on more even lines; the success of Die Ehre was due in the first instance to the ability which Sudermann had shown in adapting the ideas of his time and the new methods of dramatic presentation to the traditional German bürgerliches Drama. This is the characteristic of the majority of the many plays which followed of which Heimat (1893), Das Glück im Winkel (1896) and Es lebe das Leben! (1902) may be mentioned as typical. With less success Sudermann attempted in Johannes (1898) a tragedy on lines suggested by Hebbel. A keen observer, a writer of brilliant and suggestive ideas, Sudermann is, above all, the practical playwright; but it is unfortunate that the theatrical element in his work too often overshadows its literary qualities.
Since 1889, the drama has occupied the foreground of interest in Germany. The permanent repertory of the German theatre has not, it is true, been much enriched, but it is at least to the credit of contemporary German playwrights that they are unwilling to rest content with their successes and are constantly experimenting with new forms. Besides Hauptmann and Sudermann, the most talented dramatists of the day are Max Halbe (b. 1865), O. E. Hartleben (1864–1905), G. Hirschfeld (b. 1873), E. Rosmer (pseudonym for Elsa Bernstein, b. 1866), Ludwig Fulda (b. 1862), Max Dreyer (b. 1862), Otto Ernst (pseudonym for O. E. Schmidt, b. 1862) and Frank Wedekind (b. 1864). In Austria, notwithstanding the preponderant influence of Berlin, the drama has retained its national characteristics, and writers like Arthur Schnitzler (b. 1862), Hermann Bahr (b. 1863), Hugo von Hofmannsthal (b. 1874) and R. Beer-Hofmann (b. 1866) have introduced symbolistic elements and peculiarly Austrian problems, which are foreign to the theatre of north Germany.
The German lyric of recent years shows a remarkable variety of new tones and pregnant poetic ideas; it has, as is natural, been more influenced by the optimism of Nietzsche—himself a lyric poet of considerable gifts—than has either novel or drama. Detlev von Liliencron (1844–1909) was one of the first to break with the traditions of the lyric as handed down from the Romantic epoch and cultivated with such facility by the Munich poets. An anthology of specifically modern lyrics, Moderne Dichtercharaktere (1885) by W. Arent (b. 1864), may be regarded as the manifesto of the movement in lyric poetry corresponding to the period of realism in fiction and the drama. Representative poets of this movement are Richard Dehmel (b. 1863), K. Henckell (b. 1864), J. H. Mackay (b. 1864 at Greenock), G. Falke (b. 1853), F. Avenarius (b. 1856), F. Evers (b. 1871), F. Dörmann (b. 1870) and K. Busse (b. 1872). A later development of the lyric—a return to mysticism and symbolism—is to be seen in the poetry of Hofmannsthal, already mentioned as a dramatist, and especially in Stefan George (b. 1868). Epic poetry, although little in harmony with the spirit of a realistic age, has not been altogether neglected. Heinrich Hart (1855–1906), one of the leading critics of the most advanced school, is also the author of an ambitious Lied der Menschheit (vols. 1-3, 1888–1896); more conservative, on the other hand, is Robespierre (1894), an epic in the style of Hamerling by an Austrian, Marie delle Grazie (b. 1864). Attention may also be drawn to the popularity which, for a few years, the so-called Überbrettl or cabaret enjoyed, a popularity which has left its mark on the latest developments of the lyric. Associated with this movement are O. J. Bierbaum (1865–1910), whose lyrics, collected in Der Irrgarten der Liebe (1901), have been extraordinarily popular, E. von Wolzogen (b. 1855) and the dramatist F. Wedekind, who has been already mentioned.
Whether or not the work that has been produced in such rich measure since the year 1889—or however much of it—is to be regarded as a permanent addition to the storehouse of German national literature, there can be no question of the serious artistic earnestness of the writers; the conditions for the production of literature in the German empire in the early years of the 20th century were eminently healthy, and herein lies the best promise for the future.
Bibliography.—(a) General Histories, Anthologies, &c.: A. Koberstein, Grundriss der Geschichte der deutschen Nationalliteratur (1827; 5th ed. by K. Bartsch, 5 vols., 1872–1874; 6th ed., vol. i., 1884); G. G. Gervinus, Geschichte der poetischen Nationalliteratur der Deutschen (5 vols., 1835–1842; 5th ed. by K. Bartsch, 1871–1874); A. F. C. Vilmar, Geschichte der deutschen Nationalliteratur (1848; 25th ed., 2 vols., 1900, with a continuation by A. Stern); W. Wackernagel, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur (1851–1855; 2nd ed. by E. Martin, 1879–1894); K. Goedeke, Grundriss zur Geschichte der deutschen Dichtung (3 vols., 1857–1881; 2nd ed. by E. Goetze and others, in 9 vols., 1884 ff.); W. Menzel, Deutsche Dichtung von der ältesten bis auf die neueste Zeit (1858–1859); H. Kurz, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur mit ausgewählten Stücken (3 vols., 1857–1859; 7th ed., 4 vols., 1876–1882); O. Roquette, Geschichte der deutschen Dichtung (2 vols., 1862; 3rd ed., 1878–1879); W. Scherer, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur (1883; 10th ed., 1905). English translation by Mrs F. C. Conybeare (2 vols., 1885; new ed., 1906); Kuno Francke, German Literature as determined by Social Forces (1896; 6th ed., 1903); F. Vogt and M. Koch, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur (1897; 2nd ed., 2 vols., 1903); J. G. Robertson, History of German Literature (1902); A. Bartels, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur (2 vols., 1901–1902), with the accompanying bibliographical summary, Handbuch zur Geschichte der deutschen Literatur (1906). There are also histories of the literature of separate countries and districts, such as J. Bächtold, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur in der Schweiz (1887); R. Krauss, Schwäbische Literaturgeschichte (2 vols., 1897–1899); J. W. Nagl and J. Zeidler, Deutsch-Österreichische Literaturgeschichte (2 vols., 1899 ff.). The most comprehensive collection of German literature in selections is J. Kürschner, Deutsche Nationalliteratur (222 vols., 1882–1898). Of general anthologies mention may be made of W. Wackernagel, Deutsches Lesebuch (4 vols., 1835–1872; new ed., 1882 ff.), and F. Max Müller, The German Classics from the Fourth to the Nineteenth Century (1858; ed. by F. Lichtenstein, 2 vols., 1886; new ed., 1906). For illustrations to the history of German literature, see G. Könnecke, Bilderatlas zur Geschichte der deutschen Nationalliteratur (1887; 2nd ed., 1895).
