Stefan Anton George (12 July 1868 – 4 December 1933) was a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
poetA poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
,
editorEditing is the process of selecting and preparing language, images, sound, video, or film through processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications in various media...
, and translator.
Biography
George was born in
BingenBingen am Rhein is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.The settlement’s original name was Bingium, a Celtic word that may have meant “hole in the rock”, a description of the shoal behind the Mäuseturm, known as the Binger Loch. Bingen was the starting point for the...
in Germany in 1868. He spent time in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he was among the writers and artists who attended the Tuesday soireés held by the poet
Stéphane MallarméStéphane Mallarmé , whose real name was Étienne Mallarmé, was a French poet and critic. He was a major French symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools of the early 20th century, such as Dadaism, Surrealism, and Futurism.-Biography:Stéphane...
. He began to publish poetry in the 1890s, while in his twenties. George founded and edited an important
literary magazineA literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...
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 GundolfFriedrich Gundolf, born Friedrich Leopold Gundelfinger was a German-Jewish literary scholar and poet and one of the most famous academics of the Weimar Republic.- Education :...
and
Ludwig KlagesLudwig Klages was a German philosopher, psychologist and a theoretician in the field of handwriting analysis . He created a complete theory of graphology and will be long associated with the concepts of form level, rhythm and bi-polar interpretation...
). In addition to sharing cultural interests, the circle reflected mystical and political themes. George knew and befriended the "Queen of Schwabing,"
Fanny zu ReventlowFranziska Reventlow was a German writer, artist and translator, who became famous as the "Bohemian Countess" of Schwabing in the years leading up to World War I.- Life :Franziska Franziska (Countess zu) Reventlow (born 18 May 1871 in Husum; died 26 July 1918 in Locarno Switzerland, real name...
, who sometimes satirized the circle for its melodramatic actions and views. George was identified with an extreme
conservatismConservatism is the diverse political and social philosophy that supports tradition and the status quo, or that calls for a return to the values and society of an earlier age, the status quo ante. However, the term has been used by politicians and political commentators with a variety of meanings...
in politics.
During his life, George refused any honors from the
National Socialist regimeNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
.
Stefan George died near
LocarnoLocarno is the capital of the Locarno district, located on the northern tip of Lake Maggiore in the Swiss canton of Ticino, close to Ascona at the foot of the Alps. It has a population of about 15,000...
in Switzerland. After his death, his body was interred before a delegation from the National Socialist government could attend the ceremony.
Work
George's poetry is characterized by an
aristocraticAristocracy is a form of government, in which a few of the most prominent citizens rule. This may be a hereditary elite, or it may be by a system of cooption where a council of prominent citizens add leading soldiers, merchants, land owners, priests, and lawyers to their number...
and remote
ethosEthos is a Greek word originally meaning "accustomed place" , "custom, habit", equivalent to Latin mores....
; his verse is formal in style,
lyricalLyric poetry usually refers nowadays to a short poem that expresses personal feelings. It need not be set to music. Aristotle, in Poetics 1447a, merely mentions lyric poetry along with drama, epic poetry, dancing, painting and other forms of mimesis...
in tone, and often arcane in language, being influenced by
GreekAncient Greece is the civilisation belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the...
classicalClassical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
forms, in revolt against the
realistLiterary realism most often refers to the trend, beginning with certain works of nineteenth-century French literature and extending to late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century authors in various countries, towards depictions of contemporary life and society "as they were." In the spirit of...
trend in
German literatureGerman literature comprises those literary texts written in the German language.This includes literature written in Germany itself as well as German-language Swiss and Austrian literature, and to a lesser extent works of the German diaspora....
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
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
SymbolistSymbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the movement had its roots in Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
movement and he was in contact with many of its representatives, including
Stéphane MallarméStéphane Mallarmé , whose real name was Étienne Mallarmé, was a French poet and critic. He was a major French symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools of the early 20th century, such as Dadaism, Surrealism, and Futurism.-Biography:Stéphane...
and
Paul VerlainePaul-Marie Verlaine was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the fin de siècle in international and French poetry.-Early life:...
