Christian Hoffmann von Hoffmannswaldau was generally regarded as the head of the Silesian school of poets during the high Baroque period in Germany. He closely followed the general rules for poetry prescribed by Martin Opitz in his poetic
Von der teutschen Poeterey[
Of German Poetry, 1624], but he also adapted many different models. In the prologue to his
Deutsche Uebersetzungen und Getichte[
German Translations and Poems, posthumously, 1679], he underscores his indebtedness to Opitz and French, Dutch, Italian, and English colleagues and his distaste for the “alte[ ] rohe [ ] Deutsche[ ] Art” [11; “the old crude German style”]. In particular, he rejects medieval literature and praises, above all, the contributions by Dante and Petrarch as the founders of a new understanding of…
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Citation: Classen, Albrecht. "Christian Hoffmann von Hoffmannswaldau". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 October 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=11832, accessed 09 December 2024.]