Georg Trakl (; 3 February 1887 – 3 November 1914) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

poet and the brother of the pianist

Grete Trakl Grete Trakl (full name Margarethe Jeanne Trakl, married name Grete Langen; 8 August 1891 – 21 September 1917) was an Austrian pianist and sister of the Austrian poet Georg Trakl. Family and ancestry Margarethe Jeanne Trakl was born in Salzb ...

. He is considered one of the most important Austrian

Expressionists Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radi ...

. He is perhaps best known for his poem "

Grodek "Grodek" is a poem about World War I written by Georg Trakl, an Austrian Expressionist poet. It was one of his last poems, if not his very last poem. Historical background Georg Trakl enlisted in the Austro-Hungarian army as a medic in 1914 at th ...

", which he wrote shortly before he died of a

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended. Retrieved on September 20, 2014.

Life and work

Trakl was born and lived the first 21 years of his life in

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

. His father, Tobias Trakl (11 June 1837, Ödenburg/

Sopron Sopron (; , ) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő. History Ancient times-13th century In the Iron Age a hilltop settlement with a burial ground existed in the neighbourhood of Sopron-Várhely. When ...

– 1910), was a hardware dealer from

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. His mother, Maria Catharina Halik (17 May 1852,

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; Lower_Austria.html" ;"title=".e. Lower Austria">.e. Lower Austria , ) is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administr ...

– 1925), was a housewife of partly

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

descent who struggled with

substance use disorder Substance use disorder (SUD) is the persistent use of drugs despite substantial harm and adverse consequences to self and others. Related terms include ''substance use problems'' and ''problematic drug or alcohol use''. Along with substance-ind ...

. She left her son's education to a French ''gouvernante'', who brought Trakl into contact with French language and literature at an early age. His sister

was a musical prodigy with whom he shared artistic endeavors. Poems allude to an incestuous relationship between the two. Trakl attended a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

elementary school, although his parents were

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

s. He matriculated in 1897 at the Salzburg Staatsgymnasium, where he had problems in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, and mathematics, for which he had to repeat one year and then leave without

Matura or its translated terms (''mature'', ''matur'', , , , , ', ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech ...

. At age 13, Trakl began to write poetry. After quitting high school, Trakl worked for a pharmacist for three years and decided to adopt pharmacy as a career; this facilitated access to drugs, such as morphine and cocaine. It was during this time that he experimented with

playwriting A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwright" ...

, but his two short plays, ''All Souls' Day'' and ''Fata Morgana'', were not successful. However, from May to December 1906, Trakl published four prose pieces in the ''

feuilleton A ''feuilleton'' (; a diminutive of , the leaf of a book) was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criticism, a chronicle ...

'' section of two Salzburg newspapers. All cover themes and settings found in his mature work. This is especially true of "Traumland" (Dreamland), in which a young man falls in love with a dying girl who is his cousin. In 1908, Trakl moved to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

to study pharmacy, and became acquainted with some local artists who helped him publish some of his poems. Trakl's father died in 1910, soon before Trakl received his pharmacy certificate; thereafter, Trakl enlisted in the army for a year-long stint. His return to civilian life in Salzburg was unsuccessful and he re-enlisted, serving as a pharmacist at a hospital in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

. There he became acquainted with a group of avant-garde artists involved with the well-regarded literary journal ''Der Brenner'', a journal that began the Kierkegaard revival in the German-speaking countries.

Ludwig von Ficker Ludwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ludwig (surname) Ludwig is a surname of German origin. It is derived from the Old High German given name Ludwig, w ...

, the editor of ''Der Brenner'' (and son of the historian

Julius von Ficker Julius Ficker or Julius von Ficker or Johann Kaspar Julius Ficker von Feldhaus (30 April 1826 – 10 June 1902) was a Roman Catholic Germans, German historian. In 1898 he was awarded the Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts.Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

during the summer of 1913. Ficker also brought Trakl to the attention of

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...

, who anonymously provided him with a sizable stipend so that he could concentrate on his writing. At the beginning of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Trakl served in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

and was sent as a medical officer to attend soldiers on the Eastern Front. Trakl suffered frequent bouts of depression. On one such occasion during the Battle of Gródek (fought in autumn 1914 at Gródek, then in the

Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Galicia or colloquially Austrian Poland, was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the historical region of Galicia (Eastern Europe), Galicia in Eastern Europe. The Cr ...

