Stefan George

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The German symbolist poet Stefan George (1868-1933) strongly influenced a group of brilliant and idealistic disciples, thus manifesting his revolt against the materialism of his time.

Born in Rüdesheim near Bingen on the Rhine, Stefan George graduated from a gymnasium in Darmstadt and spent several years traveling throughout western Europe. While in Paris in 1889, he was admitted to Stéphane Mallarmé's soirées, where he met Paul Verlaine, Émile Verhaeren, and Auguste Rodin; and in Berlin, as a student of Romance languages, he came to know Carl August Klein, who was the first to recognize him as a poet. With Klein's help he founded and edited Blätter für die Kunst (1892-1919; Periodical for Art), the mouthpiece for the distinguished George circle of esthetes. This intellectual élite included not only poets and critics such as Friedrich Gundolf, Ernst Bertram, Max Kommerell, Karl Wolfskehl, and Norbert von Hellingrath but also men of action like Count Claus von Stauffenberg.

George's life may be divided conveniently into five major creative periods. During the first of these (1886-1889) he wrote verses which remained unpublished until 1901, when they appeared in his book Die Fibel. It was in his second period (1890-1896) that George emerged as a symbolist poet writing in strong contrast to the naturalistic trend then prevailing in German literature. His first work, a collection of 18 poems, Hymnen (1890; Hymns), was dedicated to his friend Klein. It was followed by Pilgerfahrten (1891) and Algabal (1892). Illustrated by Melchior Lechter, these books appeared only in limited private editions of less than 200 copies.

Solitude and lack of companionship characterize George's third creative period (1897-1902) as evidenced by his collections of melancholic poems full of despair, Das Jahr der Seele (1897; The Year of the Soul) and Teppich des Lebens (1899; The Carpet of Life). Like his earlier writings, they were unavailable to the general public. Only at the turn of the century, when the Berlin publisher Georg Bondi brought out a one-volume edition of Hymnen, Pilgerfahrten, and Algabal, did his books begin to appear through regular trade channels. His contemporaries, however, considered his poetry exclusive and artistocratic and marked by the flaws of fin-de-siècle literature. Thus he was, in general, alienated from his fellow poets in Germany and abroad.

George's fourth period (1903-1913), often called the classical one, comprises not only Der siebente Ring (1907; The Seventh Ring) and Der Stern des Bundes (1913; The Star of the Order) but also his only volume of prose, Tage und Taten (1903; Days and Deeds). At this time George finally found the companion whom he had been seeking - young Maximilian Kronenberger. Their relationship, however, was short-lived; just a year after their first meeting Maxim died, one day before his sixteenth birthday. Nevertheless, his role in the poet's life may be compared to that of Beatrice in the life of Dante.

The fifth and last phase (1914-1933) finds George in the role of a judge and seer. He deals explicitly with the problems of his age in a collection of poetry, Das neue Reich (1928; The New Reich). Very much against his will, he was acclaimed by the Nazis as their champion and forerunner. But no movement could have been more alien to him than theirs, and when they attempted to honor him, he left the country and settled in Switzerland, where he died, a voluntary exile, in Minusio outside Locarno. In addition to his achievements as a lyrical poet, George became known as a gifted and productive translator.

Further Reading

The best commentaries on George in English are Edwin Keppel Bennett, Stefan George (1954), and Ulrich K. Goldsmith, Stefan George: A Study of His Early Work (1959).

George, Stefan (Rüdesheim, now part of Bingen, 1868-1933, Minusio nr. Locarno), the son of a prosperous wine merchant, spent his early childhood (1873-81) in Bingen, and was at the grammar school (Gymnasium) of Darmstadt from 1881 to 1886. He studied at Berlin University, but gave up after three semesters. He possessed ample means throughout his life, never engaged in any profession or trade, never married, and never established any sort of home. He travelled much, visiting most of the countries of central and western Europe, including Britain.

George determined as a quite young man to devote himself to poetry (his œuvre is almost exclusively lyrical) and to cultivate beauty for its own sake. The greatest formative influence inclining him to this decision was Mallarmé. George's conception of l'art pour l'art saw the beauty of poetry in the sensual, especially aural, presentation of a highly selective vocabulary in disciplined, deliberate organization. The themes of his poems are chiefly landscape, friendship, and art.

