Heinrich Heine
Heinrich Heine (1797-1856). German Jewish poet. The poems in his Book of Songs (1827), some of which were set to music by Schumann, made his reputation. From 1831 Heine lived in Paris, where he wrote mainly prose; the satirical and liberal nature of these writings led to their publication being banned in Germany. New Poems (1844) marked his return to poetry. From 1848 he suffered from spinal paralysis and was bedridden. Heine’s marriage to his mistress Eugenie Mirat alienated him from his family, who tried to cut off his annuity and destroyed the bulk of his memoirs after his death.
