August Von Platen-Hallermünde
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Karl August Georg Maximilian
Graf (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...
von Platen-Hallermünde (24 October 17965 December 1835) 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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
and
dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...
. In German he mostly is called ''
Graf (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...
'' (
Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
) Platen.


Biography

August von Platen was born on 24 October 1796 at
Ansbach Ansbach ( , ; ) is a city in the Germany, German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk, administrative region of Mittelfranken, Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränk ...
, the son of the ''Oberforstmeister'' (a senior public servant) of that state, Count Philipp August von Platen-Hallermünde, by second wife Baroness Christiane Eichler von Auriz. Shortly after his birth Ansbach and other
Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...
n principalities became incorporated with
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
. Platen entered the school of cadets (''Kadettenhaus'') in
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, Bavaria, where he showed early poetic talent. In 1810 as an adolescent he passed into the royal school of pages (''Königliche Pagerie''). In 1814, Platen was appointed lieutenant in the regiment of Bavarian life-guards. With them he took part in the short campaign in France of 1815, being in bivouac for several months near
Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...
and in the department of the
Yonne Yonne (, in Burgundian: ''Ghienne'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the river Yonne, which flows through it, in the country's north-central part. One of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's eight con ...
. He saw no fighting, however, and returned home with his regiment towards the close of the same year. Desiring to study, and finding garrison life distasteful, he obtained a long leave of absence, and after a tour in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
and the Bavarian Alps, entered the
University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. Founded in 1402, it is one of the ol ...
in 1818 as a student of
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
and
philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...
. In the following year Platen migrated to the
university of Erlangen A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...
, where he sat at the feet of Schelling, and became one of his most enthusiastic admirers. As a result of his Oriental studies Platen published a little volume of poems—''Ghaselen'' (1821), each consisting of ten to twenty verses, in which he imitates the style of Rückert; ''Lyrische Blätter'' (1821); ''Spiegel des Hafis'' (1822); ''Vermischte Schriften'' (1822); and ''Neue Ghaselen'' (1823). These attracted the attention of eminent men of letters among them
Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
, both by reason of their contents, which breathe the spirit of the East, and also of the purity and elegance of their form and diction. Though Platen was at first influenced by the school of
Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...
, and particularly by Spanish models, the plays written during his university life at Erlangen, ''Der gläserne Pantoffel'', ''Der Schatz des Rhampsinit'', ''Berengar'', ''Treue um Treue'', ''Der Turm mit sieben Pforten'', show a clearness of plot and expression foreign to the Romantic style. His antagonism to the literature of his day became more and more pronounced, and he vented his indignation at the lack of art shown by the later Romanticists, the inanity of the lyricists, and the bad taste of the so-called fate tragedies (''Schicksalstragödien''), in the witty
Aristophanic Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greek comic playwright from Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving plays belong to the genre of comic drama known as Old Comed ...
comedies ''Die verhängnißvolle Gabel'' (1826) and ''Der romantische Oedipus'' (1828). The want of interest, amounting even to hostility, with which Platen's enthusiasm for the purity and dignity of poetry was received in many literary circles in Germany increased the poet's indignation and disgust. In 1826, he visited
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, which he henceforth made his home, living at
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
,
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
and
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
. His means were slender, but, though frequently necessitous, he felt happy in the life he had chosen, that of a "wandering rhapsodist". Offended by
Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...
's mockery of "''die Orientsucht''"the obsession with the Orient in poetryin his work ''Reisebilder, zweiter Teil'' (1827), Platen expressed anti-Semitic sentiment directed at Heine in his work ''Der romantische Oedipus'' (1828). Heine reacted in turn by publicizing Platen's homosexuality in ''Reisebilder dritter Teil'' (1830). This back and forth of mockery and ad hominem attacks are also referred to as "''die von Platen Affaire''". In Naples, where Platen formed the friendship of August Kopisch, the poet and painter, were written his last drama ''Die Liga von Cambrai'' (1833) and the delightful epic fairy-tale ''Die Abbassiden'' (1830; 1834), besides numerous lyrical poems, odes and ballads. He also essayed historical work in a fragment, ''Geschichte des Königreichs Neapel von 1414 bis 1443'' (1838), without, however, achieving any marked success. In 1832, his father died, and after an absence of eight years Platen returned to Germany for a while, and in the winter of 1832–1833 lived at Munich, where he revised the first complete edition of his poems, ''Gedichte'' (1833). In the summer of 1834, Platen returned to Italy, and, after living in Florence and Naples, proceeded in 1835 to
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
. Dread of the
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
, which was at that time very prevalent, induced him to move from place to place, and in November of that year he was taken ill at Syracuse, where he died on 5 December 1835. He is buried in the non-Catholic cemetery of Syracuse. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition, "Like Heine himself, Platen failed in the drama, but his odes and sonnets, to which must be added his ''Polenlieder'' (1831), in which he gives vent to his warm sympathy for the
Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...
in their rising against the rule of the Tsar, are in language and metre so artistically finished as to rank among the best classical poems of modern times". He gives his name to the Bavarian literary prize August-Graf-von-Platen-Preis.


