Jean Paul

Jean Paul (March 21, 1763 – November 14, 1825), born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, was a famous German humorist. Image File history File links This file has been listed on Wikipedia:Images and media for deletion. ... March 21 is the 80th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (81st in leap years). ... 1763 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ... 1825 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Life and work

Jean Paul was born at Wunsiedel, in the Fichtelgebirge mountains (Bavaria). His father was a schoolmaster and organist at Wunsiedel, but in 1765 he became a pastor at Joditz near Hof, and in 1776 at Schwarzenbach, where he died in 1779. After attending the gymnasium at Hof, Richter went in 1781 to the university of Leipzig. His original intention was to enter his father's profession, but theology did not interest him, and he soon devoted himself wholly to the study of literature. Unable to maintain himself at Leipzig he returned in 1784 to Hof, where he lived with his mother. From 1787 to 1789 he served as a tutor at Tüpen, a village near Hof; and from 1790 to 1794 he taught the children of several families in a school he had founded in Schwarzenbach. Wunsiedel is a place in the district,, Germany. ... The Fichtelgebirge is a mountain range in northeastern Bavaria, Germany. ... The Free State of Bavaria  (German: Freistaat Bayern), with an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12. ... Hof is a city located on the banks of the Saale in the northeastern corner of the German state of Bavaria, in the Franconia region, hard by the Czech border and the forested Fichtelgebirge upland region. ... The University of Leipzig (Universität Leipzig), located in Leipzig in the Free State and former Kingdom of Saxony, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. ... Theology is reasoned discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). It can also refer to the study of other religious topics. ... 1784 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Hof is the name of the following places: a city in Bavaria, Germany: see Hof, Germany a district in Bavaria, Germany: see Hof (district) a municipality in Vestfold, Norway : see Hof, Norway a former municipality in Hedmark, Norway. ... 1790 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1794 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... There are things that have the name Schwarzenbach: // Places In Austria Schwarzenbach (Niederösterreich), in the Wiener Neustadt-Land district Schwarzenbach an der Pielach, in Lower Austria Schwarzenbach (Eppenstein) , a part of Eppenstein in Styria Schwarzenbach (Sankt Veit), a part of Sankt Veit in Lower Austria Schwarzenbach (Opponitz), a part...

Richter began his career as a man of letters with Grönländische Prozesse (‘Greenlandic processes’) and Auswahl aus des Teufels Papieren (‘selection from the Devil's papers’), the former of which was issued in 1783-84, the latter in 1789. These works were not received with much favour, and in later life Richter himself had little sympathy with their satirical tone. His next book, Die unsichtbare Loge (‘the invisible lodge’), a romance, published in 1793, had all the qualities which were soon to make him famous, and its power was immediately recognized by some of the best critics of the day. The Devil is the name given to a supernatural entity, who, in most Western religions, is the central embodiment of evil. ... A typical gate keepers lodge at Mentmore, Buckinghamshire, England Lodge has several meanings that, in most cases, relates to a place of meeting: A place of residence, often informal or recreational, rather then permanent domicil A hunting lodge- some are true palaces, where a court and its unting guests...

Encouraged by the reception of Die unsichtbare Loge, he sent forth in rapid succession Hesperus (1795)—which became the greatest hit since Goethe's Die Leiden des jungen Werthers and made Jean Paul famous—, Biographische Belustigungen unter der Gehirnschale einer Riesin (‘biographical amusements under the brainpan of a she-giant’; 1796), Leben des Quintus Fixlein (‘life of Quintus Fixlein’; 1796), Blumen- Frucht- und Dornenstücke, oder Ehestand, Tod und Hochzeit des Armenadvokaten Siebenkäs (‘flower pieces, fruit pieces and thorn pieces, or wedlock, dead and marriage of the pauper advocat Sevencheese’; 1796-97), Der Jubelsenior (‘the jubilee senior’; 1798), and Das Kampaner Tal (‘the Campanian valley’; 1797). This series of writings won for Richter an assured place in German literature, and during the rest of his life every work he produced was welcomed by a wide circle of admirers. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (pronounced [gø tə]) (August 28, 1749–March 22, 1832) was a German writer, politician, humanist, scientist, and philosopher. ... Die Leiden des jungen Werther (In English: The Sorrows of Young Werther) is a loosely autobiographical novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, first published in 1774. ...

