Johann Christian Günther (8 April 1695 – 15 March 1723) was a German poet from Striegau in

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a historical and geographical region mostly located in Poland with small portions in the Czech Republic and Germany. It is the western part of the region of Silesia. Its largest city is Wrocław. The first ...

. After attending the gymnasium at Schweidnitz, he was sent in 1715 by his father, a country doctor, to study medicine at

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

; but he was idle and dissipated, had no taste for the profession chosen for him, and came to a complete rupture with his family. In 1717 he went to

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, where he was befriended by (1674–1732), who recognized his genius; and there he published a poem on the peace of Passarowitz (concluded between the German emperor and the Porte in 1718) which acquired him reputation. A recommendation from Mencke to

Frederick Augustus II of Saxony Frederick Augustus II (; 18 May 1797 – 9 August 1854) was King of Saxony and a member of the House of Wettin. He was the eldest son of Maximilian, Prince of Saxony – younger son of the Elector Frederick Christian of Saxony – by h ...

, king of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, proved worse than useless, as Günther appeared at the audience drunk. From that time he led an unsettled and dissipated life, sinking ever deeper into the slough of misery, until he died at

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany 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 in ...

on March 15, 1723, when only in his 28th year.

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 ...

pronounces Günther to have been a poet in the fullest sense of the term. His lyric poems as a whole give evidence of deep and lively sensibility, fine imagination, clever wit, and a true ear for melody and rhythm; but an air of cynicism is more or less present in most of them, and dull or vulgar witticisms are not infrequently found side by side with the purest inspirations of his genius.

Works

*Günther's collected poems were published in four volumes ( Breslau, 1723–1735). **They are also included in vol. vi. of Julius Tittmann's ''Deutsche Dichter des 17ten Jahrh.'' (Leipzig, 1874), and vol. xxxviii. of Kurschner's ''Deutsche Nationalliteratur'' (1883). *A pretended autobiography of Günther appeared at Schweidnitz in 1732, and a life of him by

Siebrand Sibrand is a given name of German origin. Notable people with this given name include: * Master Sibrand (fl. 1190), German crusader * Sibrand Lubbert (d. 1625), German theologian {{given name German masculine given names ...

at Leipzig in 1738. See: **

Hoffmann von Fallersleben August Heinrich Hoffmann (, calling himself von Fallersleben, after his hometown; 2 April 179819 January 1874) was a German poet. He is best known for writing "", whose third stanza is now the national anthem of Germany, and a number of popular ...

, ''J. Gb. Günther'' (Breslau, 1833) ** O. Roquette, ''Leben und Dichten J. Ch. Günthers'' (

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, 1860) ** M. Kalbeck, ''Neue Beiträge zur Biographie des Dichters C. Günther'' (Breslau, 1879).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunther, Johann Christian 1695 births 1723 deaths People from Strzegom 18th-century German poets German male poets German-language poets People from the Habsburg monarchy