Heinrich Heine

Heinrich Heine (December 13, 1797-February 17, 1856) was born into a Jewish family, but converted to Lutheranism in 1825 due to anti-Semetism in the Prussian government. His formative years were largely under French influence due to growing up during the time of the Napoleonic Wars and greatly admired Napoleon for promoting revolutionary ideals of liberty and equality. Heine attended the University of Bonn, University of Göttingen, and the University of Berlin. Heine left Berlin in 1823 to join his family in Lüneburg, where he began to write Die Heimkehr (“The Homecoming''). His poetry, particularly from his early period, has been set to music by composers such as Robert Schumann, Franz Schubert, Piotr Tchaikovsky, and Emanuel Kania. Heine’s later periods were marked by satire, irony, and sarcasm. He became increasingly critical of the Prussian government and as a result, faced a significant amount of censorship. Some major works by Heine include William Ratcliff, Lyrisches Intermezzo (poetic cycle), Reisebilder (“Travel Pictures”), Buch der Leider (“Book of Songs”), and Atta Troll: Ein Sommernachtstraum (Atta Troll: A Midsummer Night’s Dream). Heine spent his last eight years bedbound due to chronic lead poisoning, but continued to write during this period. He died in 1856 and was interred in the Paris Cimetière de Montmartre.

Works included: “Oto płakałem we śnie,” “Dziewczę z buzią jak malina”