), Trakl had to steward the recovery of some ninety soldiers wounded in the fierce campaign against the Russians. He tried to shoot himself from the strain, but his comrades prevented him. Hospitalized at a military hospital in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

and observed closely, Trakl lapsed into worse depression and wrote to Ficker for advice. Ficker convinced him to communicate with Wittgenstein. Upon receiving Trakl's note, Wittgenstein travelled to the hospital, but found that Trakl had died of a cocaine overdose. Trakl was buried at Kraków's

Rakowicki Cemetery Rakowicki Cemetery (English: ; ) is a historic necropolis and a cultural heritage monument located on 26 Rakowicka Street in Kraków, Poland. It lies within the Administrative District No. 1 ''Stare Miasto'' meaning "Old Town" – distinct from ...

on 6 November 1914, but on 7 October 1925, as a result of the efforts by Ficker, his remains were transferred to the municipal cemetery of

Mühlau Mühlau is a municipality in the district of Muri in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History The earliest evidence of human settlement in Mühlau is the remains of a Roman villa. The modern municipality of Mühlau is first mentioned in ...

(where they now repose next to Ficker's).

Themes and motifs

While Trakl's very earliest poems are more philosophical and do not deal as much with the real world, most of his poems are either set in the evening or have evening as a motif. Silence is also a frequent motif in Trakl's poetry, and his later poems often feature the silent dead, who are unable to express themselves.

Bibliography

Selected titles * ''Gedichte'' (''Poems''), 1913 * ''Sebastian im Traum'' (''Sebastian in the Dream''), 1915 * ''Der Herbst des Einsamen'' (''The Autumn of The Lonely One''), 1920 * ''Gesang des Abgeschiedenen'' (''Song of the Departed''), 1933 Literary works in English * ''Decline: 12 Poems'', trans. Michael Hamburger, Guido Morris /

Latin Press The Latin Press was a small letterpress printing business (not, strictly speaking, a private press, although it is sometimes described as such), run by Douglas "Guido" Morris (1910–1980). He became interested in printing in his twenties and first ...

, 1952 * ''Twenty Poems of George Trakl'', trans. James Wright & Robert Bly, The Sixties Press, 1961 * ''Selected Poems'', ed. Christopher Middleton, trans. Robert Grenier ''et al.'', Jonathan Cape, 1968 * ''Georg Trakl: Poems'', trans. Lucia Getsi, Mundus Artium Press, 1973 * ''Georg Trakl: A Profile'', ed. Frank Graziano, Logbridge-Rhodes, 1983 * ''Song of the West: Selected Poems'', trans. Robert Firmage, North Point Press, 1988 * ''The Golden Goblet: Selected Poems of Georg Trakl, 1887–1914'', trans. Jamshid Shirani & A. Maziar, Ibex Publishers, 1994 * ''Autumn Sonata: Selected Poems of Georg Trakl'', trans. Daniel Simko, Asphodel Press, 1998 * ''Poems and Prose, Bilingual edition'', trans. Alexander Stillmark, Libris, 2001 ** Re-edition: ''Poems and Prose. A Bilingual Edition'', Northwestern University Press, 2005 * ''To the Silenced: Selected Poems'', trans. Will Stone,

Arc Publications Arc Publications, also known as Arc, is an independent publishing house in the UK, publishing contemporary poetry from new and established writers from the UK and abroad, specialising in the work of international poets writing in English and the ...

, 2006 * ''In an Abandoned Room: Selected Poems by Georg Trakl'', trans. Daniele Pantano, Erbacce Press, 2008 * ''The Last Gold of Expired Stars: Complete Poems 1908 - 1914'', trans. Jim Doss & Werner Schmitt, Loch Raven Press, 2011 * ''Song of the Departed: Selected Poems of George Trakl'', trans. Robert Firmage,

Copper Canyon Press Copper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, founded in 1972 by Sam Hamill, Tree Swenson, Bill O'Daly, and Jim Gautney, specializing exclusively in the publication of poetry. It is located in Port Townsend, Washington. Copper C ...

, 2012 *
Uncommon Poems and Versions by Georg Trakl", trans. James Reidel, Mudlark No. 53, 2014
* ''Poems'', trans. James Reidel, Seagull Books, 2015 * ''Sebastian Dreaming'', trans. James Reidel, Seagull Books, 2016 * ''A Skeleton Plays Violin'', trans. James Reidel, Seagull Books, 2017 * ''Autumnal Elegies: Complete Poetry'', trans. Michael Jarvie, 2019 *''Surrender to Night: The Collected Poems'' ''of Georg Trakl'', trans. Will Stone, Pushkin Collection 2019 *''Collected Poems'', trans. James Reidel, Seagull Books 2019 *''Georg Trakl: The Damned'', trans. Daniele Pantano, Broken Sleep Books 2023 Critical studies * Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, ''Blossoming Thorn: Georg Trakl's Poetry of Atonement'', Bucknell University Press, 1987, * Richard Millington, ''Snow from Broken Eyes: Cocaine in the Lives and Works of Three Expressionist Poets'', Peter Lang AG, 2012 * Richard Millington, ''The Gentle Apocalypse: Truth and Meaning in the Poetry of Georg Trakl'', Camden House, 2020 * Hans Joachim Schliep, ''on the Table Bread and wine- poetry and Religion in the works of Georg Trakl'', Lambert Academic Publishing (LAP), 2020,

