Robert Hamerling (March 24, 1830July 13, 1889) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

Biography

Hamerling was born into a poor family at

Kirchberg am Walde Kirchberg am Walde is a town in the district of Gmünd in Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner ...

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

. He displayed an early genius for

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

; his youthful attempts at drama excited the interest and admiration of some influential persons. Owing to their assistance young Hamerling was able to attend the gymnasium in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and afterwards the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

. In 1848 he joined the students' legion, which played a large part in the

revolutions In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

of the capital, and in 1849 shared in the defence of Vienna against the imperialist troops of

Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

. After the collapse of the revolutionary movement he was obliged to hide for a couple of weeks to escape arrest. For the next few years he pursued his studies in natural science and philosophy, and in 1855 became master at the Gymnasium at

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

. For many years he was ill, and in 1866 retired on a pension, which in acknowledgment of his literary works was increased by the government to a sum sufficient to enable him to live carefree until he died at his villa in Stiftingstal near Graz, Austria. A popular edition of Hamerlings works in four volumes was published by M. M. Rabenlechner (Hamburg, 1900).

Evaluations

1911 Encyclopædia Britannica

The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica characterizes Hamerling as one of the most remarkable poets of the modern Austrian school, describing his imagination as rich and his poems as full of life and colour. What it terms his most popular poem, ''Ahasver in Rom'' (1866), of which the emperor

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...

is the central figure, is said to show at its best what is alleged to be the author's brilliant talent for description. Among his other works, 1911 Britannica mentions ''Venus im Exil'' (1858); ''Der König von Sion'' (1869), characterized as a generally recognized masterpiece; ''Die sieben Todsünden'' (1872) ''Blätter im Winde'' (1887); ''Homunculus'' (1888); ''Amor und Psyche'' (1882). The 1911 Britannica goes on to describe his novel, ''Aspasia'' (1876), as giving a finely-drawn description of the Periclean age, but like his tragedy ''Danton und Robespierre'' (1870), somewhat stilted, showing that Hamerling's genius, though rich in imagination, was ill-suited for the realistic presentation of character.

Notes

References

* This work in turn cites: ** Robert Hamerling, ''Stationen meiner Lebenspilgerschaft'' (Stations of my life pilgrimage, autobiography, 1889) ** Robert Hamerling, ''Lehrjahre der Liebe'' (Years of learning from love, autobiography, 1890) ** M. M. Rabenlechner, ''Hamerling, sein Leben und seine Werke'', i. (Hamburg, 1896) ** M. M. Rabenlechner, a short biography of Robert Hamerling (Dresden, 1901) ** R. H. Kleinert, ''R. Hamerling, ein Dichter der Schönheit (R. Hamerling a poet of beauty, Hamburg, 1889) ** Aurelius Polzer, ''Hamerling, sein Wesen und Wirken'' (Hamerling, his essence and legacy, Hamburg, 1890).

External links

* *
Robert-Hamerling-Museum
(closed since 2006)
Robert Hamerling
In: Roman History Project. Datenbank.

University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (german: Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck; la, Universitas Leopoldino Franciscea) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. ...

.

Portrait on a stamp of Austria in 1980 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamerling, Robert 1830 births 1889 deaths Austrian male poets 19th-century Austrian novelists Austrian male novelists Austrian male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Austrian poets 19th-century Austrian dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Austrian male writers People of the Revolutions of 1848