A strikingly private personality, possessed of great determination, and obsessed with a sense of lofty uniqueness, George was adverse to the usual forms of publication; his first volume of verse, Hymnen (18 poems, including the well-known ‘Der Infant’) was printed privately, and copies were presented to friends in 1890. In 1891 the volume Pilgerfahrten was printed and distributed in similar fashion; its twenty-two poems include ‘Mühle, laß die arme still’ and ‘Die Spange’. In 1892 Algabal (21 poems) appeared in like manner. In this year George, having discovered several kindred spirits, to whom he stood in the relationship of master to disciples (he was indeed usually addressed as Meister), began to publish his own poems, and some of those of his friends, in his own irregularly appearing periodical Blätter für die Kunst, which continued until 1919. Consciously writing for an élite, he published in 1895 Die Bücher der Hirten- und Preisgedichte der Sagen und Sänge und der hängenden Gärten. This title embraces the twenty-five poems of Das Buch der Hirten und Preisgedichte (including ‘Sporenwache’), and the thirty-one of Das Buch der hängenden Gärten. In 1897 appeared Das Jahr der Seele; its three sections are entitled Nach der Lese, Waller im Schnee, and Sieg des Sommers. The collection contains thirty-one poems (beginning with the untitled ‘Komm in den totgesagten park und schau’) and a number of verse dedications and miscellaneous poems. Die Fibel, a collection of his earlier verse, followed in 1901.

From about the turn of the century George saw himself as an educator, the leader in the renewal of a debased culture. The expression of this is to be found in Der Teppich des Lebens (1899), which is divided into the twenty-four poems of Das Vorspiel, and the twenty-four of Der Teppich des Lebens proper (including ‘Der Junge’). To these forty-eight poems, which breathe a reticent didacticism, are appended the twenty-four poems of Die Lieder von Traum und Tod.

After 1900 George curtailed his foreign journeyings, and stayed mainly in Germany (Bingen, Heidelberg, Berlin, Marburg, Würzburg), occasionally visiting the Alps. He also spent some time in Munich, and here in 1903 he underwent a decisive experience in meeting Maximin, a 15-year-old boy, whom George found so handsome and perfectly formed that he saw in him an incarnation of the godhead. Maximin died in the following year. This encounter, commonly referred to in writings on George as ‘das Maximin-Erlebnis’, directed George's thought to youth: Der siebente Ring (1907) is concerned with the new élite of youth which will effect the renewal of civilization. It is one of his largest collections, containing 184 poems, divided into the sections Zeitgedichte, Gestalten, Gezeiten, Maximin, Traumdunkel, and Lieder.

The tone of his poetry passes in Der Stern des Bundes (1914, divided into three books) to the prophetic, apocalyptic, and monumental, in such poems as ‘Auf stiller stadt lag fern ein blutiger streif’, ‘Wer je die flamme umschritt’, and ‘Gottes pfad ist uns geweitet’. In his volume Das neue Reich (1928), George's inspiration, partly derived from Hölderlin, evokes the vision of a new Germany, which will be a realization of the ideal Hellas. Its opening section has no general heading but contains, among others, the poems ‘Goethes letzte Nacht in Italien’, ‘Hyperion I-III’, ‘Der Krieg’, ‘Einem jungen Führer im ersten Weltkrieg’, and ‘Der Brand des Tempels’. The second section is called Sprüche and the third Das Lied. The title Das neue Reich, unfortunate in its timing, was exploited after 1933 by the National Socialists, who sought to exhibit George as a prophet of the new state. After Hitler's appointment as chancellor, Stefan George was offered the presidency of the new Dichter-Akademie, which he declined. Soon afterwards he went to Switzerland, where he died in the following December.

From being a strictly private figure, George gradually and consciously moved into the public eye, but still addressed himself primarily to his own circle (see George-Kreis). The esoteric quality of his work and message was emphasized by the presentation of his books, which appeared on finest quality paper in a special type-face designed for him by M. Lechter (first used in 1897) with minimal punctuation devised by George himself, and, except for titles and the word opening a line, without capital initials to common nouns. Though much can be seen as affectation, there is no doubt of the seriousness and intensity of George's views, or of the well-wrought character and monumental beauty of much of his poetry.

George published only one prose work, Tage und Taten (1903). He translated Dante (a selection from the Divina Commedia), Shakespeare's Sonnets, and poetry by D. G. Rossetti, Swinburne, Verlaine, Mallarmé, Rimbaud, Baudelaire, Verhaeren, and other poets. His own uniform edition of his works (Gesamt-Ausgabe) comprises 18 volumes (1927-34, reissued 1964-9). George's correspondence with H. von Hofmannsthal appeared in 1938, with Melchior Lechter, ed. G. Heintz, in 1991, Werke (2 vols.), ed. R. Boehringer, in 1958 and in 4 vols. 1983; Sämtliche Werke (18 vols.), ed. G. P. Landmann, 1982 ff.

