Schubert composed the lied to Heidenröslein in 1815 in Vienna. This was an extremely turbulent time in all of Europe. After the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars were sparked in 1803. These wars involved Russian and most major European countries. Aside from the United Kingdom, Austria became the most resolute enemy of France and had over a million men fighting in the wars. The wars ended at the Congress of Vienna, when European ambassadors met to discuss the issues that arose from the wars and to redraw the political map of Europe. These discussions lasted from September of 1814 until June of 1815, and bear particular historical significance in that they mark the first time that people came together from all over the continent to meet in one place to make peace over a treaty. The settlements they reached at these meetings were held up until 1914. A major result for Austria was changes in territorial claims.
CULTURAL WORLD OF POEM:
Heidenröslein was one of Goethe's early poems. Many people took to the poem's unconventional simplicity. It was written in 1771 and published in 1789, which was a pivotal time in Goethe's life, as he took off in the whirlwind of his self-made (with a partner) period of literature. [Since I have already spoken about the time period in regards to Schubert's composition, I will now expand upon this major period that followed Goethe's composition of the poem.]
Weimar Classicism was a period from (1788-1832) during which two thinkers/writers, Goethe and Schiller, searched for "aesthetic standards in contemporary literature". They did not wish to copy Classic Greek literature, but hoped to infuse those aesthetic qualities found in Classic Greek literature (such as genre or structure) into their contemporary German literature, as a way of creating new forms for their own culture. Examples of subject focuses in their literature were the development of individuality and finding direction through experience. Both men were extremely multi-talented, and each put out a vast array of literature during this time period, from the solely literary to the scientific to the philosophical.
After Schiller died in 1805, it is believed that Goethe began to move toward Romantic styles of writing in his poetry. His poetry of this time is characterized by exoticism, or the borrowing of style from a distant culture, which also characterized Romantic poetry of the time. However, it is believed that Goethe was able to distinguish himself from Romantic poets by using his own distinct expressive mode.
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