Georg Trakl: biography and creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Georg Trakl is an outstanding Austrian poet, whose work was appreciated only after his death. His fate was tragic, and his life was cut short at the age of 27. Nevertheless, a small poetic heritage had a tremendous impact on the development of Austrian literature and glorified the writer posthumously.

Origin and childhood

So, who is he - Georg Trakl? The biography says that the hero of our story was born on February 3, 1887 in Salzburg. The family was large, but prosperous, my father had his own business - a hardware store. The writer's mother Maria gave birth to her husband many children, among whom George was the fifth. Despite such a large number of offspring, the mother spent most of her time in antiquarian and musical studies, not burdening herself with the upbringing of the younger generation. The French governess Marie took care of the children. Little Georg suffered greatly from such an attitude of his mother, which was later reflected in his poems.

But not only the image of the mother was imprinted in the mind of the child. Marie remained with him forever, who seemed to be an ex alted being from anothertime. The governess was a devout Catholic who wanted to convert her pupils. In addition, the woman taught them French and introduced them to the literature of her country. It was her upbringing that greatly contributed to the formation of George as a poet. Despite the resentment that he harbored towards his mother until the end of his days, the writer always spoke of his childhood with love, calling it the happiest time in his life.

Study

At the age of 5, Georg Trakl enters the preparatory class of the school at the Pedagogical College, and at 10 he is transferred to the gymnasium. But studying was not easy for George, he even stayed in the second year, and in the 7th grade he failed in the final exam in three subjects: mathematics, Latin and Greek. He did not even know the grammar of his native language. Georg's speech was very wrong, he could not connect two words. It was very difficult for the boy at school, the Austrian order hurt his pride. His classmates remembered him as a young man who always had a "quiet, stubborn sneer" on his face.

Failure in studies led to the fact that in 1905 Georg left the gymnasium and became an apprentice to a pharmacist.

First works

Georg Trakl very early felt his passion for poetry. Even in the years of study at the gymnasium, he went to the literary circle, which was called "Apollo". At this time, the young writer became interested in dramaturgy. In 1906, two of his plays, Fata Morgana and Memorial Day, were staged at the Salzburg City Theater. However, both performances were failures, the audiencedid not appreciate. For George, this was a real blow. Frustrated, he destroyed the text of the tragedy he had just completed.

But this failure did not stop the young man. A year later, his first verse "Morning Song" appeared in the city's edition of the Salzburg People's Gazette.

However, literary success was somewhat overshadowed by the fact that the eighteen-year-old Georg became addicted to morphine, veronal and wine. His drug addiction was caused by big problems with interaction with the outside world and people. The reality for the poet was unbearable, the world of human relations seemed complex and evil. This prompted him to go into the world of fantasy and dreams. Despite his addiction, George is called a deeply religious person. Many Christian images, motifs and themes can be found in his poetry.

Forbidden love - was it?

Georg Trakl and his sister were in a very close relationship, which gave rise to a lot of gossip and conjecture. But is there any truth in them?

In 1908, the poet entered the pharmacological department of the University of Vienna, but at that time he had already devoted himself entirely to poetry and could not treat his studies with due responsibility. For him, the literary world has become another opportunity to escape from reality.

The reason for this was not only the inability to build relationships with others, but also a forbidden feeling. From childhood, George was in love with his younger sister Margaret. He considered this passion sinful and called it his curse. Nevertheless, love for the girl became the main existential experience of the poet, which formed the basis of all hiscreativity.

There are various speculations regarding their relationship, up to and including a sexual relationship. But none of this has been confirmed and only refers to fiction. This is confirmed by the fact that a close friend of Georg had a stormy affair with Margaret in 1912.

Brother and sister were connected only by family relations. They were very similar in character and outlook. Margaret became the first connoisseur of the poet's early poems. Georg trusted her with all his dreams and secrets. And the sister was always ready to support him and console him when the society rejected the young man. Hence all the declarations of love that are present in the writer's poems. For him, his sister became the only person who could understand him.

Life in the world of poetry

Poems have become the only way to open your soul and speak out. Only in them could Georg Trakl be himself. The poems appeared one after another. However, publishing them was very difficult. During the life of the writer, one small collection of his works was published.

Despite his immersion in the world of poetry, he managed to graduate from university and get a master's degree. After that, Georg returned to his native Salzburg. For some time he worked in a pharmacy. However, this life brought him only grief, as it was completely unpoetic and not like a world of dreams. This is how he described this time in his poems: “…what an infernal chaos of rhythms and images.”

In the service, he often sat with his head in his hands, not noticing anything happening around him. He was completely immersed in his own thoughts. The owner of the pharmacy, a very good-natured person, often let the young man go home earlier.

