brother, August Wilhelm Schlegel, he was one of the main figure ...

the leading influence within

Jena Romanticism Jena Romanticism (german: Jenaer Romantik; also the Jena Romantics or Early Romanticism (''Frühromantik'')) is the first phase of Romanticism in German literature represented by the work of a group centred in Jena from about 1798 to 1804. The move ...

. His translations of Shakespeare turned the English dramatist's works into German classics. Schlegel was also the professor of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

in Continental Europe and produced a translation of the '' Bhagavad Gita''.

Life

Schlegel was born in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, where his father,

Johann Adolf Schlegel Johann Adolf Schlegel (17 September 1721 – 16 September 1793) was a German poet and clergyman. Biography Schlegel was born in Meißen, Saxony, and was the brother of Johann Elias Schlegel. After finishing his studies in Leipzig, he be ...

, was a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

pastor. He was educated at the Hanover gymnasium and at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

. Initially studying theology, he received a thorough philological training under Heyne and became an admirer and friend of

Bürger Bürger or Buerger is a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Gottfried August Bürger, German poet * Heinrich Bürger, German physicist and biologist * Heinrich Otto Wilhelm Bürger, German zoologist * Karl-Heinz Bürger, German SS-O ...

, with whom he was engaged in an ardent study of

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian people, Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', origin ...

Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited ...

and

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

. Schlegel met with Caroline Böhmer and

Wilhelm von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt (, also , ; ; 22 June 1767 – 8 April 1835) was a Prussian philosopher, linguist, government functionary, diplomat, and founder of the Humboldt University of Berlin, which was named afte ...

. In 1790 his brother Friedrich came to Göttingen. Both were influenced by Johann Gottfried Herder,

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...

Tiberius Hemsterhuis Tiberius Hemsterhuis (9 January 16857 April 1766) was a Dutch philologist and critic. Life He was born in Groningen. His father, a learned physician, gave him a good early education and he entered the university of his native city in his fiftee ...

Johann Winckelmann Johann Joachim Winckelmann (; ; 9 December 17178 June 1768) was a German art historian and archaeologist. He was a pioneering Hellenist who first articulated the differences between Greek, Greco-Roman and Roman art. "The prophet and founding he ...

and Karl Theodor von Dalberg. From 1791 to 1795, Schlegel was tutor to Willem Ferdinand Mogge Muilman, the son of a Dutch banker, who lived at Herengracht 476 in Amsterdam. In 1796, soon after his return to Germany, Schlegel settled in

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

, following an invitation from Schiller. That year he married Caroline, the widow of the physician Böhmer. She assisted Schlegel in some of his literary productions, and the publication of her correspondence in 1871 established for her a posthumous reputation as a German letter writer. She separated from Schlegel in 1801 and became the wife of the philosopher Schelling soon after. August Wilhelm Schlegel

In Jena, Schlegel made critical contributions to Schiller's ''Horen'' and that author's ''

Musen-Almanach A ''Musen-Almanach'' ("Muses' Almanac") was a kind of literary annual, popular in Germany from 1770 into the mid-19th century. They were modelled on the '' Almanach des Muses'' published in Paris from 1765. Development in the 1770s The first exam ...

'', and wrote around 300 articles for the ''Jenaer Allgemeine Litteratur-Zeitung''. He also did translations from Dante and Shakespeare. This work established his literary reputation and gained for him in 1798 an extraordinary professorship at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

. His house became the intellectual headquarters of the "romanticists", and was visited at various times between 1796 and 1801 by

Fichte Johann Gottlieb Fichte (; ; 19 May 1762 – 29 January 1814) was a German philosopher who became a founding figure of the philosophical movement known as German idealism, which developed from the theoretical and ethical writings of Immanuel Ka ...

, whose '' Foundations of the Science of Knowledge'' was studied intensively, by his brother Friedrich, who moved in with his wife

Dorothea Dorothea (also spelled Dorothée, Dorotea or other variants) is a female given name from Greek (Dōrothéa) meaning "God's Gift". It may refer to: People * Dorothea Binz (1920–1947), German concentration camp officer executed for war cr ...

, by

Schelling Schelling is a surname. Notable persons with that name include: * Caroline Schelling (1763–1809), German intellectual * Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling (1775–1854), German philosopher * Felix Emanuel Schelling (1858–1945), American educato ...

, by Tieck, by

Novalis Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (2 May 1772 – 25 March 1801), pen name Novalis (), was a German polymath who was a writer, philosopher, poet, aristocrat and mystic. He is regarded as an idiosyncratic and influential figure of ...

and others. In 1797 August and Friedrich broke with Friedrich Schiller. With his brother, Schlegel founded the ''

Athenaeum Athenaeum may refer to: Books and periodicals * ''Athenaeum'' (German magazine), a journal of German Romanticism, established 1798 * ''Athenaeum'' (British magazine), a weekly London literary magazine 1828–1921 * ''The Athenaeum'' (Acadia U ...