After his mother's death he went to Leipzig in 1797, and in the following year to Weimar, where he had much pleasant intercourse with Herder, by whom he was warmly appreciated. He did not become intimate with Goethe and Schiller, to both of whom his literary methods were repugnant; but in Weimar, as elsewhere, his remarkable conversational powers and his genial manners made him a favorite in general society. In 1801 he married Caroline Meyer, whom he met in Berlin in 1800. They lived first at Meiningen, then at Coburg; and finally, in 1804, they settled at Bayreuth. 1797 (MDCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 11-day-slower Julian calendar). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Johann Gottfried Herder Johann Gottfried von Herder (August 25, 1744 – December 18, 1803), German poet, critic, theologian, and philosopher, is best known for his influence on authors such as Goethe and the role he played in the development of the larger cultural movement known as romanticism. ... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. ... Friedrich Schiller Schiller redirects here. ... Meiningen is a town in Germany - located in the Southern part of the state Thuringia in the district of Schmalkalden-Meiningen. ... Coburg is a city located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Central-West Germany. ... Bayreuth is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Frankish Alb and the Fichtelgebirge. ...

Here Richter spent a quiet; simple and happy life, constantly occupied with his work as a writer. In 1808 he was fortunately delivered from anxiety as to outward necessities by the prince-primate, Karl Theodor von Dalberg, who gave him a pension of a thousand forms. Before settling at Bayreuth, Richter had published his most ambitious novel, Titan (1800-3); and this was followed by Flegeljahre (‘lout years’; 1804-5), two works which he himself regarded as his masterpieces. His later imaginative works were Dr. Katzenbergers Badereise (‘Dr. Katzenberger's bath voyage’; 1809), Des Feldpredigers Schmelzle Reise nach Flätz (‘the field preacher Schmelzle's voyage to Flätz’; 1809), Leben Fibels (‘life of Fibel’; 1812), and Der Komet, oder Nikolaus Markgraf (‘the comet, or Nikolaus Markgraf’; 1820-22). In Vorschule der Aesthetik (‘preschool of aesthetics’; 1804) he expounded his ideas on art; he discussed the principles of education in Levana, oder Erziehungslehre (‘Levana, or education lore’; 1807); and the opinions suggested by current events he set forth in Friedenspredigt (‘piece sermon’; 1808), Dämmerungen für Deutschland (‘dawn for Germany’; 1809), Mars und Phöbus Thronwechsel im Jahre 1814 (‘Mars' and Phoebus' throne change in the year 1814’; 1814), and Politische Fastenpredigen (‘political fast sermons’; 1817). In his last years he began Wahrheit aus Jean Pauls Lebens (‘the truth from Jean Paul's life’); to which additions from his papers and other sources were made after his death by C. Otto and E. Fürster. In 1821 Richter lost his only son, a youth of the highest promise; and he never quite recovered from this shock. He lost his sight in 1824 He died of dropsy; at Bayreuth, on the 14th November 1825. Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg (1744–February 10, 1817) was archbishop-elector of Mainz, arch-chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, and afterwards primate of the Confederation of the Rhine and grand-duke of Frankfort. ... The coronation banquet for George IV 1821 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Edema (BE: oedema, formerly known as dropsy) is swelling of any organ or tissue due to accumulation of excess fluid. ...

Characteristics of his work

Schiller said of Richter that he would have been worthy of admiration if he had made as good use of his riches as other men made of their poverty. And it is true that in the form of his writings he never did full justice to his great powers. In working out his conceptions he found it impossible to restrain the expression of any powerful feeling by which he might happen to be moved. He was equally unable to resist the temptation to bring in strange facts or notions which occurred to him. Hence every one of his works is irregular in structure, and his style lacks directness, precision and grace. But his imagination was one of extraordinary fertility, and he had a surprising power of suggesting great thoughts by means of the simplest incidents and relations. The love of nature was one of Richter's deepest pleasures; his expressions of religious feelings are also marked by a truly poetic spirit, for to Richter visible things were but the symbols of the invisible, and in the unseen realities alone he found elements which seemed to him to give significance and dignity to human life. His humour, the medt distinctive of his qualities, cannot be dissociated from the other characteristics of his writings. It mingled with all his thoughts, and to some extent determined the form in which he embodied even his most serious reflections. That it is sometimes extravagant and grotesque cannot be disputed, but it is never harsh nor vulgar, and generally it springs naturally from the perception of the incongruity between ordinary facts and ideal laws. Richter's personality was deep and many-sided; with all his wilfulness and eccentricity he was a man of a pure and sensitive spirit, with a passionate scorn for pretence and an ardent enthusiasm for truth and goodness.

