E.T.A. HOFFMANN

(1776-1822)

 

 

E.T.A. Hoffmann is most famous as the author of the eNutcrackerf, and there is a large number of people who have heard the name, or the ballet, but do not know who wrote the tale.  Casting the dancing sugar-plum fairies to one side, Hoffmannfs finest short stories are eDer Goldne Topff (eThe Golden Potf, which was translated by Thomas Carlyle, as only Thomas Carlyle could) and eKlein Zaches genannt Zinnoberf, which is here presented.  He was a man of many talents and a great storyteller; unfortunately, versatility often provokes claims of dilentanttism, and literary critics do not always appreciate those who can give the reader a story well told.  For a long time, neither Germany nor England knew what to make of Ernst Theodor Amadeus.

 

eKlein Zachesf is a humorous tale.  The author employs irony to poke fun at Enlightenment, German Romanticism (through the echaracterf of the soppy hero, Balthasar), and, through Little Zaches, at himself.  The theme of wasted reward and misdirected reproach, which rises from the spell cast on Zaches by the Fairy Rosabelverde, may perhaps draw forth slightly darker thoughts from the readerfs mind.

 

 

Klein Zaches genannt Zinnober / Little Zaches, Great Zinnober

 

Little Ernest, Great Ernst: The Trials and Tribulations of E.T.A. Hoffmann in English, with especial reference to his Klein Zaches, genannt Zinnober



 

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