Wilhelm Müller (October 7, 1794 - September 30, 1827), German lyric poet, was born at Dessau, the son of a shoemaker.

He was educated at the gymnasium of his native town and at the university of Berlin, where he devoted himself to philological and historical studies. In 1813-1814 he took part, as a volunteer, in the national rising against Napoleon. In 1817 he visited Italy, and in 1820 published his impressions in Rom, Römer und Römerinnen. In 1818 he was appointed teacher of classics in the Dessau school, and in 1820 librarian to the ducal library.

Müller's earliest lyrics are contained in a volume of poems, Bundesbluten, by several friends, which was published in 1816. His literary reputation was made by the Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten (2vols., 1821-1824), and the Lieder der Griechen (1821-1824). The latter collection was Germany's chief tribute of sympathy to the Greeks in their struggle against the Turkish yoke, a theme which inspired many poets of the time. Two volumes of Neugriechische Volkslieder, and Lyrische Reisen und epigrammatische Spaziergänge, followed in 1825 and 1827. Müller also wrote a book on the Homerische Vorschule (1824; 2nd. ed., 1836), translated Marlowe's Faustus, and edited a Bibliothek der Dichtungen des 17 Jahrhunderts (1825-1827; 10 vols.).

Müller and Schubert

Müller is not considered a major figure of German literature, and his work would probably be known only to specialists today, were it not that the celebrated composer Franz Schubert discovered his poems and set them to music. In particular, Schubert's two great song cycles, Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise, are both based on collections by Müller. Although the poetry in these works is hardly of the highest order, many feel there was something in Müller's writing that spurred Schubert to his highest level of inspiration, and that much of the success of these works should indeed be attributed to Müller.

Editions

Wilhelm Müller's Gedichte were first collected in 1837 (4th ed., 1858); edited by his son, Friedrich Max Müller (1868); there are also numerous more recent editions, notably one in Reclam's Universalbibliothek (1894); critical edition by JT Hatfield (7906). Müller's Vermischte Schriften were edited with a biography by G Schwab (3 vols., 1830). See F Max Müller's article in the Allgemeine deutsche Biographie; O Franck, "Zur Biographie des Dichters W. Müller" (Mittellungen des Vereins fur anhaltische Geschichte, 1887); JT Hatfield, "W. Müllers unveröffentlichtes Tagebuch und seine ungedruckten Briefe" (Deutsche Rundschau, 1902).

Reference

• This entry incorporates public domain text originally from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica.