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The Library of the World’s Best Literature. An Anthology in Thirty Volumes. 1917.
Gottfried August Bürger (1747–1794)
Bürger, Gottfried August (bürg’er). An eminent German poet; born at Molmerswende, near Ballenstedt, Anhalt, Dec. 31, 1747, or Jan. 1, 1748; died in Göttingen, June 8, 1794. Shakespeare and Percy’s ‘Reliques of English Ballad Poetry’ had a decisive influence in giving direction to his efforts at poetic expression. ‘Lenore’ (1773) established his reputation as a poet, which was sustained by the ballads that followed it: ‘The Parson’s Daughter’; ‘The Wild Huntsman’; ‘The Song of the Brave Man’; ‘Kaiser and Abbot.’ Specimens of his burlesque ballads are: ‘The Robber Count’; ‘The Wives of Weinsberg.’ (See Critical and Biographical Introduction).