Dictionary.net

A German poet, philosopher, and critic; born in Dantzig, April 15, 1804; died at Berlin, Jan. 7, 1876. He graduated at Berlin, and after some experiences in journalism and public office, he became a professor at his alma mater. He first won attention with his "Antaeus", a work on speculative philosophy, written in opposition to Hegelianism. "The Turning-Point of Nineteenth-Century Philosophy", "Ariadne, the Tragic Art of the Greeks", "Roman Elegy", "The Theogony of Hesiod", and a variety of similar works, have earned him distinction. His poems include: "The Winds", an effort at Aristophanean comedy; "Queen Bertha", "Emperor Charles", and "Alboin", three epics of great beauty; "Poems of Fatherland", "The War of 1866", and other martial poems; "Otto von Wittelsbach", a drama. These have fully sustained the reputation made by his earlier work. His books on the history of literature are authoritative.