Baron Detlev von Liliencron born Friedrich Adolf Axel Detlev Liliencron Britannica Biography
(3 June 1844 in

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland pe ...

22 July 1909) was a German lyric poet and novelist from

Biography

Liliencron was the son of Louis (Ludwig)

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...

von Liliencron and Adeline von Harten. He entered the Prussian army and took part in the campaigns of 1866 and 1870–71 ( Franco-Prussian War), in both of which he was wounded. In 1875, he retired with the rank of captain and spent some time in

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

(1875 to 1877), afterwards settling at Kellinghusen in

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label= Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germ ...

, where he remained until 1887. After some time at

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, he settled in Altona and later at Alt-Rahlstedt, now a part of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

Assessment

Liliencron was one of the most eminent of German lyric poets of his time; his ''Adjutantenritte'', with its fresh original style, broke with the well-worn literary conventions then prevalent which had been handed down from the middle of the century.

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recog ...

, among others, was heavily influenced by Liliencron's poems. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition, Liliencron's work is somewhat uneven, since he lacked the sustained power which makes a prose writer successful.

Music

His poems were set to music, such as "Auf dem Kirchhofe" by

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

as No. 4 of his ''Fünf Lieder'', Op. 105.

Works

He first attracted attention by the volume of poems, ''Adjutantenritte und andere Gedichte'' (1883), which was followed by several unsuccessful dramas, a volume of short stories, ''Eine Sommerschlacht'' (1886), and a novel ''Breide Hummelsbüttel'' (1887). Other collections of short stories appeared under the titles ''Unter flatternden Fahnen'' (1888). ''Der Mäcen'' (1889), ''Krieg und Frieden'' (1891); of lyric poetry in 1889, 1890 (''Der Heidegänger und andere Gedichte''), 1893, and 1903 (''Bunte Beute''). Interesting, too, is the humorous epic ''Poggfred'' (1896; 2nd ed. 1904). Liliencron's complete works were published in 14 volumes (1904–1905); his ''Gedichte'' having been previously collected in four volumes under the titles ''Kampf und Spiele'', ''Kämpfe und Ziele'', ''"Nebel und Sonne'' and ''Bunte Beute'' (1897–1903).

Selected poems in translation

* H. Fiedler (trans.): ''Book of German Verse. Luther to Liliencron''. Oxford 1916.

References

Sources

* H. Stolte: ''Detlev von Liliencron.'' Husum 1980 * E. Maletzke: ''Detlev von Liliencron. Poet und Schuldenbaron''. Neumünster 2011.

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Liliencron, Detlev von 1844 births 1909 deaths Barons of Germany German nobility Writers from Kiel People from the Duchy of Holstein German male poets 19th-century German poets 19th-century German novelists 19th-century German male writers