Johann Jakob Bodmer

Henry Fuseli talking to Bodmer, 1778–1781.

Johann Jakob Bodmer (19 July 1698 – 2 January 1783) was a Swiss author, academic, critic and poet.

Life

Born at Greifensee, near Zürich, and first studying theology and then trying a commercial career, he finally found his vocation in letters. In 1725 he was appointed professor of Helvetian history at the Carolinum academy in Zürich, a chair which he held for half a century, and in 1735 became a member of the Cantonal Council. He died at Zürich in 1783.

Works

His major writings are the treatises Von dem Wunderbaren in der Poesie (1740; this and following years link to corresponding "[year] in poetry" articles) and Kritische Betrachtungen über die poetischen Gemählde der Dichter (1741), in which he pleaded for the freedom of the imagination from the restriction imposed upon it by French pseudo-classicism. Bodmer's epics Die Sundflutz and Noah (both 1751) are imitations of Klopstock's Messias, and his plays are entirely deficient in dramatic qualities. He also issued editions of the Minnesingers and part of the Nibelungenlied.

He published (1721–1723), in conjunction with Johann Jakob Breitinger and others, Die Discourse der Mahlern, a weekly journal after the model of The Spectator. In it, German poetry was severely criticised for its servility to French models. Through his prose translation of Milton's Paradise Lost (Johann Miltons Episches Gedichte von dem Verlohrnen Paradiese, 1742), he tried to make English literature accessible in Germany.

He formed a German literary school in opposition to Johann Christoph Gottsched of Leipzig, with whom he carried on a prolonged controversy.

The controversy between Johann Jakob Bodmer and Johann Christoph Gottsched was one of the most significant literary disputes of the 18th century in Germany. It centered on differing views about the nature and purpose of poetry and literature or Imagination vs. Rationalism.

Bodmer’s View: He championed the freedom of imagination in literature. Bodmer believed that poetry should evoke wonder and engage the emotions, allowing writers creative freedom to explore the sublime and fantastical. He admired English literature, particularly Milton’s Paradise Lost, for its imaginative depth.

Gottsched’s View: Gottsched, based in Leipzig, adhered to French neo-classicism and rationalist principles. He argued that poetry should serve as a tool for moral instruction and adhere to strict rules of form, clarity, and logical structure. He sought to impose order and rationality on German literature, rejecting excesses of imagination.

Bodmer: Advocated for the revival and appreciation of German medieval literature, including the Minnesingers and the Nibelungenlied. He sought to elevate uniquely.

Gottsched: Believed in modeling German literature after French classical ideals, considering them superior to older German works. Criticism of French Influence

Bodmer and his colleague Johann Jakob Breitinger criticized German poetry for its imitation of French styles and advocated for German writers to break free from this influence.

Gottsched, on the other hand, defended French classicism as a model for literary refinement.

The rivalry was fueled by public debates, pamphlets, and letters exchanged between the two camps, with each accusing the other of misguiding German literature. Gottsched denounced Bodmer’s focus on imagination as promoting chaos and irrationality, while Bodmer criticized Gottsched for stifling creativity and originality with his rigid adherence to rules.

This intellectual clash ultimately helped shape the course of German literature. While Gottsched initially held sway with his rationalist approach, Bodmer’s ideas gradually gained prominence, especially as they resonated with the later Sturm und Drang and Romantic movements, which embraced emotion, imagination, and the sublime in art and literature.

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bodmer, Johann Jakob". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 111. This work in turn cites:
  • T. W. Danzel, Gottsched und seine Zeit (Leipzig, 1848)
  • J. Crüger, J. C. Gottsched, Bodmer und Breitinger (Stuttgart, 1884)
  • F. Braitmaier, Geschichte der poetischen Theorie und Kritik von den Diskursen der Maler bis auf Lessing (Leipzig, 1888)
  • Denkschrift zu Bodmers 200. Geburtstag (Zürich, 1900)
• Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Bodmer, Johann Jakob" . Encyclopedia Americana.

External links

• Publications by and about Johann Jakob Bodmer in the catalogue Helveticat of the Swiss National Library
• Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern volume 5, edited by Charles Dudley Warner 1896 Johann Jakob Bodmer entry
• Works by Johann Jakob Bodmer at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)