Heinrich Heine (poet/librettist)

Heinrich Heine was born in 1797 and lived at a time of major social and political changes. The French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars deeply influenced society and Heine's poetry.  Heine was also of Jewish background but later converted to Protestantism.  As a young man, he encouraged to pursue a commercial career.  When it was met with failure, Heine studied law at the universities of Bonn, Berlin and Göttingen, but was more interested in literature.  He eventually took a degree in 1825.  Heine's early works show the influence of folk poetry, but his contrariness separated him from the Romantic mainstream. His writing was always easy-going, and his observations were meticulously composed.