Gezelle, Guido

Gezelle, Guido

▪ Flemish poet and priest
born May 1, 1830, Bruges, Belg.
died Nov. 27, 1899, Bruges

      Flemish priest and poet who was one of the masters of 19th-century European lyric poetry.

      Gezelle was ordained in 1854 while already a teacher at Roeselare, where he remained until 1860. He worked to inspire his students with his religious, poetic, and Flemish-nationalist idealism. His romantic views clashed with the opinions of the higher clergy, however, and in 1860 he was transferred to Bruges, where he became a professor of philosophy and the vice principal (1861–65) and curate (1865–72) of the Anglo-Belgian seminary.

      Gezelle was a lively, sometimes reckless, political journalist, writing with startling facility in his antiliberal weekly, ‘t Jaer 30 (1864–70; “The Year 30”), and elsewhere. He founded and edited an illustrated cultural weekly, Rond den heerd (1865–72; “Around the Hearth”). On the verge of a nervous breakdown, he was transferred in 1872 as curate to Kortrijk, where he recovered his balance and again began to write poetry. From roughly 1877 until his death his output of poetry was constant. In 1881 he founded and edited Loquela (1881–95), a philological review, and in 1886 he published a masterly translation of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth)'s poem The Song of Hiawatha. In March 1899 he became chaplain of the English convent at Bruges, where he died.

      From 1850 to 1862 Gezelle's poetry—Kerkhofblommen (“Graveyard Flowers”) and Dichtoefeningen (“Poetical Exercises”), both 1858; Kleengedichtjes (1860; “Little Poems”); and Gedichten, gezangen en gebeden (1862; “Poems, Songs, and Prayers”)—was the expression of a sensitive, passionate, and versatile personality ill-adjusted to life yet delighting in the beauty of nature and finding spiritual exaltation in the love of God. The poems of his later life (1877–99), collected in Tijdkrans (1893; “Garland of Time”), Rijmsnoer (1897; “Rhyme String”), and Laatste verzen (1901; “Last Poems”), are works of great lyrical purity and intensity. They are more mature and controlled in construction, and, although they still express his longing for liberation from earthly bonds, they demonstrate that he had attained greater harmony with the outer world. Gezelle shows stunning originality and virtuosity in his use of language and imagery, yet his expression, however mystical or experimental, remains linguistically rooted in the west Flemish dialect.

      Gezelle also worked as a philologist and folklorist, and he greatly influenced 19th-century Flemish intellectual life. His collected poetry (Verzameld dichtwerk), edited by J. Boets, was published in seven volumes (1980–86).

Additional Reading
H. Van Nuis, Guido Gezelle, Flemish Poet-Priest (1986).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Gezelle, Guido — ► (1830 99) Sacerdote y poeta belga. Escribió en lengua flamenca. Obras: Flores del cementerio (1858) y Collar de rimas (1897), entre otras …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Gezelle — Gezelle, Guido …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Gezelle — Guido Gezelle Guido Gezelle (* 1. Mai 1830 in Brügge; † 27. November 1899 ebendort) gilt als der bedeutendste flämische Dichter des 19. Jahrhunderts. Gezelle wird als Sohn von Monica Devrieze und Pieter Jan Gezelle geboren. Er kam zur Welt mit… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Guido Gezelle — Guido Pieter Theodorus Josephus G …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • GEZELLE (G.) — GEZELLE GUIDO (1830 1899) Personnalité riche et complexe, Gezelle, écrivain belge d’expression néerlandaise, exerça une profonde influence sur l’évolution culturelle des Flandres. Originaire d’un milieu populaire brugeois, il s’orienta vers le… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Guido Gezelle — Guido Gezelle. Guido Gezelle, poeta belga en neerlandés nacido en Brujas el 1 de mayo de 1830 y muerto en Cortrique (Kortrijk) el 27 de noviembre de 1899. Se hizo sacerdote en 1854 y fue profesor y cura en Roeselare. Estuvo muy involucrado en… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Gezelle — (Guido) (1830 1899) prêtre et poète belge néerlandophone. Romantique (Fleurs de cimetière, 1858), puis moderniste (Collier de rimes, 1897), il défendit la culture flamande dans sa revue Loquela (1881 1895) …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Guido Gezelle — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Guido et Gezelle. Guido Gezelle …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gezelle (Asteroid) — Asteroid (1672) Gezelle Eigenschaften des Orbits Orbittyp Hauptgürtelasteroid Große Halbachse 3,1826 AE Exzentrizität 0,2703 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Guido Gezelle — (May 1, 1830 November 27, 1899) was an influential Dutch language writer and poet and a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium. He was born in Bruges in the province of West Flanders, where he also spent most of his life. He was ordained a priest in… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”