The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Hebbel, Friedrich

HEBBEL, Friedrich, a German lyric and dramatic poet, born at Wesselburen, Holstein, March 18, 1813, died in Vienna, Dec. 13, 1863. He was the son of a farmer, was educated at Heidelberg, and went to Hamburg, where in 1841 he wrote his tragedy of Judith, which was immediately successful. He then visited Copenhagen, Paris, London, and Naples, and in 1846 settled in Vienna, where he married the actress Christine Enghaus. Among his other dramas are Genoveva (1843), Maria Magdalena (1844), Der Diamant (1847), Herodes und Mariamne (1850), Julia (1851), Michel Angelo (1855), and Die Nibelungen (2 vols., 1862). A complete edition of his works was issued at Hamburg in 12 vols., 1865-'8. They are characterized by boldness, vigor, and originality, with a predilection for the horrible.