August Wilhelm von Schlegel

Friederike von Schwerin-High
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Born in Hanover on 8 September 1767 to Ihna Christiane and Johann Adolf Schlegel, August Wilhelm came from a family of prolific literary connoisseurs and critics, most famous among whom were his uncle, Elias (1719-49), and his brother and collaborator Friedrich (1772-1822). Perhaps best known for his verse translations of seventeen Shakespearean plays, August Wilhelm Schlegel also gained international acclaim for his perceptive literary criticism, which covered an imposing spectrum of cultures and periods, ranging from Greek antiquity, to the European Middle Ages, to the Spanish, Italian, and British Renaissance, to contemporary German literature, and to texts written in Sanskrit. To Francophone and Anglophone audiences, A. W. Schlegel is best known for the series of lectures on dramatic…

2305 words

Citation: von Schwerin-High, Friederike. "August Wilhelm von Schlegel". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 June 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3959, accessed 19 March 2024.]

3959 August Wilhelm von Schlegel 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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