August Wilhelm Schlegel
A German literary polymath whose translations of Shakespeare fundamentally reshaped the German language and stage.
1767–1845 (age 78)·German poet, translator, critic, and writer·Birthday: September 8
Biography
August Wilhelm Schlegel was not just a critic or poet; he was a cultural force of the German Romantic movement. Alongside his brother Friedrich in Jena, he helped forge the ideas of Romanticism, advocating for organic art and historical consciousness. His staggering erudition spanned European literature, Sanskrit, and Persian poetry. But his most tangible legacy was linguistic: his translations of Shakespeare's plays, completed with an unprecedented focus on preserving the Bard's poetic meter and vitality. These versions did not merely introduce Shakespeare to Germany; they naturalized him, creating German classics that are still performed today. As a lecturer in Berlin and later in Bonn, Schlegel became a public intellectual of immense influence, arguing for the unity of world literature and establishing the scholarly study of comparative literature. His work built a bridge between cultures, making the foreign intimately familiar.
#1 When August Was Born
The biggest hits of 1767
August's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1767Born
1772Started school
1780Became a teenager
1783Could drive
1785Could vote
1788Turned 21
1797Turned 30
1807Turned 40
1817Turned 50
1827Turned 60
1837Turned 70
1845Died at 78
Key Achievements
- Produced the definitive German translations of 17 of Shakespeare's plays, which became the standard stage versions and influenced the German language itself.
- Co-founded the Jena Romantic movement with his brother Friedrich Schlegel and others, shaping early 19th-century European thought.
- Delivered the influential 'Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature' in Vienna, a foundational text of Romantic literary criticism.
- Pioneered the study of Sanskrit and Indian literature in Germany, publishing works on the Ramayana and Bhagavad Gita.
- Co-edited the Romantic journal Athenaeum, a key platform for the movement's ideas.
Did You Know?
He was the tutor and travel companion of Madame de Staël's children, and a major influence on her book 'De l'Allemagne'.
His Shakespeare translations were so admired that some German critics claimed they improved upon the English originals.
He was the first professor of Indology at the University of Bonn.
He invented the terms 'objective' and 'subjective' to describe types of poetry, terminology still used in criticism.
“The historian is a prophet looking backwards.”
