Johann Ludwig Wilhelm Müller (7 October 1794 – 30 September 1827) was a German lyric poet, best known as the author of Die schöne Müllerin (1821) and Winterreise (1823).

[2] His literary reputation was made by the Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten (in two volumes, 1821–1824), and the Lieder der Griechen (1821–1824).

The last collection was Germany's chief tribute of sympathy to the Greeks in their struggle against the Turkish yoke, a theme that inspired many poets of the time.

In ‘Die Winterreise’ – which occupies a central position in Müller's lyric output – the wanderer shows a determination not to get lost on the Romantic paths that promise a way out of present dissatisfactions.

“Andreas Dorschel has convincingly argued that ‘Die Winterreise’ is a work of Enlightenment.”[3] The cycle depicts the self-determination of a subject who retains the ability to reflect because he is not engulfed by dreams.

The realms of dream, death, and nature do not fulfil their promise, and the traveller ultimately rejects “Schein” (semblance) for “Sein” (actual being), or the imagined future for the real present.

“As Dorschel points out, the wanderer actively denies the value of dreaming in ‘Im Dorfe’ (‘Was will ich unter den Schläfern säumen?’ [‘What do I want to waste my time among those who are asleep?’] [...]), and [...] death eludes him.

[6] Andrés Neuman wrote a novel, El viajero del siglo (Traveller of the Century, 2009), inspired by the poems of Winter Journey (Wanderlieder von Wilhelm Müller.