Stefan George

Stefan George (Bingen, Hesse, July 12, 1868 – Locarno, December 4, 1933) was a German poet and translator.

Work

George's poetry was categorised by an aristocratic and remote ethos; his verse was 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, and was influenced by Nietzsche—George's writing had many ties with the French Symbolist movement. He was in contact with many of its representatives, including Stéphane Mallarmé and Paul Verlaine, and his writing first became of note in the 1890s. George founded an important literary magazine called Blätter für die Kunst, around which a literary circle came to gather.

Related Topics:
Poetry - Aristocratic - Ethos - Lyric - Greek - Classical - Realist - German literature - Nietzsche - French - Symbolist - Stéphane Mallarmé - Paul Verlaine - 1890s - Literary magazine

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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.

Related Topics:
19th century - Modernism - Metre - Punctuation - Allusions - Typography

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

Related Topics:
Algabal - Elagabalus - Translator - Dante - Shakespeare - Baudelaire - German

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