Brentano, Clemens (brĕntä`nō), 1778–1842, German poet of the romantic school; brother of Bettina von Arnim (see under Arnim, Achim von Bettina von Arnim, 1785–1859, whose maiden name was Elisabeth Brentano, was also a writer. She corresponded with Beethoven and Goethe and published the letters, not as historical documents but in the light of her own highly poetic imagination, as in
..... Click the link for more information. ). While studying at Halle and Jena he met Wieland, Herder, and Goethe, but his sympathies were with the younger German romantics. With Achim von Arnim he collaborated on Des Knaben Wunderhorn [the boy's magic horn] (1806–8), a folk-song collection that influenced Eichendorff, Heine, the brothers Grimm and several composers, notably Mahler. Brentano wrote plays, lyric poems, fairy tales, and such novellas as Geschichte vom braven Kasperl und dem schönen Annerl (1817, tr. The Story of the Just Casper and Fair Annie, 1927).

Bibliography

See study by J. F. Fetzer (1974).

Brentano, Clemens

(born Sept. 9, 1778, Ehrenbreitstein, near Koblenz—died July 28, 1842, Aschaffenburg, Bavaria) German poet, novelist, and dramatist. He was one of the founders of the Heidelberg Romantic school, which emphasized German folklore and history. With his brother-in-law Achim von Arnim (1781–1831), he published Des Knaben Wunderhorn (1805–08; The Youth's Magic Horn), a collection of German folk lyrics (including successful imitations of folk style) that became an important inspiration to lyric poets and composers such as Gustav Mahler. Among his most successful works are his fairy tales, particularly Gockel, Hinkel and Gackeleia (1838).