Johann Ludwig Wilhelm Müller (7 October 1794 – 30 September 1827) was a German lyric poet, best known as the author of '' Die schöne Müllerin'' (1823) and '' Winterreise'' (1828), which Franz Schubert later set to music as song cycles.

Life

Wilhelm Müller was born on 7 October 1794 at

Dessau Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...

, the son of a tailor. He was educated at the gymnasium of his native town and at the University of Berlin, where he devoted himself to philological and historical studies. In 1813-1814 he took part, as a volunteer in the Prussian army, in the national rising against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. He participated in the battles of Lützen, Bautzen,

Hanau Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ...

and Kulm. In 1814 he returned to his studies at Berlin. From 1817 to 1819, he visited southern Germany and Italy, and in 1820 published his impressions of the latter in ''Rom, Römer und Römerinnen''. In 1819, he was appointed teacher of

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

in the Gelehrtenschule at Dessau, and in 1820 librarian to the ducal library. He remained there the rest of his life, dying of a heart attack aged only 32. Müller's son, Friedrich Max Müller, was an English orientalist who founded the comparative study of religions; his grandson Sir William Grenfell Max Muller was a British diplomat.

Works

Müller's earliest lyrics are contained in a volume of poems, ''Bundesblüten'', by several friends, which was published in 1816. That same year he also published ''Blumenlese aus den Minnesängern'' (''Flowers harvested from the Minnesingers''). His literary reputation was made by the ''Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten'' (in two volumes, 1821–1824), and the ''Lieder der Griechen'' (1821–1824). The latter collection was Germany's chief tribute of sympathy to the Greeks in their struggle against the Turkish yoke, a theme which inspired many poets of the time. Two volumes of ''Neugriechische Volkslieder'', and ''Lyrische Reisen und epigrammatische Spaziergänge'', followed in 1825 and 1827. Many of his poems imitate the German Volkslied. Müller also wrote a book on the ''Homerische Vorschule'' (1824; 2nd. ed., 1836), translated Marlowe's ''Faustus'', and edited a ''Bibliothek der Dichtungen des 17. Jahrhunderts'' (1825–1827; in ten volumes), a collection of lyric poems.

Editions

Müller's ''Vermischte Schriften'' (''Miscellaneous writings'') were edited with a biography by Gustav Schwab (three volumes, 1830). Wilhelm Müller's ''Gedichte'' were collected in 1837 (4th ed., 1858), and also edited by his son, Friedrich Max Müller (1868). There are also numerous more recent editions, notably one in Reclam's ''Universalbibliothek'' (1894), and a critical edition by J. T. Hatfield (1906).

Historical position ''vis-à-vis'' Romanticism

Recent research has stressed that Müller, although contemporaneous with German Romanticism, cannot easily be subsumed under that movement. In ‘Die Winterreise’ – which occupies a central position in Müller's lyric output – the wanderer shows a determination not to get lost on the Romantic paths that promise a way out of present dissatisfactions. “

Andreas Dorschel Andreas Dorschel (born 1962) is a German philosopher. Since 2002, he has been professor of aesthetics and head of the Institute for Music Aesthetics at the University of the Arts Graz (Austria). Background Andreas Dorschel was born in 1962 ...

has convincingly argued that ‘Die Winterreise’ is a work of

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

.” The cycle depicts the self-determination of a subject who retains the ability to reflect because he is not engulfed by dreams. The realms of dream, death, and nature do not fulfil their promise, and the traveller ultimately rejects “Schein” (semblance) for “Sein” (actual being), or the imagined future for the real present. “As Dorschel points out, the wanderer actively denies the value of dreaming in ‘Im Dorfe’ (‘Was will ich unter den Schläfern säumen?’ ��What do I want to waste my time among those who are asleep?’ .., and ..death eludes him. This is not merely chance, however, for when ‘Der Lindenbaum’ calls him temptingly back with the promise of eternal rest, he actively chooses to keep walking away from its lure. Dorschel aligns the wanderer with Kant's enlightened subject who sets off on an ‘Ausgang . .aus seiner selbstverschuldeten Unmündigkeit’ (‘emergence ..from his self-imposed immaturity’), avoiding ‘die Wege, / Wo die andren Wandrer gehn’ ��paths / where other wanderers walk’(‘Der Wegweiser’ .. as he charts his own path.”

Legacy

Müller excelled in popular and political songs that attracted great composers, notably two of Franz Schubert's song cycles, '' Die schöne Müllerin'' and '' Winterreise'', are based on the sets of poems of the same name by Müller. He also influenced

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...

's lyric development. Andrés Neuman wrote a novel, ''El viajero del siglo'' (''Traveller of the Century'', 2009), inspired by the poems of ''Winter Journey'' (''Wanderlieder von Wilhelm Müller. Die Winterreise. In 12 Liedern''), giving life to several of its characters. Neuman had previously translated Müller's ''Winter Journey'' poems to the Spanish language.Müller, Wilhelm: ''Viaje de invierno''. Translated by Andres Neuman. Barcelona: Acantilado, 2003.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Wilhelm 1794 births 1827 deaths People from Dessau-Roßlau 19th-century German poets 19th-century German male writers Franz Schubert German military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Humboldt University of Berlin alumni German male poets German-language poets Lyric poets