Ferdinand Freiligrath
Ferdinand Freiligrath was a prominent German poet born in 1810 in Detmold, near the Teutoborg Forest. He displayed exceptional academic talent during his early education but had to leave formal schooling at fifteen due to financial difficulties, subsequently working as a salesman. His career took a turn when he devoted himself to poetry in 1839, becoming an advocate for persecuted literary figures, including the famous Grimm brothers. Freiligrath's early poetry was heavily influenced by the works of Victor Hugo, showcasing exotic themes. However, his later writings became more politically charged, influenced by socialist ideas and thinkers like Karl Marx, with whom he collaborated in Belgium. One of his notable contributions to music is the poem "O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst," which was adapted by Franz Liszt into the well-known piano piece Liebesträume No. 3. Toward the end of his life, Freiligrath embraced nationalist sentiments, notably publishing "Hurra, Germania!" in response to the German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine. He passed away in 1876, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most significant poets of the 19th century in Europe.
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Ferdinand Freiligrath
Writer
- Born: June 17, 1810
- Birthplace: Detmold, Germany
- Died: March 18, 1876
- Place of death: Cannstatt, Germany
Biography
Born in Detmold, Germany, near the Teutoborg Forrest in 1810, Ferdinand Freiligrath grew up the son of a teacher. In the primary school where his father taught, he was considered to be an extraordinary pupil who, according to legend, was caught reading library books that he had been asked to shelve. At age fifteen, Freiligrath’s education was derailed as a result of financial constraints, and he became a salesman to earn money. From 1823 until 1836, he worked in Amsterdam and developed his interest in language by translating literature from French into German.
After a short stay as a bookkeeper in Barmen, Freiligrath became a full-time poet in 1839. Around this time he became an outspoken defendant of persecuted poets, including Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the famous collectors of fairy tales, who had been released amid protest from the University of Göttingen. In 1841 Freiligrath married Ida Melos, who was engaged to someone else at the time of their meeting. The two remained married until Freiligrath’s death.
Freiligrath original poems were of a highly exotic nature and were patterned after the work of the author Victor Hugo. Later in life, though, Freiligrath became a much more political writer and was greatly influenced by the Socialist thinker Karl Marx, with whom he worked closely in Belgium. One of his more tranquil poems, “O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst,” was adapted by the composer Franz Liszt in 1847 into Liebesträume No. 3, which would become one of Liszt’s most famous compositions for piano. A nationalist thinker in the twilight of his career, he published “Hurra, Germania!” celebrating the German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine in the early 1870’s. Ferdinand Freiligrath died in 1876 at the age of sixty-five after having established himself as one of the most prolific and widely read poets of nineteenth century Europe.