Robert Eduard Prutz (30 May 1816 – 21 June 1872) was a German

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 writte ...

and prose writer. He was born at

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

, modern day Szczecin. He studied

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Breslau, and Halle, and in the last-named became associated, after taking his degree, with

Arnold Ruge Arnold Ruge (13 September 1802 – 31 December 1880) was a German philosopher and political writer. He was the older brother of Ludwig Ruge. Studies in university and prison Born in Bergen auf Rügen, he studied in Halle, Jena and Heidelberg. ...

in the publication of the '' Hallesche Jahrbücher''. Subjected on account of his advanced political views to police surveillance, he removed to

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

, where, on the strength of an excellent monograph, ''Der Göttinger Dichterbund'' (1841), he hoped to obtain an academic appointment. He was, however, expelled from the town for offending against the press laws, and it was not until 1846 that he received permission to lecture in Berlin. From 1849 to 1859 he was extraordinary professor of literature at Halle, but retired in 1859 to Stettin, where he died in 1872. Prutz belonged to the group of political poets who dominated

German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy a ...

between 1841 and 1848; his poems are more conspicuous for their

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

tendency than their poetry. Among them may be mentioned ''Ein Märchen'' (1841); ''Gedichte'' (1841); ''Aus der Heimat'' (1858); ''Neue Gedichte'' (1860); ''Herbstrosen'' (i865); ''Buch der Liebe'' (1869). Among his novels are noteworthy, ''Das Engelchen'' (1851) and ''Der Musikantenturm'' (1855). Much more important are his contributions to literary history and criticism: ''Vorlesungen über die Geschichte des deutschen Theaters'' (1847); ''Ludwig Holberg'' (1857); ''Die deutsche Literatur der Gegenwart'' (1859), and ''Menschen und Bücher'' (1862). Prutz also wrote some dramas of little merit. His son

Hans Prutz Hans Prutz (20 May 1843 – 29 January 1929) was a German historian. Son of Robert Eduard Prutz (1816–1872), the essayist and historian, Hans was born at Jena, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, and was educated at the universities of Jena and Berlin. In 18 ...

was a notable historian.

References

* R. von Gottschall, in ''Unsere Zeit'' (1872) *''

Allgemeine deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...

'', Vol. 26, p. 678-68

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prutz, Robert 1816 births 1872 deaths Writers from Szczecin People from the Province of Pomerania Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin University of Breslau alumni Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg alumni Academic staff of the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg German male writers