Atta Troll

Heine, Heinrich, 1797-1856Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.1

Word count: 118K words
Chapters: 12

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Atta Troll by Heinrich HeineAuthor: Heine, Heinrich, 1797-1856,Language: English, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Feb 17, 2010

Editor's review

Heine's Atta Troll is a satirical narrative poem with a bear as its protagonist, using a fairy-tale frame to poke fun at the political and literary fashions of its time. The work combines Romantic imagination with sharp social criticism; its language is witty and its imagery striking, offering both the rhythmic pleasures of narrative verse and a sense of the author's response to the intellectual currents of his age. As a public-domain ebook, this edition gives readers direct access to the English text and is well suited to exploring a less mainstream but distinctive side of Heine's writing. Readers may wish to approach it within the context of nineteenth-century European literature and politics, noting the distance between narrator and characters and appreciating the multiple layers of its satire. It is not long, making it suitable for close reading in sections or for comparison with Heine's other works to observe shifts in his style.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in German literature and Heine's works
Those who enjoy satirical narrative poetry and allegorical writing
Readers studying nineteenth-century European literature and thought
Readers who wish to encounter public-domain classics in the original English

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting light, purely entertaining fiction
Readers impatient with poetic form and satirical devices
Beginners who need detailed annotations and introductions

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the narrative thread, then return to passages where the satire is most pointed.
Consider the political and literary context of Heine's era to understand whom the poem is mocking.
Read some sections aloud to feel the rhythm and shifts in tone of the narrative verse.
Read it alongside other works by Heine to observe continuities and changes in his satirical style.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What is this work mainly about?

It unfolds a narrative with a bear as its protagonist, using fairy-tale-like episodes and satire to mock the political fashions and literary ideas of the time, combining Romantic imagination with a critical edge.

Can I read it without knowing German?

Yes. This edition is an English translation, accessible to readers with reasonable English reading ability; however, to appreciate the original poem's sound and wordplay, consulting the German text or relevant notes is still helpful.

Is it suitable as an introduction to Heine?

Not entirely. It is not among the most commonly recommended introductory works by Heine, and its satirical background requires some contextual knowledge; readers are advised to learn about Heine's life and times first, or to read it alongside better-known works.

Comments

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About the author

Heine, Heinrich, 1797-1856 Author

Heinrich Heine (1797–1856) was a German poet and writer. Sixteen of his works are held in this collection, including The Poems of Heine: Complete, Deutschland. Ein Wintermärchen, Die Harzreise, Buch der Lieder, Romanzero, Franse Toestanden, Atta Troll, and The Prose Writings of Heinrich Heine. Because public information is limited, details of his life are omitted here; his works nonetheless show him to be a master of lyric poetry, travel writing, and satirical verse. His language is clear and musical, while his narratives blend social observation with a critical edge. Poems from Buch der Lieder have been widely set to music, and Deutschland. Ein Wintermärchen presents his reflections on reality in a sharp, incisive style. Spanning poetry and prose, his writing has had a lasting influence on German literature and continues to be translated and read in the Chinese-speaking world.