Carl Spitteler Swiss poet, essayist, classical novelist; Nobel Prize laureate in Literature in 1919 Date of Birth: 24.04.1845 Country: Switzerland

1. Early Life and Education
2. University Studies and Theological Journey
3. Literary Beginnings
4. Literary Success
5. "Olympischer Frühling" and Critical Acclaim
6. Nobel Laureate

Early Life and Education

Carl Friedrich Georg Spitteler, a renowned Swiss poet, novelist, and essayist, was born in Liestal, near Basel, Switzerland. His father, a government official, was appointed treasurer of the Swiss Confederation in 1849, and the family moved to Bern. Carl remained in Basel with an aunt and enrolled in the local gymnasium.

He later returned to Liestal and commuted daily to the Basel gymnasium, where he received university-level instruction in various subjects. Showing early promise in music and drawing, Spitteler initially aspired to become an artist. However, at the gymnasium, he came under the influence of philologist Wilhelm Wackernagel and historian Jacob Burckhardt, who sparked his interest in epic poetry, particularly the works of Italian Renaissance poet Ludovico Ariosto. Spitteler soon began writing his own verses.

University Studies and Theological Journey

In 1863, yielding to his father's wishes, Spitteler entered the University of Zurich to study law. From 1865 to 1870, he transitioned to theology studies in Zurich, Heidelberg, and Basel, intending to become a clergyman. However, he ultimately declined an offer to serve as a pastor in Arosa, Graubünden, in order to pursue a literary career.

Literary Beginnings

In 1871, Spitteler became a tutor in the household of a Russian general and spent eight years in St. Petersburg, with occasional trips to Finland. During this period, he completed his first significant epic poem, "Prometheus und Epimetheus" (1881), which he had conceived while a student in Heidelberg. Penned in rhythmical prose, the poem was a modern allegory with metaphorical parallels to the conflicts and contradictions of the contemporary era.

Returning to Switzerland in 1879, Spitteler self-published "Prometheus und Epimetheus" under the pseudonym Carl Felix Tandem. However, its release went largely unnoticed, leading Spitteler to doubt his ability to support himself through literature. In 1881, he became a teacher in Neuchâtel (canton of Bern), where he married his student, Marie der Hoff, two years later.

While teaching, Spitteler continued to write and contributed to newspapers in Basel (1885-1886) and Zurich (1890-1892). Notable works from this period include the blank verse poem "Extramundana" (1883), the lyrical poetry collection "Schmetterlinge" (1889), the prose works "Fnedli der Kolderi" (1891) and "Gustav" (1892), and the satirical poems in "Litterarische Gleichnisse" (1892).

Literary Success

In 1892, Spitteler's wife inherited a fortune from her parents, allowing him to devote himself fully to literature. The family moved to Lucerne, where he wrote a series of works, including "Balladen" (1896), "Der Gotthard" (1897), the novella "Conrad der Leutnant" (1898), and the collection of critical essays "Lachende Wahrheiten" (1898).

As an idealist and classicist, Spitteler's popularity was limited in his time. Nevertheless, he gained recognition from literary figures such as Josef Viktor Widmann, literary editor of the "Berner Bund," and German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who recommended him for the editorship of the Munich journal "Kunstwart" in 1887. Ironically, when Spitteler republished "Prometheus und Epimetheus" under his own name a decade later, he was accused of plagiarizing Nietzsche's "Thus Spoke Zarathustra." As the poem had been published earlier, Spitteler defended himself against charges of plagiarism, which he addressed in the pamphlet "Meine Beziehungen zu Nietzsche" (1908).

"Olympischer Frühling" and Critical Acclaim

Spitteler's breakthrough came with the publication of his epic poem "Olympischer Frühling" ("Olympic Spring"), a masterpiece of his creative output. Serialized from 1900 to 1905, it was published in its entirety in 1910. An intricate blend of mythology, humor, fantasy, religion, and allegory, written in iambic hexameter, the poem spanned five books and over 600 pages.

"Olympischer Frühling" was hailed as a masterpiece of German-language literature after renowned conductor Felix Weingartner penned a laudatory article in 1904. Spitteler continued to live in seclusion, avoiding public statements on political or religious matters. However, in 1914, he spoke out in support of Swiss neutrality, rejecting the idea that German-speaking Switzerland should be considered a "racial ally" of Germany. This stance alienated some of his earlier supporters but earned him the admiration of the French, who awarded him the medal of the Société des Gens de Lettres in 1916.

Nobel Laureate

In 1920, at the age of 75, Spitteler received the Nobel Prize in Literature for 1919 "in recognition of his outstanding epic, 'Olympischer Frühling.'" Harald Hjärne of the Swedish Academy described Spitteler's mythology as "a unique form of expression, in which the struggles of free will with imposed necessity appear, on the plane of an ideal imagination, as human suffering, hope, and disappointment." The prize was presented to the Swiss ambassador in Sweden since Spitteler was too ill to attend the ceremony. He died four years later, in December 1924, in Lucerne.

The legacy of Spitteler's literary achievements was evident in the obituary written by Romain Rolland, who hailed him as "our Homer, the greatest German-language poet since Goethe, the only master of the epic genre since the death of Milton, a figure standing apart in contemporary art." However, in recent times, Spitteler's works have waned in popularity.