Legacy

Poetry of Trakl in music

* Norwegian band Ulver uses a translated version of Trakl’s ''Helian'' on the song named ''Helian (Trakl)'' from the 2024 album ''Liminal Animals'' * Experimental black metal artist Jute Gyte uses the entirety of Trakl’s “Helian” on the (2021) album with the same name * The band Dead Eyed Sleeper uses Trakl's poem ''Menschheit'' as lyrics to the song of the same name, on the 2016 album
Gomorrh
'. *Paul Hindemith: Die Junge Magd - Sechs Gedichte von Georg Trakl für eine Altstimme mit Flöte, Klarinette und Streichquartett, opus 23 Nr.2 * ''6 Lieder nach Gedichten von Georg Trakl, Op. 14'' by

Anton Webern Anton Webern (; 3 December 1883 – 15 September 1945) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and musicologist. His music was among the most radical of its milieu in its lyric poetry, lyrical, poetic concision and use of then novel atonality, aton ...

. *

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...

: ''Revelation and Fall'', Monodrama for soprano and instrumental ensemble, 1966. *

Wilhelm Killmayer Wilhelm Killmayer (21 August 1927 – 20 August 2017) was a German composer of classical music, a conductor and an academic teacher of composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München from 1973 to 1992. He composed symphonies and so ...

set several of his poems in two song cycles, ' in 1993 and ' in 1996. *

Heinz Winbeck Heinz Winbeck (11 February 1946 – 26 March 2019) was a German composer, conductor and academic teacher. He is known for five large-scale symphonies, which he programmatically subtitled, such as " Tu Solus" and " De Profundis". As a composition ...

: Symphony No. 3 ''Grodek'' for alto, speaker, and orchestra (1988) * '' Sebastian im Traum'', 2004 orchestral composition by

Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large List of compositions by Hans Werner Henze, oeuvre is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Igor Stravinsky, Stravinsky, Mu ...

based on Trakl's work. * Russian composer

David Tukhmanov David Fyodorovich Tukhmanov PAR (, was born July 20, 1940) is a Soviet and Russian composer. People's Artist of Russia (2000), State Prize of Russian Federation (2003, 2019). Biography Tukhmanov is a son of an Armenian engineer Fyodor David ...

wrote a triptych for mezzo-soprano and piano titled ''Dream of Sebastian, or Saint Night'', which is based on the poems of Trakl. The first performance took place in 2007. *''Kristalliner Schrei'', a 2014 setting of three poems from ''Gedichte'' for mezzo-soprano and string quartet, by Henry Breneman Stewart *French composer

Denise Roger Denise Isabelle Roger (21 January 1924 – 15 November 2005) was an award-winning French composer who wrote both instrumental and vocal works. Roger was born in Colombes, Hauts-de-Seine in the northwest suburbs of Paris. She entered the Paris Cons ...

(1924-2005) used Trakl’s texts in her songs “Rondel” and “Gesang einer gefangenen Amsel.” * ''Trakl Gedichte'' by

Philippe Manoury Philippe Manoury (born 19 June 1952) is a French composer. Biography Manoury was born in Tulle and began composition studies at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris with Gérard Condé and Max Deutsch. He continued his studies from 1974 to 1 ...

published by

Éditions Durand Éditions Durand are a music publishing company of French origin, among the most important in the field of classical music, which includes three previously independent publishers: * Éditions Durand — the oldest of the three companies — estab ...

* ''Wild Winter: Lament V'' by Thea Musgrave

Poetry of Trakl in dance

* ''Silence Spoken: ...quiet answers to dark questions'', an intersemiotic translation of five poems by Trakl into dance, choreographed by Angela Kaiser, 2015.

Movies related to Georg Trakl

* ''Tabu - Es ist die Seele ein Fremdes auf Erden'' (2012)

References

External links

* Photos of the graves of Ludwig von Ficker (left) and Georg Trakl (right) at the cemetery of Innsbruck-Mühlau
Photo 1

Photo 2
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trakl, Georg 1887 births 1914 suicides Writers from Salzburg 20th-century Austrian poets Poets from Austria-Hungary Writers from Austria-Hungary Austrian male poets Austrian World War I poets Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Expressionist poets German-language poets Modernist poets Drug-related suicides in Poland Austrian people of Hungarian descent Austrian people of Czech descent 20th-century Austrian male writers Austro-Hungarian Army officers Military personnel who died by suicide 1914 deaths People from the Duchy of Salzburg