'' (1798–1800), the organ of the Romantic school, in which he dissected disapprovingly the immensely popular works of the sentimental novelist

August Lafontaine August Heinrich Julius Lafontaine (5 October 1758 – 20 April 1831) was a German novelist. Biography Lafontaine was born and brought up in Brunswick, the son of the court painter Ludolph Lafontaine and his fifth wife, the court maid-in-waitin ...

.Dirk Sangmeister
Der Lieblingsdichter der Nation...
article in German newspaper ''Die Zeit'' no. 31, 1999. He also published a volume of poems and carried on a controversy with

Kotzebue Kotzebue ( ) or Qikiqtaġruk ( , ) is a city in the Northwest Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the borough's seat, by far its largest community and the economic and transportation hub of the subregion of Alaska encompassing t ...

. At this time the two brothers were remarkable for the vigour and freshness of their ideas and commanded respect as the leaders of the new Romantic criticism. A volume of their joint essays appeared in 1801 under the title ''Charakteristiken und Kritiken''. His play ''Ion'', performed in Weimar in January 1802, was supported by

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

, but became a failure. In 1801 Schlegel went to Berlin, where he delivered lectures on art and literature; and in the following year he published ''Ion'', a tragedy in Euripidean style, which gave rise to a suggestive discussion on the principles of dramatic poetry. This was followed by ''Spanisches Theater'' (2 vols, 1803/1809), in which he presented admirable translations of five of Calderón's plays. In another volume, ''Blumensträusse italienischer, spanischer und portugiesischer Poesie'' (1804), he gave translations of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

lyrics. He also translated works by

and Camões. Early in 1804, he made the acquaintance of Madame de Staël in Berlin, who hired him as a tutor for her children. After divorcing his wife Caroline, Schlegel travelled with Madame de Staël to Switzerland,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, acting as an adviser in her literary work. In 1807 he attracted much attention in France by an essay in the French, ''Comparaison entre la

Phèdre ''Phèdre'' (; originally ''Phèdre et Hippolyte'') is a French dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine, first performed in 1677 at the theatre of the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris. Composition and premiere Wit ...

de Racine et celle d'Euripide'', in which he attacked French classicism from the standpoint of the Romantic school. His famous lectures on dramatic art and literature (''Über dramatische Kunst und Literatur'', 1809–1811), which have been translated into most European languages, were delivered at Vienna in 1808. He was accompanied by De Staël and her children. In 1810 Schlegel was ordered to leave the

Swiss Confederation ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

as an enemy of the French literature. In 1812, he travelled with De Staël, her

fiancé An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

Albert de Rocca and her children to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, St. Petersburg and Stockholm and acted as secretary of

Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte sv, Karl Johan Baptist Julius , spouse = , issue = Oscar I of Sweden , house = Bernadotte , father = Henri Bernadotte , mother = Jeanne de Saint-Jean , birth_date = , birth_place = Pau, ...

, through whose influence the right of his family to noble rank was revived. After this, he joined again the household of Mme. de Staël until her death in 1817, for like

Mathieu de Montmorency Mathieu Jean Felicité de Montmorency, duc de Montmorency-Laval (10 July 1767 – 24 March 1826) was a French statesman during the French Revolution and Bourbon Restoration. He was elected as the youngest member of the National Assembly in 17 ...

he was one of her intimates until the end of her life. Schlegel was made a professor of literature at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

in 1818, and during the remainder of his life occupied himself chiefly with oriental studies. He founded a special printing office for

. As an orientalist, he was unable to adapt himself to the new methods opened up by

Bopp Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefins and is ...

. He corresponded with

, a linguist. After the death of Madame de Staël, Schlegel married (1818) a daughter of Heinrich Paulus, but this union was dissolved in 1821. Schlegel continued to lecture on art and literature, publishing in 1827 ''On the Theory and History of the Plastic Arts'', and in 1828 two volumes of critical writings (''Kritische Schriften''). In 1823–30 he published the journal ''Indische Bibliothek''. In 1823 edited the '' Bhagavad Gita'', with a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

translation, and in 1829, the ''Ramayana''. This was followed by his 1832 work ''Reflections on the Study of the Asiatic Languages''. Schlegel's translation of

, begun in Jena, was ultimately completed, under the superintendence of

Ludwig Tieck Johann Ludwig Tieck (; ; 31 May 177328 April 1853) was a German poet, fiction writer, translator, and critic. He was one of the founding fathers of the Romantic movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Early life Tieck was born in B ...

