Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann was born in 1776. His birthplace is Koenigsberg. At first, William was present in his name, but he himself changed his name, because he loved Mozart very much. His parents divorced when he was only 3 years old, and his grandmother raised him - the mother of his mother. His uncle was a lawyer and a very intelligent person. Their relationship was rather complicated, but his uncle influenced his nephew, the development of his various talents.
early years
When Hoffman grew up, he also decided that he would become a lawyer. He enters the university in Koenigsberg, after training he served in different cities, his profession is a judicial officer. But such a life was not for him, so he began to paint and play music, which is why he tried to earn a living.
He soon met his first love, Dora. At that time she was only 25, but she was married and had already given birth to 5 children. They entered into a relationship, but in the city they began to gossip, and relatives decided that they needed to send Hoffmann to Glogau to another uncle.
The beginning of the creative path
In the late 1790s, Hoffmann became a composer, he took the pseudonym Johann Kreisler. There are several works that are fairly well-known, for example, an opera written by him in 1812 under the name Aurora. Hoffmann also worked in the Bamberg Theater and served as bandmaster and was also a conductor.
It so happened that Hoffmann returned to the civil service. When he passed the exam in 1800, he began to work as an assessor in the Supreme Court of Poznan. In this city, he met Michaelina, with whom he married.
Literary work
THIS. Hoffmann began to write his works in 1809. The first short story was called “Cavalier Gluck”, it was published by the Leipzig newspaper. When he returned to jurisprudence in 1814, he also wrote fairy tales, including The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. At a time when Hoffmann was creating, German romanticism flourished. If you read the works well, you can see the main trends of the school of romanticism. For example, irony, the ideal artist, the value of art. The writer demonstrated the conflict that occurred between reality and utopia. He constantly ironizes over his heroes who are trying to find some kind of freedom in art.
Researchers at Hoffmann’s work are unanimous in their opinion that his biography and his work cannot be separated from music. Especially if you watch the short stories - for example, "Kreislerian".
The thing is that in it the main character is Johannes Kreisler (as we remember, this is the author's pseudonym). The work is an essay, their themes are different, but the hero is one. It has long been recognized that it is Johann who is considered the double of Hoffmann.
In general, the writer is a rather bright person, he is not afraid of difficulties, he is ready to fight the blows of fate in order to achieve a certain goal. And in this case, this is art.
"Nutcracker"
This tale was published in a collection in 1716. When Hoffmann created this work, he was impressed by the children of his friend. The children were called Marie and Fritz, their names Hoffmann gave his characters. If you read Hoffmann's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, an analysis of the work will show us the moral principles that the author tried to convey to the children.
In short, the story is this: Marie and Fritz are getting ready for Christmas. Godfather always makes a toy for Marie. But after Christmas, this toy is usually taken, as it is very skillfully made.
Children come to the Christmas tree and see that there is a whole bunch of gifts, the girl finds the Nutcracker. This toy serves to crack nuts. Once Marie began to play with dolls, and at midnight mice appeared, led by her king. It was a huge mouse with seven heads.
Then the toys, led by the Nutcracker, come to life and enter into battle with the mice.
Brief analysis
If we analyze the work of Hoffmann's The Nutcracker, it is noticeable that the writer tried to show how important goodness, courage, mercy are, that you cannot leave anyone in trouble, you need to help, show courage. Marie was able to see his light in a plain Nutcracker. She liked his good nature, and she did her best to protect her pet from the nasty brother Fritz, who always hurt the toy.
Despite everything, she tries to help the Nutcracker, gives sweets to the impudent Mouse King, if only he would not harm the soldier. Courage and courage are demonstrated here. Marie and her brother, toys and the Nutcracker are teaming up to achieve the goal of defeating the Mouse King.
The Golden Pot
This work is also quite famous, and Hoffmann created it when in 1814 the French troops led by Napoleon approached Dresden. Moreover, the city in the descriptions is quite real. The author tells about the life of people, how they rode a boat, went to visit each other, held folk festivals and much more.
The events of the tale unfold in two worlds, this is the real Dresden, as well as Atlantis. If we analyze the work of Hoffmann's Golden Pot, we can see that the author describes a harmony that you will not find in ordinary life during the day with fire. The main character is a student Anselm.
