Paul Heyse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Paul Heyse
|
|
|---|---|
Paul Heyse's official Nobel Prize portrait
|
|
| Born | Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse 15 March 1830 Berlin, German Confederation |
| Died | 2 April 1914 (aged 84) Munich, German Empire |
| Nationality | German |
| Notable awards | Nobel Prize in Literature 1910 |
Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse (born March 15, 1830 – died April 2, 1914) was a famous German writer and translator. He was part of two important writing groups: the Tunnel über der Spree in Berlin and Die Krokodile in Munich.
Heyse wrote many different types of works, including novels, poems, 177 short stories, and about sixty plays. His large collection of writings made him a very important figure among German authors. In 1910, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. The prize was given to him for his amazing artistic skill and the inspiring ideas in his long career as a poet, playwright, novelist, and short story writer. One of the Nobel judges, Wirsen, even said that "Germany has not had a greater literary genius since Goethe." Heyse is one of the oldest people to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Contents
Paul Heyse's Life Story
Early Years in Berlin (1830–1854)
Paul Heyse was born in Berlin on March 15, 1830. His father, Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Heyse, was a well-known language expert and a professor at the University of Berlin. His father had also taught important people like Felix Mendelssohn. Paul Heyse's grandfather, Johann Christian August Heyse, was a famous German grammarian. Paul's mother was Jewish.
Heyse went to the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Gymnasium school until 1847 and was known as a great student. Because of his family, he met many artists in Berlin early on. He became friends with Emanuel Geibel, an older writer who became his mentor. Geibel also introduced him to his future father-in-law, the art historian Franz Kugler.
After school, Heyse started studying classical languages. He met other famous people like Jacob Burckhardt, Adolph Menzel, Theodor Fontane, and Theodor Storm. In 1849, he joined the Tunnel über der Spree writing group. His first published poem, Frühlingsanfang 1848, showed his excitement for the recent Revolution.
Heyse studied at the University of Berlin for two years. In April 1849, he moved to Bonn to study art history and Romance languages. By 1850, he decided to become a full-time writer. His first book, Der Jungbrunnen (a collection of tales and poems), was published anonymously by his father that same year. His play Francesca von Rimini also came out. Around this time, Heyse read a manuscript by the unknown writer Theodor Storm. Heyse's positive review of Storm's work helped start their friendship.
In 1851, Heyse won a contest for his poem Das Tal von Espigno. His first short story, "Marion" (1852), also won awards. In 1852, he published Spanisches Liederbuch, a collection of translated poems and folk songs. This book became very popular with composers like Robert Schumann and Hugo Wolf. Heyse also translated poems from his own collection, Italienisches Liederbuch (1860). Throughout his life, Heyse translated many works, especially from Italian literature.
Some members of the "Tunnel" group wanted a more private meeting place. So, in December 1852, a smaller group called the Rütli was formed. It included Kugler, Lepel, Fontane, Storm, and Heyse.
In May 1852, Heyse earned his doctorate degree for his studies on the troubadours (medieval poets). He received a scholarship to travel to Italy to find old manuscripts. While there, he became friends with Arnold Böcklin and Joseph Victor von Scheffel. However, he was banned from the Vatican library for copying parts of unpublished manuscripts. He returned to Germany in 1853. With Italy fresh in his mind, he wrote his most famous short story, "L'Arrabbiata" ("The Fury", 1853), and the "Songs of Sorrento" (1852/53). Many of his new writings appeared in the Argo, the yearbook of the Rütli writers.
Life in Munich (1854–1914)
Emanuel Geibel convinced King Maximilian II of Bavaria to give Heyse a special professorship in Munich. Heyse became a professor of Romance philology, even though he never actually taught at the university there. After marrying Margarete Kugler on May 15, he arrived in Munich on May 25, 1854.
In Munich, Heyse became one of the "northern lights" (a group of important writers). He also helped start another literary group called Die Krokodile. This group included writers like Felix Dahn and Theodor Storm. In December, Heyse began writing letters to Eduard Mörike, starting a long friendship.
Heyse had four children with his first wife, Margarete: Franz (born 1855), Julie (born 1857), Ernst (born 1859), and Clara (born 1861). In 1859, Heyse became the editor of the Literaturblatt zum deutschen Kunstblatt. He turned down an offer to move to Thuringia because of his family.
Sadly, his wife Margarete died in Meran on September 30, 1862, from a lung illness. Heyse finished his historical play, Ludwig der Bayer, but it was not successful when performed. Despite this, Heyse kept writing new plays throughout the 1860s. His play Kolberg (1865) became his biggest success.
He married Anna Schubart in 1867. For the next thirty years, Heyse continued to write a lot. Even with some sad losses in his life, his fame grew steadily, and he became known worldwide. He was one of the first people to speak out against a new writing style called naturalism. He wrote critically about it, but his opinions did not stop his popularity.
Heyse was called Dichterfürst, which means "prince of poetry." He worked hard to help different countries in Europe understand each other better. In 1900, he was made an honorary citizen of Munich. Many special publications celebrated his 70th birthday. In 1910, he became a member of the nobility before receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature on December 10. He could not attend the ceremony, so Count von Pückler represented him in Sweden.
His last published works were Letzten Novellen and Italienischen Volksmärchen (1914). Paul Heyse died on April 2, 1914, a few months before World War I began. He was buried in the Waldfriedhof cemetery in Munich.
A street and a tunnel in Munich, "Paul-Heyse Strasse" and "Paul-Heyse-Unterführung," are named after him. There is also a "Heysestrasse" in Hamburg Bergedorf.
See also
In Spanish: Paul von Heyse para niños