Not to be confused with Stefan Georg, the linguist.

Stefan George (1910)

Stefan Anton George (12 July 1868 – 4 December 1933) was a German poet, editor, and translator.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Work 2.1 Das neue Reich 3 Influence 4 Online texts 5 References 6 Bibliography 7 Studies 8 External links

Biography

George was born in Bingen in Germany in 1868. He spent time in Paris, where he was among the writers and artists who attended the Tuesday soireés held by the poet Stéphane Mallarmé. He began to publish poetry in the 1890s, while in his twenties. George founded and edited an important literary magazine called Blätter für die Kunst. He was also at the center of an influential literary and academic circle known as the Georgekreis, which included many of the leading young writers of the day, (e.g., Friedrich Gundolf and Ludwig Klages). In addition to sharing cultural interests, the circle reflected mystical and political themes. George knew and befriended the "Bohemian Countess" of Schwabing, Fanny zu Reventlow, who sometimes satirized the circle for its melodramatic actions and views. George was identified with an extreme conservatism in politics. He was a homosexual, but led, and exhorted his young friends to lead, a celibate life.

In 1914 at the start of the war he foretold of a sad end for Germany, and between then and 1916 wrote the pessimistic poem Der Krieg (The War). The outcome of the war saw the realization of his worst fears.

In 1933 after the Nazi takeover Joseph Goebbels offered him the presidency of a new Academy for the arts, which he refused. He also stayed away from celebrations prepared for his 65th birthday. Instead he travelled to Switzerland, where he died near Locarno. After his death, his body was interred before a delegation from the National Socialist government could attend the ceremony.^[1]

Work

George's poetry is characterized by an aristocratic and remote ethos; his verse is formal in style, lyrical in tone, and often arcane in language, being influenced by Greek classical forms, in revolt against the realist trend in German literature at the time. Believing that the purpose of poetry was distance from the world—he was a strong advocate of art for art's sake —George's writing had many ties with the French Symbolist movement and he was in contact with many of its representatives, including Stéphane Mallarmé and Paul Verlaine.

George was an important bridge between the 19th century and German modernism, even though he was a harsh critic of the then modern era. He experimented with various poetic metres, punctuation, obscure allusions and typography. George's "evident homosexuality"^[2] is reflected in works such as Algabal and the love poetry he devoted to a gifted adolescent of his acquaintance named Maximilian Kronberger,^[3] whom he called "Maximin", and whom he identified as a manifestation of the divine. The relevance of George's sexuality to his poetic work has been discussed by contemporary critics, such as Thomas Karlauf and Marita Keilson-Lauritz.^[4]

Algabal is one of George's best remembered collections of poetry, if also one of his strangest; the title is a reference to the effete Roman emperor Elagabalus. George was also an important translator; he translated Dante, Shakespeare and Baudelaire into German.

Das neue Reich

George's late and seminal work, Das neue Reich (The New Empire), was published in 1928. He dedicated the work, including the Geheimes Deutschland ("Secret Germany") written in 1922, to Berthold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg ^[5] (who in 1944 took part in the 20 July plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler). It outlines a new form of society ruled by hierarchical spiritual aristocracy. George rejected any attempts to use it for mundane political purposes, especially National Socialism.

Influence

George was thought of by his contemporaries as a prophet and a priest, while he thought of himself as a messiah of a new kingdom that would be led by intellectual or artistic elites, bonded by their faithfulness to a strong leader. In his memoirs, Albert Speer claims to have seen George in the early 1920s and that his elder brother, Hermann, was a member of his inner circle: George "radiated dignity and pride and a kind of priestliness... there was something magnetic about him."

His poetry emphasized self-sacrifice, heroism and power, and he thus gained popularity in National Socialist circles. The group of writers and admirers that formed around him were known as the Georgekreis. Although many National Socialists claimed George as an important influence, George himself was aloof from such associations and did not get involved in politics. Shortly after the Nazi seizure of power, George left Germany for Switzerland where he died the same year.

