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Friedrich Rückert (16 May 1788 – 31 January 1866) was a German poet, translator, and professor of
Oriental languages A wide variety of languages are spoken throughout Asia, comprising different language families and some unrelated isolates. The major language families include Austroasiatic, Austronesian, Caucasian, Dravidian, Indo-European, Afroasiatic, Tur ...
.


Biography

Rückert was born in Schweinfurt and was the eldest son of a lawyer. He was educated at the local '' Gymnasium'' and at the universities of
Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...
and Heidelberg. From 1816 to 1817, he worked on the editorial staff of the ''Morgenblatt'' at Stuttgart. Nearly the whole of the year 1818 he spent in Rome, and afterwards he lived for several years at
Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it was ...
(1820–1826). Rückert married Luise Wiethaus-Fischer there in 1821. He was appointed a professor of Oriental languages at the University of Erlangen in 1826, and, in 1841, he was called to a similar position in Berlin, where he was also made a privy councillor. In 1849 he resigned his professorship at Berlin, and went to live full-time in his ''Gut'' (estate) at Neuses (now a part of Coburg). When Rückert began his literary career, Germany was engaged in her life-and-death struggle with Napoleon; and in his first volume, ''Deutsche Gedichte'' (''German Poems''), published in 1814 under the pseudonym Freimund Raimar, he gave, particularly in the powerful ''Geharnischte Sonette'' (''Sonnets in Arms/Harsh Words''), vigorous expression to the prevailing sentiment of his countrymen. During 1815 to 1818 appeared ''Napoleon, eine politische Komödie in drei Stücken'' (''Napoleon, a Political Comedy in Three Parts'') of which only two parts were published; and in 1817 ''Der Kranz der Zeit'' (''The Wreath of Time''). He issued a collection of poems, ''Östliche Rosen'' (''Eastern Roses''), in 1822; and from 1834 to 1838 his ''Gesammelte Gedichte'' (''Collected Poems'') were published in six volumes, a selection which has passed through many editions. Rückert was master of thirty languages and made his mark chiefly as a translator of Oriental poetry and as a writer of poems conceived in the spirit of Oriental masters. Much attention was attracted by a translation of the '' Maqamat'' of
Al-Hariri of Basra Abū Muhammad al-Qāsim ibn Alī ibn Muhammad ibn Uthmān al-Harīrī ( ar, أبو محمد القاسم بن علي بن محمد بن عثمان الحريري), popularly known as al-Hariri of Basra (1054 – 10 September 1122) was an Arab po ...
(''Hariris Makamen'') in 1826, ''Nal und Damajanti'', an Indian tale, in 1828, ''Rostem und Suhrab, eine Heldengeschichte'' (''Rostem and Suhrab, a Story of Heroes'') in 1830, and ''Hamasa, oder die ältesten arabischen Volkslieder'' (''Hamasa, or the Oldest Arabian Folk Songs'') in 1846. Among his original writings dealing with Oriental subjects are: *''Morgenländische Sagen und Geschichten'' (''Oriental Myths and Poems'') (1837) *''Erbauliches und Beschauliches aus dem Morgenland'' (''Edifying and Contemplative, from the Orient'') (1836–1838) *''Brahmanische Erzählungen'' (''Brahmin Stories'') (1839). The most elaborate of his works is ''Die Weisheit des Brahmanen'' (''The Wisdom of the Brahmins''), published in six volumes from 1836 to 1839. The former and ''Liebesfrühling'' (''Spring of Love'') (1844), a cycle of love-songs, are the best known of all Rückert's productions. From 1843 to 1845 he issued the dramas ''Saul und David'' (1843), ''Herodes der Große'' ("Herod the Great") (1844), ''Kaiser Heinrich IV'' (1845) and ''Christofero Colombo'' (1845), all of which are considered greatly inferior to the work to which he owes his place in German literature. At the time of the Danish war in 1864 he wrote ''Ein Dutzend Kampflieder für Schleswig-Holstein'' (''A Dozen Battle Songs for Schleswig-Holstein''), which, although published anonymously, made considerable impression on audiences. Rückert died in 1866 in , now part of
Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it was ...
. He is buried in the cemetery there. He continues to exert a strong influence on Oriental studies in Germany (c.f. Annemarie Schimmel). Rückert's poetry was a powerful inspiration to composers and there are about 121 settings of his work – behind only
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 tre ...
,
Heine Heine is both a surname and a given name of German origin. People with that name include: People with the surname * Albert Heine (1867–1949), German actor * Alice Heine (1858–1925), American-born princess of Monaco * Armand Heine (1818–188 ...
and
Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recog ...
in this respect. Among the composers who set his poetry to music are Schubert,
Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
and
Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...
,
Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
(
Two Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano Two Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano, Op. 91, were composed by Johannes Brahms for his friends Joseph Joachim and his wife Amalie. The full title is ''Zwei Gesänge für eine Altstimme mit Bratsche und Klavier'' (Two songs for an alto voice ...
, among others), Josef Rheinberger, Mahler ( song cycles ''
Kindertotenlieder (''Songs on the Death of Children'') is a song cycle (1904) for voice and orchestra by Gustav Mahler. The words of the songs are poems by Friedrich Rückert. Text and music The original were a group of 428 poems written by Rückert in 1833– ...
'', ''
Rückert-Lieder ' (Songs after Rückert) is a collection of five Lieder for voice and orchestra or piano by Gustav Mahler, based on poems written by Friedrich Rückert. The songs were first published in ''Sieben Lieder aus letzter Zeit'' (''Seven Songs of Latter ...
''), Max Bruch, Max Reger, Richard Strauss, Zemlinsky, Hindemith, Bartók,
Berg Berg may refer to: People * Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer Former states *Berg (state), county and duchy of the Ho ...
, Hugo Wolf, Heinrich Kaspar Schmid, and Jah Wobble.


