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 Matthias Claudius (1740 - 1815) - Hamburg, Germany
N 53° 34.394 E 010° 04.298
32U E 570960 N 5936575
Grave of the poet and journalist Matthias Claudius in Wandsbek a district of Hamburg.
Waymark Code: WMT7PA
Location: Hamburg, Germany
Date Posted: 10/10/2016
Views: 8
Matthias Claudius (15 August 1740 – 21 January 1815) was a German poet and journalist, otherwise known by the penname of “Asmus”.
Life:
Claudius was born at Reinfeld, near Lübeck, and studied at Jena. He spent the greater part of his life in the town of Wandsbeck, where he earned his first literary reputation by editing from 1771 to 1775, a newspaper called Der Wandsbecker Bote (The Wandsbeck Messenger) (Wandsbeck until the year 1879 still written with "ck". Today only with "k".), in which he published a large number of prose essays and poems. They were written in pure and simple German, and appealed to the popular taste; in many there was a vein of extravagant humour or even burlesque, while others were full of quiet meditation and solemn sentiment. In his later days, perhaps through the influence of Klopstock, with whom he had formed an intimate acquaintance, Claudius became strongly pietistic, and the graver side of his nature showed itself. In 1814 he moved to Hamburg, to the house of his son-in-law, the publisher Friedrich Christoph Perthes, where he died on 21 January 1815.
Works:
Claudius's poem Death and the Maiden was used by composer Franz Schubert in 1817 for one of his most celebrated songs, which in turn became the basis for the 1824 string quartet of the same name.
Claudius's collected works were published under the title of Asmus omnia sua secum portans, oder Sämtliche Werke des Wandsbecker Boten (8 vols., 1775–1812; 13th edition, by C. Redich, 2 vols., 1902). His biography has been written by Wilhelm Herbst (4th ed., 1878). See also M. Schneidereit, M. Claudius, seine Weltanschauung und Lebensweisheit (1898).
Poems:
"Abendlied (de)" or "Der Mond ist aufgegangen" ("Evening Song" or "The moon has risen")
"Der Mensch lebt und bestehet", set to music by Max Reger
"Christiane"
"Die Sternseherin Lise" (Lise the astrologer)
"Die Liebe" (Love)
"Der Tod (Death)
"Ein Wiegenlied bei Mondschein zu singen" (A lullaby to sing in moonlight)
"Täglich zu singen" (To be sung every day)
"Kriegslied (de)" (Song of war)
"Der Frühling. Am ersten Maimorgen" (The Spring. On the first morning in May)
"Der Säemann säet den Samen" (The sower sows the seeds)
"Der Tod und das Mädchen" (The Death and the maiden), set to music by Schubert
"Wir pflügen und wir streuen" (We plough the fields and scatter - sung in Germany and England as a harvest festival hymn)
Source: Wikipedia
Description:
Poet and journalist, best known for his "Evening Song" aka "The moon has risen".
THE MOON is risen, beaming,
The golden stars are gleaming
So brightly in the skies;
The hushed, black woods are dreaming,
The mists, like phantoms seeming,
From meadows magically rise.
How still the world reposes,
While twilight round it closes,
So peaceful and so fair!
A quiet room for sleeping,
Into oblivion steeping
The day’s distress and sober care.
Look at the moon so lonely!
One half is shining only,
Yet she is round and bright;
Thus oft we laugh unknowing
At things that are not showing,
That still are hidden from our sight.
We, with our proud endeavour,
Are poor vain sinners ever,
There’s little that we know.
Frail cobwebs we are spinning,
Our goal we are not winning,
But straying farther as we go.
God, make us see Thy glory,
Distrust things transitory,
Delight in nothing vain!
Lord, here on earth stand by us,
To make us glad and pious,
And artless children once again!
Grant that, without much grieving,
This world we may be leaving
In gentle death at last.
And then do not forsake us,
But into heaven take us,
Lord God, oh, hold us fast!
Lie down, my friends, reposing,
Your eyes in God’s name closing.
How cold the night-wind blew!
Oh God, Thine anger keeping,
Now grant us peaceful sleeping,
And our sick neighbour too.
Date of birth: 08/15/1740
Date of death: 01/21/1815
Area of notoriety: Literature
Marker Type: Headstone
Setting: Outdoor
Fee required?: No
Web site: [Web Link]
Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Not listed
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