C.D. Warner, et al., comp. The Library of the World’s Best Literature.
An Anthology in Thirty Volumes. 1917.
G. R. Lomer, ed. The Student’s Course in Literature.
A College Curriculum in Literature: Germanic Literature
By Gerhard Richard Lomer (1882–1970)
51. Studies in German Masterpieces
This course is planned for those who have only time enough for a limited study of the greatest figures in German literature as a part of their general culture or as a basis for subsequent wider reading.
Reading:Goethe; Schiller; Lessing; Heine.
The purpose of this course is to give the student a general idea of the beginnings of German literature, to acquaint him with some of the chief monuments of mediæval literature, and to prepare him for a historical and critical study of the later periods of German literature.
Reading:Nibelungenlied; Walther von der Vogelweide.
Walther von der Vogelweide has been called “the first supremely great lyric poet that the nations of modern Europe produced.” He is of interest not only in himself but as a representative of the great class of Minnesingers of a romantic and lyrical age.
The student will become familiar with representative songs of Walther von der Vogelweide, Wolfram von Eschenbach, Heinrich von Veldeke, Heinrich von Morungen, Steinmar, Konrad von Würzburg, and Johann Hadloub.
The student is given a broad view of German letters at the time of its great awakening through the two-fold influence of Humanism and the Renaissance. Much of the German writing of this period is of more than national significance and is of interest for its influence on English literature.
This course will give the student some acquaintance with representative poets illustrating the general tendencies of development in the history of German poetry.
Reading:Sachs; Fleming; Klopstock; Claudius; Bürger; Hölty; Goethe; Schiller; Jean Paul (J. P. F. Richter); Brentano; Uhland; Rückert; Körner; Müller; von Platen; Heine; Mörike; Freiligrath; Geibel; von Bodenstedt; von Scheffel; von Liliencron; Ambrosius; Dehmel.
This course involves a large amount of reading in the work, both prose and poetry, of the more important writers of the nineteenth century in Germany. The student will trace chronologically the course of German literature during this period and will gain a clear idea of the tendencies and achievements of modern German literature.
Reading:Kleist; Heine; Grillparzer; Keller; Hauptmann; Bismarck.
In this course the student will trace the chronological development of the short story and the novel in Germany. He will become acquainted with the lives of representative authors and will read numerous selections from their works.
Reading:Tieck; Hoffmann; Kleist; von Chamisso; Grimm Brothers; Immermann; Meinhold; Hauff; Reuter; Auerbach; von Dingelstedt; Freytag; Storm; Keller; Meyer; von Scheffel; Spielhagen; Heyse; Dahn; Ebers; Sudermann; Frenssen.
German drama is of interest not only to the student of the theatre but also to any one who would understand the interrelations of modern European drama and comprehend the beginnings of modern dramatic criticism. In this course the reader will study the works of some of the greatest of German authors.
Reading:Sachs; Holberg: Lessing; Goethe; Schiller; Grillparzer; Wagner; Hauptmann.
This course introduces the student to the simpler writers of German prose, and excludes all consideration of those authors whose work was predominantly philosophical or historical. In this course the student will acquire a general knowledge of the characteristics of German prose, and will lay a good foundation for his subsequent study of the more difficult writers who follow.
Reading:Bodmer; Wilhelmine von Bayreuth; Wieland; Jean Paul (J. P. F. Richter); von Humboldt; von Beethoven; von Schlegel; Heine; Mendelssohn; Wagner; Bismarck; Müller; von Gottschall; Haeckel; Ambrosius.
The Germans have been among the most painstaking and erudite historians that the world has known. They have also given a new point of view to historical writing and have constructed a philosophy of history that is of great interest to the student of modern world-movements. In this course the reader is introduced to historians of worldwide reputation and at the same time to some of the masters of modern German prose.
Reading:Schiller; Hegel; Niebuhr; von Ranke; Strauss; Curtius; Mommsen; Grimm.
Some of the most far-reaching and illuminating contributions to the philosophy of the modern world have come from Germany. The Idealistic School, of which Kant is the outstanding representative, gave a new trend to philosophical speculation and had a profound influence upon the thinkers of England and of France. The student will find here the original expression of many ideas that have become incorporated into the general thought of our own day.
Reading:Kant; Herder; Fichte; Hegel; Novalis; Fröbel; Schopenhauer; Marx; Fischer; Nietzsche.
The literature of Austria, though by no means so extensive or of such high excellence as that of Germany, is nevertheless of great interest to the student of modern European literature or one who wishes to lay the foundations for the comparative study of Germanic literatures.
Reading:Eichendorff; Grillparzer; Schnitzler.
The literature of Hungary, though little known to the general reader, deserves consideration not only for its national characteristics but also as a not insignificant branch of European literature as a whole. In this course the student becomes acquainted with the outstanding figures of modern Hungarian literature.
Reading:Eötvös; Madách; Petőfi; Jókai; Vazov.