German poet Heinrich Heine, best-known for Book of Songs, lived at a time of major social and political changes. The events of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars are reflected in his complex personality and writing. His poetry is amusing, yet thoughtful, ranging from simple romantic lyrics to political satire.
Profile of Heinrich Heine and his Poetry
Heinrich Heine was born on December 13, 1797 in Düsseldorf, Germany. He was Jewish but converted to Christianity. His first poetry collection, Book of Songs, was published when he was 30. The great composer Robert Schumann set this into lovely music for voice and piano.
He had a love-hate relationship with German Romanticism throughout his life. A master of the genre, he produced examples of the purest quality of poetry. He mixed gentleness with the macabre in his poetry. He also extended his fantasies in his longer poetry, for example, the mock-epic Atta Troll, in which a dancing bear, free in the mountains, lectures on themes related to German contemporary life.
Heine's Satirical Writings
Heinrich Heine was a strong critic of politics and art. He used satire in a very effective manner which at that time was deemed wicked and offensive. When he attacked German politics and personalities in his prose writing, the German people considered him unpatriotic, and he became less popular. With anti-Jewish feelings growing in Germany at that time, he was further driven into exile. He published his satirical descriptive Pictures of Travel in 1826.
In 1831 he settled in Paris, where he remained until he died, on February 17, 1856, aged 58. There, he wrote about German life and letters. For years, he was more highly regarded in England, France and America than in his native Germany.
Last Insight on Heinrich Heine
The trouble Heine stirred up from his satirical works persisted long after his death. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries proposals to erect his statue in various German cities sparked off riots. He is, however, mainly remembered for his great lyric poetry, set to music by composers in art form.
Heinrich Heine Quote:
"The story is an old one, / but stays forever new; / and when it falls to someone, / it breaks his heart in two." ~ Heinrich Heine, Book of Songs
Works by Heinrich Heine
- Lyrical Intermezzo, 1823
- Pictures of Travel (4 volumes), 1826-1831
- Book of Songs, 1827
- French Affairs, 1833
- Philosophy and Literature in Germany, 1835
- The Romantic School, 1836
- Germany: A Winter's Tale, 1844
- New Poems, 1844
- Atta Troll and Other Poems, 1847
- Various Writings, 1854
Sources:
- Goring, Rosemary, Ed. Larousse Dictionary of Writers. New York: Larousse, 1994.
- McGovern, Una, Ed. Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers, 2002.
- Payne, Tom. The A-Z of Great Writers. London: Carlton, 1997.
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