Born in Hanover on 8 September 1767 to Ihna Christiane and Johann Adolf Schlegel, August Wilhelm came from a family of prolific literary connoisseurs and critics, most famous among whom were his uncle, Elias (1719-49), and his brother and collaborator Friedrich (1772-1822). Perhaps best known for his verse translations of seventeen Shakespearean plays, August Wilhelm Schlegel also gained international acclaim for his perceptive literary criticism, which covered an imposing spectrum of cultures and periods, ranging from Greek antiquity, to the European Middle Ages, to the Spanish, Italian, and British Renaissance, to contemporary German literature, and to texts written in Sanskrit. To Francophone and Anglophone audiences, A. W. Schlegel is best known for the series of lectures on dramatic…
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Citation: von Schwerin-High, Friederike. "August Wilhelm von Schlegel". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 June 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3959, accessed 23 November 2024.]