Notes


Bibliography

* A. von Platen, ''Gesammelte Werke'' (i.e. Collected works) (1839). * A convenient edition is that edited by
Karl Goedeke Karl Friedrich Ludwig Goedeke (15 April 1814 – 28 October 1887) was a German historian of literature, an author, and a professor. He was born at Celle and was educated at University of Göttingen, Göttingen (1833-1838), where he attended lect ...
in Cotta's ''Bibliothek der Weltliteratur'' (4 vols., 1882). * A. von Platen, ''Platens Werke'', ed. G.A. Wolff, D. Schweizer (1895) * A. von Platen, ''Tagebuch'' (1796–1825), published in its entirety by Georg von Laubmann and L. von Scheffler (2 vols., 1896–1900). * A. von Platen, ''Gedichte'', ed. H. Henel (1968) * A. von Platen, ''Tagebücher'', ed. R. Gorner (1990) *


Translations

* A. von Platen, ''The Sonnets'', tr. R. Bancroft (1923) * A. von Platen, ''Selected Poems'', tr. E. Morgen (1978) * A. von Platen, ''Farbenstäubchen auf der Schwinge'', tr
Translations of Dead German Poets
(2013)


Further reading

* J. Minckwitz, ''Graf Platen als Mensch und Dichter'' (1838) * P. Besson, ''Platen, étude biographique el littéraire'' (1894) * L. Frey, 'Aus dem Seelenleben des Grafen Platen', in ''Jahrbuch für sexuelle Zwischenstufen''; 1 (1899), p. 159–214, and 6 (1904), p. 357–447 * O. Greulich, ''Platens Literaturkomödien'' (1901) * A. Fries, ''Platen-Forschungen'' (1903) * R. Unger, ''Platen in seinem Verhältnis zu Goethe'' (1903) * X. Mayne .e. E. I. Prime Stevenson 'The Life and Diary of a Uranian Poet August von Platen 1796–1835', in ''The Intersexes'' (1908; repr. 1975), p. 563–620 *
Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
, 'Platen', in ''Essays of Three Decades'', tr. H. T. Lowe-Porter (n.d.) ssay written 1930* P. Di Silvestro, ''August von Platen Morire a Siracusa'' (1987. Sellerio, Palermo) * R. Aldrich, ''The Seduction Of The Mediterranean Writing, art and homosexual fantasy'' (1993) pp. 57–68.


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Platen-Hallermunde, August Graf von 1796 births 1835 deaths People from Ansbach Writers from the Kingdom of Bavaria German gay writers Counts in Germany German military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars German LGBTQ poets Military personnel of Bavaria Capri, Campania German LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German LGBTQ people People from the Principality of Ansbach German male poets German male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German poets 19th-century German dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German male writers LGBTQ history in Italy