Background
Baron was born on March 10, 1788.
Baron was born on March 10, 1788.
Early education was from private tutors; in 1801 he entered the Catholic Gymnasium at Breslau, and in 1805 began the study of law at the University of Halle. The coming of Napoleon's armies closed this university in 1806, and Eichendorff returned home. He spent two years at Heidelberg, associating intimately with Clemens Brentano, Joseph von Görres, Gorres, and other leaders of the Romantic movement. After two further years of study at Berlin and Vienna, Eichendorff enlisted in the famous LützowLutzow Jägerkorps, Jagerkorps, in response to the King of Prussia's call to arms against Napoleon, and served until the end of the war in 1815.
Despite the pressure of his government work, Eichendorff published a considerable body of prose and poetry. He is the author of a long and typically Romantic novel, Ahnung und Gegenwart (1815), five plays, eight Novellen, several translations from CalderónCalderon and other Spanish authors, two works of literary criticism, three short poetic epics, and a volume of lyric poetry (1837). One particular prose work of Eichendorff deserves more than casual mention: the rollicking and joyous story Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts (1826), the tale of a nameless but lovable vagabond whose romantic adventures have delighted generations of readers.
In the field of lyric poetry Eichendorff unquestionably ranks with the greatest of the Romantics. His lyrics have a freshness and optimism which set him apart from other poets of the period. Above all he is the poet of nature; the forests and mountains of his Silesian homeland were the main sources of his poetic inspiration throughout his life. The zest for earthly life so characteristic of his early years yields in later poems to a fervent longing for heaven, but his deep and simple piety speaks eloquently in poems from every period of his creative activity. Eichendorff's greatest charm lies in his power to reproduce in felicitous language the atmosphere (Stimmung) appropriate to a given situation. Some of his many sonnets are among the very finest in German; in his other lyrics the style is usually similar to that of the Volkslied. So musical is his verse that it has been the basis of over 1,700 musical compositions, of which the best known are by Robert Schumann. The basic note that sounds throughout Eichendorff's poetry is the harmonious union of his own spirit with the world of God and nature.
In pleasing contrast to many of his contemporaries in the field of literature, Eichendorff was normal, balanced, and wholesome in his character and behavior. His writings reflect these characteristics.
In 1815 Baron was married.