His poems are about longing, wanderlust, and dreams, which he associates with nature. Eichendorff has always addressed the inner world of humans in his works. He is one of the most-read poets in German even today.
(10 March 1788-26 November 1857)
He was born in 1788 in the Lubowitz Castle in Ratibor, in Upper Silesia, today on the borders of Poland. He is one of the most important poets of German romanticism.
His father was a baron from the Royal Prussian Army, and his mother was a baroness from the Silesian nobility.
He grew up with knight stories, legends, and adventure novels. As the child of an aristocratic family, he received a good education.
He discovered his love for writing in 1801 at the boarding school he attended with his brother Wilhelm.
Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff (10 March 1788 – 26 November 1857) was a German poet, novelist, playwright, literary critic, translator, and anthologist. Eichendorff was one of the major writers and critics of Romanticism. Ever since their publication and up to the present day, some of his works have been very popular in German-speaking Europe.
In 1805 he decided to study law in Halle. It was during this time that he became acquainted with the plays of Goethe and Schiller. He first went to Heidelberg and then to Vienna to continue his education.
Later, he moved to Berlin and attended private lessons from the German philosopher Fichte.
As part of his studies and educational travels, he met some of the important writers and poets of his time, such as Achim von Arnim and Heinrich von Kleist.
He fought on the Prussian side in the Napoleonic Wars. He entered the Prussian civil service and moved to Berlin. Due to health problems, he retired in 1843 and devoted himself entirely to writing.
Eichendorff has always addressed the inner world of humans in his works.
His poems are about longing, wanderlust, and dreams, which he associates with nature.
Today, many of his poems, plays, and stories are among the classics.
Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts (freely translated: Memoirs of a Good-for-Nothing) is one of the foundational works of German romantic literature.
Eichendorff died in Neisse in 1857.