Johann Heinrich Voss
Johann Heinrich Voss was a notable German poet and translator, born on February 20, 1751, in Sommersdorf, Mecklenburg. Coming from a modest background, he initially worked as a tutor in Ankershagen, where he developed a passion for poetry under the influence of a local pastor, Ernst Theodor Brückner. Voss's literary career began in earnest after he submitted his poems to the Göttinger Musenalmanach, where he gained recognition and later became its editor. He was an influential member of the Göttingen Hain, a group of poets connected to the University of Göttingen. Voss is particularly acclaimed for his translations of classical texts, including his renowned German verse translations of Homer's works, which he started as a means to better understand the original texts. His translation of the "Odyssey" was published in 1781, and he also translated works by Virgil, Ovid, and Horace. In addition to his translations, Voss wrote lyric poetry, with his most famous piece being the pastoral idyll "Luise." He passed away on March 29, 1826, in Heidelberg, leaving behind a legacy that contributed significantly to German literature.
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Johann Heinrich Voss
Poet
- Born: February 20, 1751
- Birthplace: Sommersdorf, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Germany
- Died: March 29, 1826
- Place of death: Heidelberg, Baden, Germany
Biography
German poet Johann Heinrich Voss was born on February 20, 1751, in Sommersdorf, Mecklenburg, in what is now Germany. His father was a farmer. He attended the equivalent of high school, at great cost to his rather poor family. He wanted to go to university but did not have the means. He secured a position as a tutor and moved to Ankershagen in 1769. Voss highly detested the position and his treatment, but he remained there for three years. It was during this time that he met Ernst Theodor Brückner, a local pastor, who introduced him to Shakespeare and rationalism, and encourage his writing of poetry; this friendship would be lifelong.
In 1771, after reading the Göttinger Musenalmanach, edited by Heinrich Christian Boie, and believing that his poems were as good as those published within, he sent three poems to Boie. Boie accepted one poem, “Die Rückkehr” (the return), and published it in 1772. Boie was instrumental throughout Voss’s life, helping Voss get to Göttingen, and providing him with an a position of stature as the editor of Musenalmanach, thus enabling Voss to marry Boie’s sister, Ernestine.
Voss moved to Göttingen in 1772 and studied theology and philology. He became a leading member of a group of poets called the Göttingen Hain, which was composed mainly of students from the University of Göttingen. He was headmaster of schools at Otterndorf, Hanover, and then at Eutin from 1778 to 1802. After leaving Eutin, he worked as a private scholar in Jena, and then in 1805 he became a professor of classical philology at Heidelberg.
Voss was primarily known for his translations of Homer. He stumbled into this occupation as a sidebar to his studies. He had a hard time comprehending what he was reading, so he developed the habit of translating and forming them into German verse so that he could understand them. According to the Dictionary of Literary Biography, his first Homeric translations into German appeared in his 1776 translation of Thomas Blackwell’s Enquiry Into the Life and Writings of Homer, using German hexameters. He began translating the Odyssey while at Otterndorf; his completed translation of the text was published in 1781. He also translated works by Virgil, Ovid, and Horace, although these were less highly regarded. His translation of The Thousand and One Nights was published between 1781 and 1785, and he and his sons translated and published Shakespeare’s plays between 1818 and 1829.
Voss was also a writer of lyric poetry, including songs, odes, elegies, and pastoral idylls. His collected poems were published in 1802; his most famous poem was the pastoral idyll “Luise.” In poetic form he was a strict rationalist, and he objected to the style of the younger Romantics. Voss was the editor of the Göttinger Musenalmanach for twenty- five years. He died in Heidelberg, Baden, Germany, on March 29, 1826.