The writer tried to tell beautifully about the valley, where beautiful flowers grow, amazing birds fly, where all the landscapes are simply magnificent. Once there lived the spirit of the Salamander, he fell in love with the Fire Lily and inadvertently caused the destruction of the garden of Prince Phosphorus. Then the prince expelled this spirit into the world of people and told what the future of Salamander would be: people would forget about miracles, he would meet his beloved again, and they would have three daughters. The salamander will be able to return home when his daughters find lovers who are ready to believe that a miracle is possible. In the work, the Salamander can also see the future and predict it.
Hoffmann's works
I must say that although the author had very interesting musical works, nevertheless, he is known as a storyteller. Works for Hoffmann's children are quite popular, some of them can be read by a small child, some by a teenager. For example, if you take a fairy tale about the Nutcracker, then it is suitable for both those and others.
“The Golden Pot” is a rather interesting fairy tale, but filled with allegories and a double meaning, which demonstrate the foundations of morality, which are also relevant in our difficult times, for example, the ability to be friends and help, protect, and show courage.
Suffice it to recall the “Royal Bride” - a work that was based on real events. It is about the estate where one scientist lives with his daughter.
The underground king rules the vegetables, he and his retinue come to the garden of Anna and occupy him. They dream that once only human fruits and vegetables will live on the whole Earth. It all started with the fact that Anna found an extraordinary ring ...
Zahes
In addition to the above tales, there are other works of this kind by Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann - "Baby Tsahes, nicknamed Zinnober." Once upon a time there was one little freak. The fairy felt sorry for him.
She decided to give him three hairs that have magical properties. As soon as something happens in the place where Tsahes is located, significant or talented, or someone else says this, everyone thinks that he did it. And if the dwarf does some dirty tricks, then everyone thinks of others. Possessing such a gift, the baby becomes a genius among the people, he is soon appointed minister.
"Advent on New Year's Eve"
One night, just before the New Year, one wandering comrade came to Berlin, where a completely magical story happened to him. He meets in Berlin Julia, his beloved.
Such a girl actually existed. Hoffman taught her music and was in love, but her relatives engaged Julia with another.
"The Story of the Missing Reflection"
An interesting fact is that in general in the works of the author every now and then one can see somewhere mystical, and even about the unusual one is not worth talking about. Skillfully mixing humor and moral principles, feelings and emotions, real and unreal worlds, Hoffmann seeks the full attention of his reader.
This fact can be traced in the interesting work "The Story of the Missing Reflection." Erasmus Speaker really wanted to visit Italy, which he could achieve, but there he met a beautiful girl Juliet. He did a bad deed, as a result of which he had to go home. Telling everything to Juliet, he says that he would like to stay with her forever. In response, she asks him to give her reflection.
Other works
I must say that the famous works of Hoffmann of different genres and for different ages. For example, the mystical Ghost Story.
Hoffmann is very drawn to mysticism, which can be seen in stories about vampires, about the fatal nun, about the sandman, as well as in a series of books called "Night Etudes."
An interesting fairy tale about the lord of fleas, where it comes to the son of a wealthy merchant, is interesting. He does not like what his father does, and he is not going to follow the same path. This life is not for him, and he is trying to escape from reality. However, he is suddenly arrested, although he does not understand why. The Privy Counselor wants to find the criminal, and whether the criminal is guilty or not, he is not interested. He knows for sure that every person can find some kind of sin.
Most of Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann's works contain a lot of symbolism, myths and legends. Fairy tales are generally difficult to divide by age. Here, for example, take The Nutcracker, this story is so intriguing, filled with adventures and falling in love, events that happen to Mary that it will be interesting enough for children and adolescents, and even adults re-read it with pleasure.
Cartoons are shot in this work, performances, ballet, etc. are repeatedly staged.
In the photo - the first performance of The Nutcracker at the Mariinsky Theater.
But other works by Ernst Hoffmann may be a little difficult for the child to perceive. Some people come to these works quite deliberately to enjoy the extraordinary style of Hoffmann, his bizarre mixture.
Hoffmann is attracted to the topic when a person suffers from insanity, commits some crime, he has a "dark side". If a person has imagination, has feelings, then he can fall into madness and commit suicide. In order to write the story "Sandman", Hoffmann studied scientific papers on diseases and clinical components. The short story attracted the attention of researchers, among them was Sigmund Freud, who even dedicated his essay to this work.
Everyone decides for himself at what age to read Hoffmann's books. Some do not quite understand his too surreal language. However, one has only to start reading the work, as you involuntarily get drawn into this mixed mystical and crazy world, where a gnome lives in a real city, where spirits walk along the streets, and lovely snakes look for their beautiful princes.