Ernst Stadler (11 August 1883 — 30 October 1914) was a German

Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

poet. He was born in Colmar, Alsace-Lorraine and educated in Strasbourg and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

; in 1906 he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Magdalen College, Oxford. His early verse was influenced by

Stefan George Stefan Anton George (; 12 July 18684 December 1933) was a German symbolist poet and a translator of Dante Alighieri, William Shakespeare, Hesiod, and Charles Baudelaire. He is also known for his role as leader of the highly influential literary ...

and Charles Péguy, but after 1911, Stadler began developing a different style. His most important volume of poetry, ''Der Aufbruch'', which appeared during 1914, is regarded as a major work of early Expressionism. The poems of ''Der Aufbruch'' are a celebration of the poet's joy in life and are written in long,

free verse Free verse is an open form of poetry, which in its modern form arose through the French '' vers libre'' form. It does not use consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any musical pattern. It thus tends to follow the rhythm of natural speech. Defi ...

lines inspired by the example of

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...

. Stadler was killed in battle at Zandvoorde near

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality c ...

in the early months of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Sources

*Ernst Stadler ''Der Aufbruch'' (ed. Heinze Rölleke, Reclam, 1967) *''Gedichte des Expressionismus'' (ed. Dietrich Bode, Reclam, 1966)

Notes

External links

* * * 1883 births 1914 deaths People from Colmar People from Alsace-Lorraine Expressionist poets Writers from Grand Est German male poets 20th-century German poets 20th-century German male writers German Rhodes Scholars German military personnel killed in World War I {{Germany-poet-stub