(b) Special Periods: i. Old High German and Middle High German Periods: R. Kögel and W. Bruckner, “Geschichte der althochdeutschen Literatur,” and F. Vogt, “Geschichte der mittelhochdeutschen Literatur,” in H. Paul’s Grundriss der germanischen Philologie (2nd ed., vol. ii. pt. i., 1901); F. Khull, Geschichte der altdeutschen Dichtung (1886); J. Kelle, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur, i.-ii. (1892–1896); R. Kögel, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur bis zum Ausgang des Mittelalters, i. (1894–1897); W. Golther, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur von den ersten Anfängen bis zum Ausgang des Mittelalters (in Kürschner’s Deutsche Nationalliteratur, vol. 163, pt. i., 1892); W. Scherer, Geschichte der deutschen Dichtung im 11. und 12. Jahrhundert, and by the same author, Geistliche Poeten der deutschen Kaiserzeit (both works in Quellen und Forschungen, 1874–1875); O. Lyon, Minne- und Meistersang (1882). There are numerous series of editions of medieval texts: K. Müllenhoff and W. Scherer, Denkmäler deutscher Poesie und Prosa aus den 8.-12. Jahrhundert (2 vols., 3rd ed., 1892); M. Heyne, Bibliothek der ältesten deutschen Literaturdenkmäler (14 vols., begun 1858); F. Pfeiffer, Deutsche Klassiker des Mittelalters (12 vols., begun 1865), with the supplementary Deutsche Dichtungen des Mittelalters, edited by K. Bartsch (7 vols., 1872 ff.); K. Goedeke, Deutsche Dichtung im Mittelalter (2nd ed., 1871); J. Zacher, Germanistische Handbibliothek (9 vols., begun 1869); H. Paul, Altdeutsche Textbibliothek (16 vols., begun 1882); Deutsche Texte des Mittelalters, ed. by the Berlin Academy (1904 ff.). Convenient editions of the Minnesang are K. Lachmann and M. Haupt, Des Minnesangs Frühling (4th ed. by F. Vogt, 1888), and K. Bartsch, Deutsche Liederdichter des 12. bis 14. Jahrh. (4th ed. by W. Golther, 1903).
ii. From 1350–1700.—L. Geiger, Renaissance und Humanismus in Italien und Deutschland (1882; 2nd ed. 1899); K. Borinski, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur seit dem Ausgang des Mittelalters (in Kürschner’s Deutsche Nationalliteratur, vol. 163, ii., 1898); H. Palm, Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Literatur des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts (1877); C. H. Herford, Studies in the Literary Relations of England and Germany in the Sixteenth Century (1886); C. Lemcke, Von Opitz bis Klopstock, i. (1871; 2nd ed. 1882); M. von Waldberg, Deutsche Renaissance-Lyrik (1888), and Die galante Lyrik (1885); F. Bobertag, Geschichte des Romans in Deutschland, i. (to 1700) (1877–1884); K. Borinski, Die Poetik der Renaissance und die Anfänge der literarischen Kritik in Deutschland (1886). A vast quantity of the literature of these centuries has been republished by the Stuttgarter literarischer Verein (founded in 1839), whose publications now number considerably over two hundred volumes; further, W. Braune, Neudrucke deutscher Literaturwerke des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts (begun 1882); K. Goedeke and J. Tittmann, Deutsche Dichter des 16. Jahrhunderts (18 vols., 1867 ff.), and Deutsche Dichter des 17. Jahrhunderts (15 vols., 1869 ff.). A valuable anthology is K. Goedeke’s Elf Bücher deutscher Dichtung von Sebastian Brant bis auf die Gegenwart (2 vols., 1849). Since 1890 the Jahresberichte für neuere deutsche Literaturgeschichte have provided an exhaustive survey of all publications dealing with modern German literature. A useful practical bibliography for English readers, covering this and the succeeding periods, is J. S. Nollen, A Chronology and Practical Bibliography of Modern German Literature (1903).