Reception

During his life time, Jean Paul was a bestselling author. After his death, however, his popularity faded away. This might also have been caused by the negative verdicts of Goethe and Schiller on his works. Since the 20th century, he is again counted among the greatest German writers, though he is considered difficult to read due to his exhuberant style and to his satirical sidenotes. He does not belong to the literary canon that is usually read in the Gymnasium. A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on a list of top-sellers. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... A gymnasium (pronounced /gim-/ as opposed to /jim-/) is a type of school of secondary education in parts of Europe. ...

19th century works on Jean Paul

Richter's Sämtliche Werke (Complete Works) appeared in 1826-28 in 60 volumes, to which were added 5 volumes of Literarischer Nachlass ('literary bequest') in 1836-38; a second edition was published in 1840-42 (33 volumes); a third in 1860 62 (24 volumes). The last complete edition is that edited by R. Gottschall (60 parts, 1879). Editions of selected works appeared in 16 volumes (1865), in Kürschner's Deutsche Nationalliteratur (edited by P. Nerrlich, 6 vols., 388-487), &c. The chief collections of Richter's correspondence are: A literary executor is a person with decision-making power in respect of the literary estate of an author who has died. ... Rudolf von Gottschall (September 30, 1823 - March 21, 1909), was a German poet and dramatist. ...

• Jean Pauls Briefe an F. H. Jacobi (1828)
• Briefwechsel Jean Pauls mit seinem Freunde C. Otto (1829-. 33)
• Briefwechsel zwischen H. Voss und Jean Paul (1833)
• Briefe an eine Jugendfriundin (1858)
• P. Nerrlich, Jean Pauls Briefwechsel mit seiner Frau und seinem Freunde Otto (1902).

See further:

• the continuation of Richter's autobiography by C. Otto and E. Fürster (1826-33)
• H. Dring, J. P. F. Richters Leben und Charakteristik (1830-32)
• Richard Otto Spazier, JPF Richter: ein biographischer Commentar zu dessen Werken (5 vols, 1833)
• E. Fürster, Denkwürdigkeiten aus dem Leben von J. P. F. Richter (1863)
• Paul Nerrlich, Jean Paul und seine Zeitgenossen (1876)
• J. Firmery, Étude sur la vie et les œuvres de J. P. F. Richter (1886)
• P. Nerrlich, Jean Paul, sein Leben und seine Werke (1889)
• Ferdinand Josef Schneider, Jean Pauls Altersdichtung (1901); and Jean Pauls Jugend und erstes Auftreten in der Literatur (1906).

Richter's more important works have been translated into English, Quintus Fixlein and Schmelzles Reise, by Carlyle; see also Carlyle's two essays on Richter. The most familiar view of Carlyle is as the bearded sage with a penetrating gaze. ...

Quotations

• Joy is inexhaustible, not the seriousness.
• Many young people get worked up about opinions that they will share in 20 years.
• Too much trust is a foolishness, too much distrust a tragedy.

List of works

• Leben des vergnügten Schulmeisterlein Maria Wutz 1790
• Die unsichtbare Loge 1793
• Hesperus (book) 1795
• Leben des Quintus Fixlein 1796
• Siebenkäs 1796
• Der Jubelsenior 1797
• Das Kampaner Tal 1797
• Titan (book) 1802
• Flegeljahre (unfinished) 1804
• Levana oder Erziehlehre 1807
• Dr. Katzenbergers Badereise 1809
• Auswahl aus des Teufels Papieren
• Bemerkungen über uns närrische Menschen
• Biographische Belustigungen
• Clavis Fichtiana
• Das heimliche Klaglied der jetzigen Männer
• Der Komet
• Der Maschinenmann
• Des Feldpredigers Schmelzle Reise nach Flätz
• Des Luftschiffers Giannozzo Seebuch
• Die wunderbare Gesellschaft in der Neujahrsnacht
• Freiheits-Büchlein
• Grönländische Prozesse
• Leben Fibels

External links

• Jean Paul's works at Projekt Gutenberg-DE (in German)

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Projekt Gutenberg-DE is a collection of German language literary texts, distributed via the web and on CD-ROM. It is run by a small publishing company called [[Hille+Partner]], run by Gunter Hille, and its web presence is hosted by the weekly magazine Der Spiegel The name is based... Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...