.
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,
punctuationPunctuation is everything in written language other than the actual letters or numbers, white space, and indentation.Punctuation marks are symbols that correspond to neither phonemes of a language nor to lexemes , but which serve to indicate the structure and organization of writing, as well as...
, obscure allusions and
typographyTypography is the art and technique of arranging type, type design, and modifying type glyphs. Type glyphs are created and modified using a variety of illustration techniques...
. George's "evident homosexuality" is reflected in works such as
Algabal and the love poetry he devoted to a gifted adolescent of his acquaintance named
Maximilian KronbergerMaximilian Kronberger, known familiarly as Maximin , was a German poet and a significant figure in the literary circle of Stefan George ....
, 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.
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
ElagabalusElagabalus , also known as Heliogabalus or Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, was a Roman Emperor of the Severan dynasty who reigned from 218 to 222...
. George was also an important
translatorTranslation is the interpreting of the meaning of a text and the subsequent production of an equivalent text, likewise called a "translation," that communicates the same message in another language...
; he translated
DanteDurante degli Alighieri , commonly known as Dante, was an Italian poet of the Middle Ages. His central work, the Divina Commedia , is often considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature.In...
,
ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
and
BaudelaireCharles Pierre Baudelaire was a nineteenth century French poet, critic, and translator. A controversial figure in his lifetime, Baudelaire's name has become a byword for literary and artistic decadence...
into
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
.
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 StauffenbergBerthold Alfred Maria Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg was a German aristocrat, lawyer and conspirator in the 20 July plot of 1944, along with his brother, Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, an army colonel...
(who in 1944 took part in the 20 July plot to assassinate
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
). 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
prophetIn religion, a prophet is a person who has been contacted by, or has encountered, the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other humans...
and a
priestA priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities. Their office or position is the priesthood, a term which may also apply to such persons collectively.Priests and priestesses...
, while he thought of himself as a
messiahMessiah literally means "anointed "...
of a new kingdom that would be led by intellectual or artistic
eliteElite is taken originally from the Latin, eligere, "to elect". In sociology as in general usage, the elite is a relatively small dominant group within a large society, having a privileged status perceived as being envied by others of a lower line of order.The elite at the top of the social strata...
s, bonded by their faithfulness to a strong leader. In his
memoirsInside the Third Reich is a memoir written by Albert Speer, the Nazi Minister of Armaments from 1942 to 1945, serving as Hitler's main architect before this period...
,
Albert SpeerAlbert Speer was a German architect who was, for part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...
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
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
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 BlumenthalThe von Blumenthal family are German nobility from Brandenburg-Prussia. Other, unrelated, families of this name exist in Switzerland and formerly in Russia, and many unrelated families called "Blumenthal" without "von" are to be found worldwide.The privileges of the German nobility were abolished...
. 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 WolfskehlKarl Wolfskehl was a Jewish-German author who wrote poetry, prose and drama in German. He was active in the Kosmische Runde, a circle around Stefan George and emigrated to Switzerland , then to Italy and ultimately to New Zealand ....
. 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 HofmannsthalHugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal , was an Austrian novelist, librettist, poet, dramatist, narrator, and essayist.-Life:...
, 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 SchoolThe Second Viennese School is the term generally used in English-speaking countries to denote the group of composers that comprised Arnold Schoenberg and his pupils and close associates in early 20th century Vienna, where, with breaks, he lived and taught between 1903 and 1925...
of composers, particularly during their
ExpressionistExpressionism was a cultural movement originating in Germany at the start of the 20th-century as a reaction to positivism and other artistic movements such as naturalism and impressionism. It sought to express the meaning of "being alive" and emotional experience rather than physical reality...
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 WebernAnton Webern was an Austrian composer and conductor. He was a member of the Second Viennese School. As a student and significant follower of Arnold Schoenberg, he became one of the best-known exponents of the twelve-tone technique; in addition, his innovations regarding schematic organization of...
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
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