Without livelihood

The writer's two passionate amplifications - drugs and poetry - have become bad companions for real life. Trakl could not hold out for a long time at any job, and the money he received for publishing poems in a newspaper was not enough for anything. The poet was unsettled, the service in the pharmacy, and then in the hospital, could not change the situation. It was impossible to earn money by literary work.

Georg Trakl even wanted to go to Borneo, to work in a pharmacy there, but he was denied resettlement in the Netherlands colony. This deprived him of his last hope of somehow settling in this world.

Find yourself

During these years, Georg lives only on the money that his friends lend him, about which he wrote so much in his poems. The writer tries to find a place for himself and rushes about all over Europe, he visits Mühlau, Innsbruck, Venice, Salzburg, Vienna. But everywhere he is waiting for round-the-clock work on works that he often rewrote, a beggarly existence, wine, corrupt women and drugs. Georg Trakl indulges in all this with incredible enthusiasm and passion. The complete collection of poems is also a complete description of the poet's life, since all this is reflected in his poems. However, during his lifetime, the writer will never see such a publication.

Trakl leads a wild life. Friends note sharp changes in his mood and character. He could be nice anda delicate interlocutor, but could show aggression and scold uncontrollably. During this period, the poet was actively carried away by the work of Dostoevsky. It was from the works of the Russian classic that the name "Sonya" came into his poetry.

Last years and death

Occupying the lower rungs of the social ladder, always in need of money, Trakl still managed to make acquaintances in the art world. So, in 1912, he met the publishers of the Brenner magazine, literary critics O. Kokoschka and K. Kraus, as well as famous sculptors and painters. However, these ties were not strong due to the state of mind of the poet himself and his changeable behavior.

In 1913, the only collection of Trakl published during his lifetime, called "Poems", came out.

In 1914, the poet receives a scholarship for distressed writers. But the poet did not have time to use it - the war began. Trakl, as a reservist, was soon drafted into the army. He was sent to a front-line hospital as a pharmacist. In between fights, the writer continues to drink and use drugs.

But when heavy fighting began, and there were not enough doctors, Trakl had to take up treatment. Having no education and experience, he operated on wounded soldiers. The horrors of the war plunged him into such a depressive state that he tried to commit suicide. But they managed to stop him in time and sent him to the Krakow hospital for examination by a psychiatrist. Here he finished what he started, committing suicide on November 3, 1914. In the death certificate, in the column "Cause" it was stated:“Suicide due to cocaine intoxication.”

Georg Trakl, "Sebastian in a dream"

This collection of poems by the poet became the second. Unfortunately, Georg did not wait for its publication, since it was published in 1915, a year after the death of the author.

The poet personally prepared the collection, selected poems, then read proofreading. A collection with a similar title can be found on the shelves of bookstores today, but its content will be somewhat different. "Sebastian in a dream" often turns into a complete collection of works of the poet.

Georg Trakl. Analysis of the poem "Winter Night"

Let's consider one of the writer's program poems.

The work describes a picture familiar to the poet, when he, drunk, leaves the human fuss and noise, going home at night. Georg describes the sensations that he experiences at this time: “Your legs ring when you walk … a smile full of sadness … is petrified on your face … your forehead turns pale from the cold." The mood of the lyrical hero is gloomy, everything is permeated with tragedy, even nature portends bad things: "The stars converged into unkind signs." The night does not bode well, but the day is salvation. His offensive is described majestically and solemnly: "The pink day appears silver." The arrival of dawn is accompanied by the ringing of "ancient bells". The sun drives away the darkness of the night and the bad dreams of the poet.

The tragic character is Georg Trakl. The writer's poems are direct proof of this. His lyrical hero is immersed in a dark world,filled with shadows, bad omens and bad dreams. Only daylight can bring him out of this state. But the next night everything will happen again.

In film and music

Georg Trakl took not the last place in pop culture. A film about his secret affair with his sister was made in 2011 by director Christoph Starck. The picture was called “Taboo. The soul has no place on earth. There is a lot of fiction and conjecture in the plot, which is easy to see if you consider that so far none of the writer's biographers has confirmed that he really had a love affair with his sister. The picture was not widely distributed, the ratings of viewers and critics were average.

The writer's work is more popular with musicians. So, David Tukhmanov composed songs to the verses of Georg Trakl. The composer's cycle was called "Holy Night, or Sebastian's Dream".

In addition, the 1992 album by the German gothic rock band ALSO was entirely dedicated to the writer's work. And in 1978, Klaus Schulz, a composer of the Berlin School, composed a musical study called Georg Trakl.