Julius Zeyer (26 April 1841 – 29 January 1901) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

prose writer, poet, and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Personal life

Zeyer was born on 26 April 1841 in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. His mother, Elisabeth Eleonora (née Weisseles), came from a German Jewish-turned-Catholic family, and his father, Jan Zeyer, was a carpenter and timber merchant with relations to

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

( Alsatian) nobility. He was taught to speak

by his

nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

. Growing up, he was expected to take over the family's factory but decided to study carpentering instead. All of his attempts at graduation from high school or university were unsuccessful. He spent a significant portion of his life travelling across Europe and the East. In around 1877, he moved to

Vodňany Vodňany (; german: Wodnian) is a town in Strakonice District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone, Vodňan ...

, where he spent over a decade focusing on his literary work. His last years were spent living in Prague.

Works

Zeyer's prose and poems convey a sense of restlessness, nostalgy, mysticism, and gloominess, and generally feature tragic endings. He combined European and Eastern mythologies with themes particular to Czech society and history, and, similarly to the Decadents, often employed a blend of religious and erotic imagery. He was associated with the "Lumír" school, a circle of writers grouped around a magazine of the same name who were influenced by western-European, primarily French, literary currents. Zeyer's epics, ''Vyšehrad'' (1880) and ''Karolinská epopej'' (1896), among others, draw from Czech and French legends respectively, and put bygone glory in contrast with Zeyer’s bleak present times. He was inspired by

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, and

French history The first written records for the history of France appeared in the Iron Age. What is now France made up the bulk of the region known to the Romans as Gaul. The first writings on indigenous populations mainly start in the first century BC. Greek ...

, as well as Scandinavian myths. His novels generally follow characters seeking to realize their romanticized ideas of life, many of who only find peace in death. His semi-autobiographical novel ''Jan Maria Plojhar'' (1891) deals with the tragic nature of being an artist. His collection of three short stories, “ Tři legendy o krucifixu” (1895), builds upon the story of Christ's crucifixion and explores themes of

Czech Nationalism Czech nationalism is a form of nationalism which asserts that Czechs are a nation and promotes the cultural unity of Czechs. Modern Czech nationalism arose in the 19th century in the form of the Czech National Revival. In 1848, Czech nationalism ...

and the value of art. The first story, “Inultus”, explores the idea of an artist driven mad by her work. It follows an Italian sculptress as she attempts to create a realistic depiction of the crucifixion, eventually murdering her model, the titular character, in a fit of creative insanity. Plot-wise, Zeyer’s dramatic works follow a similar pattern. Josef Suk composed his '' Pohádka'' based on Zeyer’s play " Radúz a Maha u.lser

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European fol ...

u Zeyer's his theater play about a Slavonic heroine ''Šárka'' as a libretto for his opera.

References

External links

*
Short biography (in English)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeyer, Julius 1841 births 1901 deaths Burials at Vyšehrad Cemetery 19th-century Czech novelists Czech Catholics Czech Jews Czech male novelists Czech nationalists 19th-century Czech poets Czech male poets Czech male dramatists and playwrights Czech people of French descent Czech people of German-Jewish descent Czech Freemasons Writers from Prague LGBT writers from the Czech Republic LGBT dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Czech dramatists and playwrights 19th-century male writers