, by Tieck's daughter

and Wolf Heinrich Graf von Baudissin. This rendering is considered one of the best poetical translations in German, or indeed in any language. In 1826, Felix Mendelssohn, at the age of 17, was inspired by August Wilhelm's translation of Shakespeare's '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' to write a homonymous concert overture. Schlegel's brother Friedrich's wife was an aunt of Mendelssohn. In 1835, Schlegel became head of the committee organising a monument in memory of Ludwig van Beethoven in Bonn, the composer's birthplace. Schlegel died in Bonn in 1845, three months before its official unveiling.

Evaluations

According to ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition, Traugott Böhme, in his article for the 1920

Encyclopedia Americana ''Encyclopedia Americana'' is a general encyclopedia written in American English. It was the first major multivolume encyclopedia that was published in the United States. With ''Collier's Encyclopedia'' and ''Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclo ...

, gives the following thoughts: The 1905 New International Encyclopedia, in its article on Schlegel, gives the following opinions:

Honors

*Elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society i ...

in 1836.

Portraits

*''Portrait of A. W. Schlegel'' by

Albert Gregorius Albert Jacob Frans Gregorius, or Albert Jacques François Grégorius (26 October 1774, Bruges - 25 February 1853, Bruges) was a Flemish-Belgian portrait painter and Director of the art academy in Bruges. Biography He was born into a poor, labor ...

(1774–1853), 1817, in Coppet Castle (Switzerland)

Works

*''Ion'' (1803) *''Rom Elegie'' (1805) * Schlegel's Berlin lectures of 1801/1804 reprinted from manuscript notes by Jakob Minor (1884) *''Poetische Werke'' (1811) * ''Observations sur la langue et la littératures provençale'' (1818) *'' Bhagavad Gita'' (1823, Latin translation) *''Kritische Schriften'' (1828, critical works) *''Sämtliche Werke'' (1846–1848) (''Collected Works'') issued in twelve volumes by Eduard Böcking *''Œuvres écrites en français'' (3 vols., 1846) *''Opuscula Latine scripta'' (1848)

Translation

Schlegel's Shakespeare translations have been often reprinted. The edition of 1871–72 was revised with Schlegel's manuscripts by

Michael Bernays Michael Bernays (27 November 183425 February 1897) was a German literary historian, and an important Goethe and Shakespeare scholar. Life He was born in Hamburg. His father, Isaac Bernays, died when he was fourteen years old. His adjustments w ...

. See Bernays's ''Zur Entstehungsgeschichte des Schlegelschen Shakespeare'' (1872);

Rudolph Genée Rudolph or Rudolf may refer to: People * Rudolph (name), the given name including a list of people with the name Religious figures * Rudolf of Fulda (died 865), 9th century monk, writer and theologian * Rudolf von Habsburg-Lothringen (1788 ...

, ''Schlegel und Shakespeare'' (1903). Schlegel also translated plays by

Pedro Calderón de la Barca Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Barreda González de Henao Ruiz de Blasco y Riaño (, ; ; 17 January 160025 May 1681) was a Spanish dramatist, poet, writer and knight of the Order of Santiago. He is known as one of the most distinguished Baroque ...

, such as '' La banda y flor'', which became the basis for E. T. A. Hoffmann's 1807 singspiel ''

Liebe und Eifersucht ''Liebe und Eifersucht'' (''Love and Jealousy'') is a ''Singspiel'', an opera with spoken dialogue, in three acts by the German composer and author E. T. A. Hoffmann, composed in 1807 on his own libretto based on the translation by August Wilhelm ...

''. A selection of the writings of both August Wilhelm and Friedrich Schlegel, edited by Oskar Walzel, will be found in Kürschner's ''Deutsche Nationalliteratur'', 143 (1892).

Letters

*''Ludwig Tieck und die Brüder Schlegel. Briefe'' ed. by Edgar Lohner (München 1972)

Notes

References

* Attribution * *

External links

* * * Phelan, Anna Augusta von Helmholtz, 1907 *Francke, Kuno, Howard, William Guild, Schiller, Friedrich, 1913-1914 *
Translating Shakespeare
- process and problems of translating the works of William Shakespeare, done by Schlegel * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schlegel, August Wilhelm 1767 births 1845 deaths 18th-century German writers 18th-century German male writers 19th-century German dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German male writers German literary critics German untitled nobility German poets German Indologists German translators German male poets German male dramatists and playwrights English–German translators Spanish–German translators Writers from Hanover People from the Electorate of Hanover Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) Translators of William Shakespeare University of Göttingen alumni University of Bonn faculty Coppet group Members of the American Antiquarian Society