August Wilhelm Schlegel
August Wilhelm Schlegel entered the world on the 8th of September 1767 in Hanover. His father Johann Adolf Schlegel served as a Lutheran pastor there. Young August attended the local gymnasium before moving to the University of Göttingen. He began his studies focused on theology but found himself drawn elsewhere. A professor named Heyne provided him with rigorous philological training instead. This shift opened doors to friendships that would define his future path. He became close friends with Bürger and studied Dante Alighieri alongside Petrarch and William Shakespeare. Caroline Schelling and Wilhelm von Humboldt joined this circle of thinkers. In 1790 his brother Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel arrived at the same university. Both brothers absorbed ideas from Johann Gottfried Herder and Immanuel Kant. They also looked to Tiberius Hemsterhuis and Johann Winckelmann for guidance. From 1791 until 1795 he worked as a tutor for Willem Ferdinand Mogge Muilman. That young man lived at Herengracht 476 in Amsterdam.
Schlegel settled in Jena during 1796 after receiving an invitation from Friedrich Schiller. He married Caroline Schelling that year though she later separated from him in 1801. His house became the intellectual headquarters for the romanticists between 1796 and 1801. Visitors included Johann Gottlieb Fichte who studied Foundations of the Science of Knowledge intensively there. His brother Friedrich moved in with his wife Dorothea Schlegel. Ludwig Tieck and Novalis also visited this gathering place regularly. In 1797 August and Friedrich broke with Friedrich Schiller completely. They founded the Athenaeum journal which ran from 1798 to 1800. This publication served as the organ of the Romantic school. The brothers dissected disapprovingly the immensely popular works of August Lafontaine. A volume of their joint essays appeared under the title Charakteristiken und Kritiken in 1801. Their play Ion performed in Weimar in January 1802 received support from Goethe but ultimately failed. Despite this failure they commanded respect as leaders of new Romantic criticism.
The translation of William Shakespeare began its life in Jena during the late 1790s. It remained unfinished until Ludwig Tieck supervised its completion alongside Dorothea Tieck. Wolf Heinrich Graf von Baudissin also provided superintendence for the final stages. This rendering stands today as one of the best poetical translations in German. The edition published between 1871 and 1872 was revised using Schlegel's own manuscripts by Michael Bernays. Bernays later wrote Zur Entstehungsgeschichte des Schlegelschen Shakespeare in 1872 to document the process. Rudolph Genée followed with a study titled Schlegel und Shakespeare in 1903. These translations turned the English dramatist's works into German classics. They remain frequently reprinted to this day. The work established his literary reputation early on. He gained an extraordinary professorship at the University of Jena in 1798 because of these efforts. His house became known as the center where romanticists gathered to discuss ideas.
Early in 1804 he made the acquaintance of Madame de Staël in Berlin. She hired him as a tutor for her children after their divorce from previous spouses. Schlegel travelled with Madame de Staël to Switzerland Italy and France. He acted as an adviser in her literary work during these journeys. In 1807 he attracted much attention in France through an essay written in French. That text compared Phèdre by Racine against Phèdre by Euripide. It attacked French classicism from the standpoint of the Romantic school. His famous lectures on dramatic art and literature appeared between 1809 and 1811. These were delivered at Vienna while accompanied by De Staël and her children. In 1810 Schlegel was ordered to leave the Swiss Confederation as an enemy of French literature. He later traveled with De Staël to Kyiv Moscow Saint Petersburg via Finland to Stockholm. He served as press secretary between 1813 and 1814 for Swedish Crown Prince Jean Baptiste Bernadotte. This influence revived the right of his family to noble rank. He joined again the household of Mme. de Staël until her death in Paris on the 14th of July 1817.
Schlegel became a professor of Indology at the University of Bonn in 1818. During the remainder of his life he occupied himself chiefly with oriental studies. He founded a special printing office dedicated to Sanskrit texts. As an orientalist he struggled to adapt himself to new methods opened up by Bopp. He corresponded regularly with Wilhelm von Humboldt who worked as a linguist. From 1823 until 1830 he published the journal Indische Bibliothek. In 1823 he edited the Bhagavad Gita with a Latin translation included. The Ramayana followed in 1829 though it remained incomplete when published in 1838. His 1832 work Reflections on the Study of the Asiatic Languages documented these efforts. Schlegel believed languages could reconstruct patterns of human migration across history. He studied epics from Persia and India to find evidence for this theory. He published works attesting Indians Egyptians Greeks and Aztecs the benefit of progress. He admired their architecture mathematics and technology deeply. This focus shifted his career away from European drama toward ancient Asian traditions.
His famous lectures on dramatic art and literature were delivered at Vienna between 1808 and 1811. These talks have been translated into most European languages since their delivery. They appeared under the title Über dramatische Kunst und Literatur in 1809. The lectures covered principles of dramatic poetry and literary criticism extensively. They helped cultivate friendships with the educated elite across Europe and Saint Petersburg. Schlegel continued to lecture on art and literature throughout his later years. He published On the Theory and History of the Plastic Arts in 1827. Two volumes of critical writings titled Kritische Schriften appeared in 1828. These publications ensured his ideas reached audiences far beyond Germany. The lectures established him as a major voice in European intellectual circles. They remain influential texts for students of dramatic theory today.
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Common questions
When and where was August Wilhelm Schlegel born?
August Wilhelm Schlegel entered the world on the 8th of September 1767 in Hanover. His father Johann Adolf Schlegel served as a Lutheran pastor there.
What major translation project did August Wilhelm Schlegel complete during his time in Jena?
The translation of William Shakespeare began its life in Jena during the late 1790s and remained unfinished until Ludwig Tieck supervised its completion alongside Dorothea Tieck. This rendering stands today as one of the best poetical translations in German.
Who were the key figures associated with August Wilhelm Schlegel's intellectual circle in Jena between 1796 and 1801?
Visitors to his house included Johann Gottlieb Fichte who studied Foundations of the Science of Knowledge intensively there. His brother Friedrich moved in with his wife Dorothea Schlegel while Ludwig Tieck and Novalis also visited this gathering place regularly.
Why did August Wilhelm Schlegel leave the Swiss Confederation in 1810?
In 1810 Schlegel was ordered to leave the Swiss Confederation as an enemy of French literature. He had attracted much attention in France through an essay written in French that attacked French classicism from the standpoint of the Romantic school.
What academic position did August Wilhelm Schlegel hold at the University of Bonn starting in 1818?
Schlegel became a professor of Indology at the University of Bonn in 1818. During the remainder of his life he occupied himself chiefly with oriental studies including editing the Bhagavad Gita with a Latin translation in 1823.