Some critics considered his work to be proto-fascist, though many of the leading members of the German Resistance to the Nazis were drawn from among his followers, notably the Stauffenberg brothers who were introduced to George by the poet and classical scholar Albrecht von Blumenthal. Also, although some members of the circle were explicitly anti-semitic (e.g., Klages), it also included Jewish writers such as Gundolf, the historian Ernst H. Kantorowicz, and the Zionist, Karl Wolfskehl. George was fond enough of his Jewish disciples, but he expressed reservations about their ever becoming a majority in the Circle.

Perhaps the most eminent poet who collaborated with George, but who ultimately refused membership in the Circle, was Hugo von Hofmannsthal, one of Austria's outstanding literary modernists. Later in life, Hofmannsthal wrote that no one had influenced him more deeply than George. Those closest to the "Master," as George had his disciples call him, included several members of the 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler, among them Claus von Stauffenberg himself. Outside the Circle, George's poetry was a major influence on the music of the Second Viennese School of composers, particularly during their Expressionist period. Arnold Schönberg set George's poetry in such works as his String Quartet No. 2 Op. 10 of 1908 and The Book of the Hanging Gardens Op. 15 of 1909, while his student Anton Webern made use of George's verse in his early choral work Entflieht auf leichten Kähnen Op. 2 as well as in two sets of songs, Opp. 3 and 4 of 1909, and in several posthumously published vocal works from the same period.

Online texts

• Some poems in both German and English

References

1. ^ Robert E. Norton, Secret Germany: Stefan George and his Circle (Cornell University Press, 2002)
2. ^ Robert E. Norton, Secret Germany: Stefan George and his Circle (Cornell University Press, 2002) page 354
3. ^ Palmer, Craig B. (2002), "George, Stefan", glbtq.com, http://www.glbtq.com/literature/george_s.html, retrieved 2007-11-23 .
4. ^ See for example, Marita Keilson-Lauritz, "Ubergeschlechtliche Liebe: Stefan George's Concept of Love" (Rieckmann, ed A Companion to the Works of Stefan George (Camden House, 2005)
5. ^ Herbert Ammon: Vom Geist Georges zur Tat Stauffenbergs - Manfred Riedels Rettung des Reiches, in: Iablis 2007 at www.iablis.de

Bibliography

Selected German titles

• Algabal (1892)
• Das Jahr der Seele ('The Year of the Soul', 1897)
• Der siebente Ring ('The Seventh Ring', 1907)
• Der Stern des Bundes ('The Star of the Covenant', 1913)
• Der Krieg ('The War', 1917)
• Das neue Reich ('The New Empire', 1928)

Studies

• Breue, Atefan (1996). Ästhetischer Fundamentalismus: Stefan George und der deutsche Antimodernismus. Darmstadt: Primus.
• Frank, Lore & Sabine Ribbeck (2000). Stefan-George-Bibliographie 1976-1997. Mit Nachträgen bis 1976. Auf der Grundlage der Bestände des Stefan-George-Archivs in der Württembergischen Landesbibliothek. Tübingen: Niemeyer.
• Goldsmith, Ulrich (1951). Stefan George and the theatre. New York: The Modern Language Association (PLMA Publications LXVI:2).
• Goldsmith, Ulrich (1959). Stefan George: A study of his early work. Boulder: University of Colorado Press (University of Colorado Studies Series in Language and Literature 7).
• Goldsmith, Ulrich (1970). Stefan George. New York: Columbia University Press (Essays on Modern Writers).
• Goldsmith, Ulrich (1974). Shakespeare and Stefan George: The sonnets. Berne: Franke.
• Kluncker, Karlhans (1985). "Das geheime Deutschland": Über Stefan George und seinen Kreis. Bonn: Bouvier (Abhandlungen zur Kunst-, Musik- und Literaturwissenschaft 355).
• Norton, Robert E. (2002). Secret Germany: Stefan George and his Circle. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
• Schmitz, Victor (1978). Stefan George und Rainer Maria Rilke: Gestaltung und Verinnerlichung. Berne: Wild.
• Rieckmann, Jens (ed.) (2005). A Companion to the Works of Stefan George. Camden House.
• Stefan George: DEN DØDE STAD. DIGTE I UDVALG gengivet på dansk og kommenteret af Madeline Rundsten (translations from German at last into Danish with a postscript by Madeline Rundsten (Von Maximin bis Minusio. Eller: At omsætte skæbne til form (From Maximin to Minusio, or: To transform destiny to Form " - in dänish, summed by an essay by Stefan Trakl, Hvad er skæbne? (What is Destiny). 488 pages. Kopenhagen, MillennivM 2009.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Stefan George

• Concise overview
• A biographical article on George's homosexuality

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