Adelbert von Chamisso

Adelbert von Chamisso is a poet and a German Botaniste of French origin, born Louis Charles Adélaïde de Chamissot the January 30th 1781 in the Château of Boncourt in the Champagne close to Châlons-in-Champagne and dead the August 21st 1838 with Berlin.

It was taken along by his parents in emigration: they fled the French revolution and settled with Berlin. In 1796, the Chamisso young person obtains a station of page near the queen. In 1798, it enters, like sign, in a Prussian regiment of infantry . It served to with it some time in Prussia.

Although its family is authorized to return in France, Chamisso prefers to remain in Germany to continue its military career there. It received only one weak education but it devotes all these moments of freedom to study assiduously. With Karl August Varnhagen von Ense (1785-1858), it founds in 1803 the Berliner Musenalmanach , in which it makes appear its first poems. But the company goes bankrupt soon and stops because of the war in 1806. But that enabled him to be made known like young poet near the literary circles.

He becomes lieutenant in 1801 and, in 1805, accompanies his regiment with Hameln. Chamisso sees the capitulation of the Prussian army the following year. Released on word, it goes in France but his/her two parents died, it then goes back to Berlin to the autumn 1807. It leaves the following army with the beginning of the year. Without housing and employment, disillusioned and discouraged, he saw in Berlin until in 1810, when, thanks to the intervention of an old family friend, he returns in France after the Paix of Tilsitt, and obtains a post of professor with the college of the Rock on Yon (then called Napoleon the Vendée).

He attends the circle of Madam de Staël and follows it at the time of its exile to Coppet in Suisse. There it is devoted to the Botanique and remains there nearly two years. In 1812, it goes back to Berlin where it continues its scientific research. During the summer of the animated year 1813, it writes its novel, an original book, Peter Schlemihl (transl. by NR. Martin, 1838), the history of a man who lost his shade and which runs the world to find it, its most famous work. This novel is translated soon in many languages. Chamisso wrote it to distract and amuse the children of its friend Ferdinand Hitzig (1807-1875).

In 1815, it embarks as botanist on the Russian vessel Rurik , ordered by Otto von Kotzebue (1787-1846) the son of the writer August von Kotzebue (1761-1819). The Rurik then starts a scientific voyage around the world. It wrote the scientific part of this voyage. Chamisso publishes the newspaper of its voyage in 1821 under the title of Tagebuch .

On its return in 1818, it obtains a post of guard in the Botanical garden of Berlin and is made member of the Academy of Science of the city. It Marie in 1820.

Chamisso joins again with poetry at 48 years. In 1829, in collaboration with Gustav Schwab (1792-1850), then starting from 1832 with Franz von Gaudy (1800-1840), it ressuscite the Deutsche Musenalmanach , in which its poems will be published. Its Works , the German majority, is composed of writings of the most various kinds, botany, linguistics, novels, poetries; they had a great success in Germany. It reigns in its poetries a feeling of sadness which seems to be born from the distance where it was native ground.

The scientific work of Chamisso is not very important. It is in particular necessary to quote Bemerkungen und Ansichten , which appears incomplete in the Entdeckungsreise of O. von Kotzebue (Weimar, 1821) then in the integral version in Gesammelte Werke of Chamisso (1836). Übersicht DER nutzbarsten und schädlichsten Gewächse in Norddeutschland (1829) is a work of good reputation for the quality of its treatment. Its most important work, in collaboration with Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal (1794-1866), is the description of the principal trees of the Mexico (1830-1831).

It is undoubtedly its poetic work which is worth glory with Chamisso. Its cycle of poem Frauenliebe und - leben ( love and life of a woman ) (1830), put in music by Robert Schumann (opus 42), is particularly famous. It is also necessary to announce Schloss Boncourt and Salas there Gomez . When his work is considered, it should be remembered that the German is not its native tongue.

The subjects which it chooses are, generally, dark. Even in its merriest works and lightest, sadness or the satire is always present. He likes to treat the human feelings, like the love or revenge. Die Löwenbraut can be taken in example to illustrate its power and its étrangereté or Vergeltung for the extreme precision of its writing.

The first complete edition of works of Chamisso is published by Julius Eduard Hitzig (1780-1849) (6 volumes in 1836). Its biography is also signed J.E. Hitzig, " Leben und Briefe von Adelbert von Chamisso (1881).

The price Adelbert von Chamisso, decreed by the foundation Robert Bosch, reward each year of the writers of German expression for which German is not the native tongue. Since its creation in 1985, this prize was awarded to 45 authors of 20 different countries. The price is delivered by the Bavarian Academy of the Art schools.

See too

the giant Taro of the marshes which bears its name ( Cyrtosperma chamissonis ).
In Romantic German , Desclée de Brouwer, 1956 and 1963, rééd. Phébus, 2004, Armel Guerne present a translation of the Fable adalbertine and the true barber .

External bond

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