Hagedorn, Friedrich von

Born in the family of a Danish envoy in Hamburg, a man well versed in science and art. He graduated from high school in Hamburg, later from 1726 he studied law at the University of Jena . Returning to Hamburg in 1729, he became the personal secretary of the Danish envoy in London , where he lived until 1731.

After his return to his homeland, a period of poverty and deprivation followed, but in 1733 he joined the secretary of the English Yard (Englischer Hof) trading company in Hamburg, founded in the 13th century. He soon married, and since that time devoted much time to literary studies.

In his hometown, Hagedorn became the center of a circle of writers and artists, having a beneficial effect on the development of their taste.

His brother Christian-Ludwig Hagedorn (1713-1780), from 1763 was the Director General of the Saxon Academy of Arts and wrote "Betrachtungen über die Malerei" (1762), which greatly influenced the aesthetic views of the modern era.

Rococo poet. He is the author of a collection of fables, aphorisms and fairy tales in verses (Versuch in poetischen Fabeln und Erzählungen, 1738), a collection of instructive poems (Moralische Gedichte), in which Hagedorn’s life ideals: “wisdom” of burgher self-identity, were vividly expressed, “ reason and justice ”,“ contentment ”and“ enjoying the fleeting hours of life ”are the ideals of an enlightened sane person who is content with his position and his life.

Hagedorn's poetry was influenced primarily by French literature, primarily the fables of Jean Lafontaine . His poems, among the pompous, dry works of contemporary German poets, were distinguished by sonority, and his language by ease and purity, for which, during his lifetime, he earned the nickname "poet of graces . "

The poet’s first poetry collection was published in Hamburg shortly after his return from Jena in 1729 under the title Versuch einiger Gedichte. His fables and tales in verses were not inferior in form and delicate banter to the works of Lafontaine , and his moralizing poetry reflected Horace's philosophical views.

Hagedorn's work exerted a dominant influence on German lyrics, right up to the end of the 18th century.

• Recognizing reality, do not try to justify it ...
• People say time is running out. Time says people are leaving.
• The loudest things require silence ...
• Each gopher is an agronomist.
• I have only two drawbacks ... Bad memory and something else!
• Do not look for a reason, and so there are plenty of reasons.
• Life is so full and generous that a person will always find where to fill their fill.

• Friedrich von Hagedorn, works (German)
• Encyclopædia Britannica. Friedrich von Hagedorn