Joseph von Eichendorff (1788-1857), one of the last born and most eminent writers of literary German Romanticism, is familiar in the English-speaking world through the settings of his poetry by Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms – to name just a few of the many composers who have been attracted by their innate musicality. In German-speaking countries, Eichendorff’s poem “Der frohe Wandersmann” [The Happy Traveller] has attained the status of a folk song independent of its placement and function within his perhaps most famous work, namely
Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts[From the Life of a Good-for-Nothing] (1826). Within the German literary canon, Eichendorff’s
Taugenichtshas continued to be widely read, although the long tradition of regarding both its…
3897 words
Citation: Mahoney, Dennis. "Joseph von Eichendorff". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 February 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5445, accessed 13 October 2024.]