Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz
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Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (23 January 1751, or 12 January in the
Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...
– 4 June 1792, or 24 May in the Julian calendar) was a
Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...
writer of the ''
Sturm und Drang ''Sturm und Drang'' (, ; usually translated as "storm and stress") was a proto- Romantic movement in German literature and music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s. Within the movement, individual subjectivity and, in particul ...
'' movement.


Life

Lenz was born in Sesswegen (Cesvaine),
Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a Baltic governorate of the Russian Empire, now divided between Latvia and Estonia. Geography The shape of the province is a fairly rectangular in shape, with a maximum ...
,
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, now
Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
, the son of the pietistic minister Christian David Lenz (1720–1798), later General Superintendent of Livonia. When Lenz was nine, in 1760, the family moved to
Dorpat Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...
, now Tartu, where his father had been offered a minister's post. His first published poem appeared when he was 15. From 1768 to 1770 he studied theology on a scholarship, first at Dorpat and then at
Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...
. While there, he attended lectures by
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 ...
, who encouraged him to read
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
. He began increasingly to follow his literary interests and to neglect theology. His first independent publication, the long poem ''Die Landplagen'' (''"Torments of the Land"'') appeared in 1769. He also studied music, most likely with either the Ukrainian virtuoso
lutanist A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can refer ...
Timofey Belogradsky Timofiy Bilohradsky (also Belogradsky, Pelogradsky; uk, Тимофій Білоградський; ca. 1710 — ca. 1782) was a lutenist, composer and kobzar-bandurist of Ukrainian ethnicity, active in St. Petersburg and Königsberg. Little is ...
, then resident in Königsberg, or his student
Johann Friedrich Reichardt Johann Friedrich Reichardt (25 November 1752 – 27 June 1814) was a German composer, writer and music critic. Early life Reichardt was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, to lutenist and ''Stadtmusiker'' Johann Reichardt (1720–1780). Johann Fr ...
. In 1771 Lenz abandoned his studies in Königsberg. Much against the will of his father, who on that account broke off contact with him, he took a position little better than that of a servant with Friedrich Georg and Ernst Nikolaus von Kleist

, barons from
Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. ...
and officer cadets about to begin their military service, whom he accompanied to
Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
. Once there, he came into contact with the
actuary An actuary is a business professional who deals with the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty. The name of the corresponding field is actuarial science. These risks can affect both sides of the balance sheet and require asset man ...
Johann Daniel Salzmann, around whom had formed the literary group of the ''Société de philosophie et de belles lettres''. This was frequented also by the young
Johann Wolfgang von 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 trea ...
, who at this time happened to be in Strasbourg, and whose acquaintance Lenz made, as well as that of Johann Heinrich Jung-Stilling. Goethe now became Lenz's literary idol, and through him he made contact with
Johann Gottfried Herder Johann Gottfried von Herder ( , ; 25 August 174418 December 1803) was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the Enlightenment, ''Sturm und Drang'', and Weimar Classicism. Biography Born in Mohrun ...
and
Johann Kaspar Lavater Johann Kaspar (or Caspar) Lavater (; 15 November 1741 – 2 January 1801) was a Swiss poet, writer, philosopher, physiognomist and theologian. Early life Lavater was born in Zürich, and was educated at the '' Gymnasium'' there, where J. J. ...
, with whom he corresponded. In the following year, 1772, Lenz accompanied his masters to the garrisons of
Landau Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990 ...
, Fort Louis and
Wissembourg Wissembourg (; South Franconian: ''Weisseburch'' ; German: ''Weißenburg'' ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in northeastern France. It is situated on the little river Lauter close to the border between France and Germany a ...
. He also fell in love with
Friederike Brion Friederike Elisabeth Brion Karl Robert Mandelkow, Bodo Morawe: ''Goethes Briefe''. 2nd edition, vol. 1: ''Briefe der Jahre 1764–1786'' (Hamburg: Christian Wegner, 1968, p. 571. (probably 19 April 1752 – 3 April 1813) was a parson's ...
, once the beloved of Goethe, but his feelings were not reciprocated. In 1773 Lenz returned to Strasbourg and resumed his studies. The following year he gave up his position with the von Kleist brothers and lived as a freelance writer, earning his living by private tutoring. His relations with Goethe became friendlier: while the two of them were visiting
Emmendingen Emmendingen (; Low Alemannic: ''Emmedinge'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, capital of the district Emmendingen of Germany. It is located at the Elz River, north of Freiburg im Breisgau. The town contains more than 26,000 residents, which ...
, Goethe introduced Lenz to his sister Cornelia and her husband Johann Georg Schlosser. In April 1776 Lenz followed Goethe to the court of
Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...
, where he was at first amicably received. But in early December, on Goethe's instigation, he was expelled. The exact circumstances are not recorded; Goethe, who broke off all personal contact with him after this, refers only vaguely in his diary to "Lenz's asininity" (''"Lenzens Eseley"''). Lenz then returned to Emmendingen, where the Schlossers took him in. From there he made a number of journeys into
Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
and
Switzerland ). 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 ...
, including one to Lavater in
Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
in May 1777. The news of Cornelia Schlosser's death, which reached him there in June of that year, had a powerful effect on him. He returned to Emmendingen, and then went back to Lavater. In November, while staying in
Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...
with Christoph Kaufmann, he suffered an attack of
paranoid schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. ...
. In January 1778 Kaufmann sent Lenz to the philanthropist, social reformer and clergyman
Johann Friedrich Oberlin J. F. Oberlin (31 August 1740 – 1 June 1826) was an Alsatian pastor and a philanthropist. He has been known as John Frederic(k) Oberlin in English, Jean-Frédéric Oberlin in French, and Johann Friedrich Oberlin in German. Life Oberlin was ...
in
Waldersbach Waldersbach is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Population People * Jean-Frédéric Oberlin lived here until his death in 1820. * Anne Knight, an early British feminist and abolitionist, died here ...
in Alsace, where he stayed from 20 January to 8 February. Despite the care of Oberlin and his wife, Lenz's mental condition grew worse. He returned to Schlosser at Emmendingen, where he was lodged with a shoemaker and then a forester. His younger brother Karl fetched him in June 1779 from Hertingen, where he was under treatment by a doctor, and brought him to
Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
, where their father by this time had risen to the position of General Superintendent. Lenz was unable to establish himself professionally in Riga. An attempt to make him director of the cathedral school came to nothing, as Herder refused to give him a reference. Nor did he have any greater success in
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, where he lived from February to September 1780. He then took a position as a private tutor on an estate near Dorpat, then, after another stay in St. Petersburg, he went to Moscow in September 1781, where initially he stayed with the historian Friedrich Müller and learned Russian. He worked as a private tutor, mixed in the circles of Russian
Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
and authors, and helped produce a number of reformist schemes. He also translated books on
Russian history The history of Russia begins with the histories of the East Slavs. The traditional start-date of specifically Russian history is the establishment of the Rus' state in the north in 862, ruled by Varangians. Staraya Ladoga and Novgorod became ...
into German. His mental condition however was steadily deteriorating all the while, and at last he became entirely dependent on the goodwill of Russian patrons for the means of living. In the early morning of 4 June 1792 (24 May in the Julian calendar) Lenz was found dead in a Moscow street. The place of his burial is unknown.