Memorials

A monument to Rückert is situated at Marktplatz in Schweinfurt. The monument of Rückert, whose birth house stands at the southeast corner of the town hall, has stood in the central square of Schweinfurt since 1890. It was created by architect Friedrich Ritter von Thiersch and sculptor Wilhelm von Rühmann. Allegorical figures from his works – ''Geharnischte Sonette'' ("Withering Sonnets") and ''Weisheit des Brahmanen'' ("Wisdom of the Brahmans") – are situated at the feet of the bronze Rückert. Rückert is also commemorated by a small museum in his home at Neuses (now in Friedrich-Rückert-Strasse) and a park, ''Rückertpark'' which also features a memorial bust. The museum in the Friedrich-Rückert-Straße houses over 1,000 dolls, including the grandmother of the world-famous "
Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli doll, Bild Li ...
".


Literature

A comprehensive but by no means complete edition of Rückert's poetical works appeared in 12 volumes in 1868–1869. Subsequent editions have been edited by L. Laistner (1896), C. Beyer (1896), G. Ellinger (1897). See B. Fortlage, ''F. Rückert und seine Werke'' (1867); C. Beyer, ''Friedrich Rückert, ein biographisches Denkmal'' (1868), ''Neue Mitteilungen über Rückert'' (1873), and ''Nachgelassene Gedichte Rückerts und neue Beiträge zu dessen Leben und Schriften'' (1877); R. Boxberger, ''Rückert-Studien'' (1878); P. de Lagarde, ''Erinnerungen an F. Rückert'' (1886); F. Muncker, ''Friedrich Rückert'' (1890); G. Voigt, ''Rückerts Gedankenlyrik'' (1891). *
Hans Wollschläger 150px, Signature, 1988 Hans Wollschläger (17 March 1935, in Minden – 19 May 2007, in Bamberg) was a German writer, translator, historian, and editor of German literature. Biography Wollschläger is widely known as the translator of '' Ulysses ...
und Rudolf Kreutner (Ed.): ''Historisch-kritische Ausgabe in Einzelbänden'', Schweinfurt 1998ff.; thus far 4 vols. in 5 parts (as of July 2004): ** ''Die Weisheit des Brahmanen'', 2 vols., 1998. ** ''Gedichte von Rom'', 2000. ** ''Liedertagebuch I/II, 1846–1847'', 2001 ** ''Liedertagebuch III/IV, 1848–1849'', 2002. ** ''Liedertagebuch V/VI, 1850–1851'', Erster Band, 2003. * Hans Wollschläger (Ed.): ''Kindertotenlieder'' 993 also as ''insel taschenbuch'' 1545 * Hartmut Bobzin (Ed.): ''Der Koran in der Übersetzung von Friedrich Rückert'', 4th ed., Würzburg 2001. * Friedrich Rückert: Firdosi's Königsbuch (Schahname) Sage I–XIII. Aus dem Nachlaß herausgegeben von E. A. Bayer. 1890. Nachdruck: epubli GmbH, Berlin, 2010 * Friedrich Rückert: ''Firdosi's Königsbuch (Schahname) Sage XX–XXVI.'' Aus dem Nachlaß herausgegeben von E. A. Bayer. Nachdruck der Erstausgabe. epubli Berlin, 2010,
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* Wolfgang von Keitz (Hrsg.): Oestliche Rosen. epubli, Berlin 2012,
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In 1847, Rückert also translated select verses of the Tirukkural, an ancient Tamil classic, into German.


Notes


References

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External links

* * *
List of song settings
*
Flyer on Rückert published by the town of Coburg (German)

Friedrich Rückert Obituary
The Atlantic Monthly (1866) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruckert, Friedrich 1788 births 1866 deaths 19th-century German poets German orientalists People from Schweinfurt University of Würzburg alumni Heidelberg University alumni University of Erlangen-Nuremberg faculty Humboldt University of Berlin faculty Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) Translators of the Quran into German German male poets 19th-century German male writers Tamil–German translators Translators of the Tirukkural into German German male non-fiction writers 19th-century translators Tirukkural translators Artists from Coburg Morgenblatt für gebildete Stände editors