Background
Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse was born Mar. 15, 1830, in Berlin. In 1854, at the invitation of King Maximilian II, he settled in Munich. He often visited Italy, a country which inspired him throughout his life.
Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse was born Mar. 15, 1830, in Berlin. In 1854, at the invitation of King Maximilian II, he settled in Munich. He often visited Italy, a country which inspired him throughout his life.
He studied Classical and Romance philology at the Universities of Berlin and Bonn.
Heyse is best known today for his short stories (Novellen). His first collection of Novellen (1855), which contained the popular L'Arrabbiata, gained recognition for him throughout Germany. His stories, though often lacking in depth, are polished in form. Not only settings but also characters and events are for the most part drawn from Italy and southern France, in either contemporary or historical times. Many of Heyse's works are psychological studies of the loves and conflicts of aristocratic characters.
As a writer of novels (Kinder der Welt, 1873; Im Paradiese, 1875), and as a dramatist, Heyse enjoyed little lasting success. His lyric poetry, because of its attention to form, enjoyed a short-lived popularity among aesthetes; his translations from the Italian, however, are recognized as outstanding accomplishments.
