Ernst Schulze (poet)

Widely respected by his contemporaries in early youth, he found himself increasingly drawn into a new poetische Welt (world of poetry) in his mid-teens, showing a particular interest in folklore, fairy tales and diverse French literature.

Schulze's early post-graduation lectures reflected his particular poetical interests, particularly Ancient Greek lyric poetry; his first two lectures were entitled „Ueber die Geschichte der lyrischen Poesie bey den Griechen“ and „Metrik […] und Prometheus des Aeschylus“.

A brief romance followed, which intensified on Schulze's part after Cäcilie fell incurably sick from pulmonary tuberculosis the following year at the age of eighteen.

[5] Musician Graham Johnson proposes to group these settings by Schubert as a song cycle which he called Auf den wilden Wegen.

[6][7] The autobiographical information contained therein, in poetic form, came about largely under the influence of his engagement to Cäcilie Tychsen, and her subsequent death.

Whilst the vast majority of his writings are Romantic in style and mainly in allegorical form, other poems, such as Lebensmut ('Courage'), were written as a result of his time as a volunteer in the fight for liberation against Napoleon's French Empire.

After various, powerful suitors have failed to secure her release, the minstrel Alpino is successful and she is restored to her proper form.