Lenz as a literary figure

''
Lenz Lenz may refer to: Places * Lenasia, Gauteng Province, South Africa, a township often called Lenz * Lantsch/Lenz, Canton of Grisons, Switzerland, a municipality * Lenz, Hood River County, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Lenz, Klamath County, ...
'', a novella fragment by
Georg Büchner Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büchn ...
, deals with Lenz's visit to the minister Friedrich Oberlin, in the
Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...
. Lenz had visited Oberlin, on the suggestion of Kaufmann, because of his reputation as a pastor and psychologist. Oberlin's account of the events of Lenz's visit furnished Büchner with the source of his story, which in its turn was the source of
Wolfgang Rihm Wolfgang Rihm (born 13 March 1952) is a German composer and academic teacher. He is musical director of the Institute of New Music and Media at the University of Music Karlsruhe and has been composer in residence at the Lucerne Festival and the Sa ...
's
chamber opera Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra. Early 20th-century operas of this type include Paul Hindemith's ''Cardillac'' (1926). Earlier small-scale operas such as Pergoles ...
''
Jakob Lenz Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (23 January 1751, or 12 January in the Julian calendar – 4 June 1792, or 24 May in the Julian calendar) was a Baltic German writer of the ''Sturm und Drang'' movement. Life Lenz was born in Sesswegen (Cesvaine), ...
''. In his 1923 play ''Weh um Michael'', Waldfried Burggraf, presented the life of Lenz, explaining his suicide as an act of despair at not finding an audience for his critique of society. One literary critic summarizes Burggraf's treatment: "His Michael Lenz is a voice in the wilderness crying out against moral and social injustice." In Paul Celan's acceptance speech for the Georg Büchner Prize for Literature in 1960, both the historical man and the "Lenz" of Büchner's fragment figure heavily. In the first line of Büchner's novella, Lenz sets off for the mountains on 20 January. Celan relates this to the life of the poem, asking, "Perhaps one can say that every poem has its 20th of January?" He adds that the poem remains mindful of such dates. Celan also says of his work "Conversation in the Mountains," composed after a missed encounter with Adorno, that it was written from such a date: that he started writing from his own "20th of January." More recently the writers Peter Schneider, in his story ''Lenz'' (1973), and Gert Hoffmann, in his novella ''Die Rückkehr des verlorenen J.M.R. Lenz nach Riga'' (''"The Return of the Lost J.M.R. Lenz to Riga"'', 1984), have given literary form to the events of his life. Marc Buhl's novel of 2002, ''Der rote Domino'' (''"The Red Domino"''), uses the friendship between Goethe and Lenz, and its abrupt end, as the inspiration for a detective story.


Selected works

* ''Die Landplagen'' (''"The Torments of the Land"''). Verse epic, 1769 * '' Der Hofmeister, oder Vorteile der Privaterziehung'' (''"The Tutor, or, The Advantages of Private Education"''). Drama, 1774 * ''
Der neue Menoza ''The New Menoza or a History of the Cumban Prinz Tandi'' (German: Der neue Menoza oder eine Geschichte des cumbanischen Prinzen Tandi) is a 1773 comedy by Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz, first published in Leipzig in 1774. Johann Wolfgang von Goeth ...
'' (''"The New Menoza"''). Drama, 1774 * ''Anmerkungen übers Theater'' (''"Observations on the Theatre"''). Essay, 1774 * ''Meinungen eines Laien, den Geistlichen zugeeignet'' (''"Opinions of a Layman, dedicated to the Clergy"''). Essay, 1775 * ''Pandaemonium Germanicum''. Drama, written in 1775, published posthumously 1819 * ''
Die Soldaten ' (''The Soldiers'') is a four-act opera in German by Bernd Alois Zimmermann, based on the 1776 play by Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz. In a letter accompanying his newly printed play (23 July 1776, aged 24) that he sent to his best friend, the Ge ...
'' (''"The Soldiers"''). Drama, 1776 (basis of the opera of the same name by
Bernd Alois Zimmermann Bernd Alois Zimmermann (20 March 1918 – 10 August 1970) was a German composer. He is perhaps best known for his opera ''Die Soldaten'', which is regarded as one of the most important German operas of the 20th century, after those of Berg. As a ...
and a source of Büchner's drama ''
Woyzeck ''Woyzeck'' () is a stage play written by Georg Büchner. Büchner wrote the play between July and October 1836, yet left it incomplete at his death in February 1837. The play first appeared in 1877 in a heavily edited version by Karl Emil Fr ...
'') * ''Die Freunde machen den Philosophen'' (''"Friends Make the Philosopher"''). Drama, 1776 * ''Zerbin''. Novella, 1776 * ''Der Waldbruder'' (''"The Friar of the Forest"''). Unfinished novel, published posthumously in 1882


Editions

* Damm, Sigrid (ed.), 1987. ''Werke und Briefe'', 3 vols. Leipzig ünchen/Wien Insel Verlag izenzausgabe im Hanser Verlag * Lauer, Karin (ed.), 1992. ''Werke''. Hanser Verlag, München/Wien: Hanser Verlag. * Voit, Friedrich, (ed.), 1997. ''Werke''
election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
Stuttgart: Reclam Verlag. * Weiss, Christoph (ed.), 2001. ''Werke: Faksimiles der Erstausgaben seiner zu Lebzeiten selbständig erschienenen Texte'', 12 vols. St. Ingbert: Röhrig Verlag.


Single works

* Weiss, Christoph (ed.), 2003. ''Als Sr. Hochedelgebohrnen der Herr Professor Kant den 21sten August 1770 für die Professor-Würde disputierte'' (facsimile of the first edition, Königsberg 1770. Laatzen: Wehrhahn Verlag.


See also

* ''
Jakob Lenz Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (23 January 1751, or 12 January in the Julian calendar – 4 June 1792, or 24 May in the Julian calendar) was a Baltic German writer of the ''Sturm und Drang'' movement. Life Lenz was born in Sesswegen (Cesvaine), ...
'', a one-act chamber opera by Wolfgang Rihm


References

* Damm, Sigrid, 1992. ''Vögel, die verkünden Land. Das Leben des Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz''. Frankfurt am Main: Insel Verlag. * Hohoff, Curt, 1977. '' J. M. R. Lenz''. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt. * Luserke, Matthias, 1993. ''Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz: Der Hofmeister – Der neue Menoza – Die Soldaten''. Munich: W. Fink. * Meier, Andreas, 2001. ''Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz: Vom Sturm und Drang zur Moderne''. Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag C.Winter. * Winter, Hans-Gerd Winter, 2000. ''Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz'' (2nd ed). Stuttgart and Weimar: Verlag J. B. Metzler (=Sammlung Metzler, vol. 233). * ''Lenz-Jahrbuch. Sturm-und-Drang-Studien.'' St. Ingbert: Röhrig Verlag.


Filmography

* Günther, Egon (writer/director): ''Lenz'', with
Jörg Schüttauf Jörg Schüttauf (born 26 December 1961) is a German actor. He studied at the Theaterhochschule Leipzig. Since 2002 he has starred in the Hessischer Rundfunk version of the popular television crime series ''Tatort''. Filmography Film * 1985: ''E ...
as J.M.R. Lenz and Christian Kuchenbuch as Goethe, 1992, Federal Republic of Germany.


External links

* *
J.M.R. Lenz at German Project Gutenberg
* *
J.M.R. Lenz Archive Heidelberg (former research project at the University of Mannheim)

Lenz Forum



''Lenz'' film on IMDb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenz, Jakob Michael Reinhold 1751 births 1792 deaths People from Cesvaine People from the Governorate of Livonia People with schizophrenia Baltic-German people German poets German lutenists German male poets German male dramatists and playwrights 18th-century German dramatists and playwrights German-language poets Russian Freemasons 18th-century German male writers