1. Introduction

In his 1796 speech, Herder emphasized the significance of German poets, particularly Johann Peter Uz, who, despite being marginalized in modern poetry anthologies, was once an important representative of the Anacreontic poetry popular in mid-18th-century Germany and Europe. Contemporaries like Lessing and Haller highly praised Uz's poetry, while others such as Kant and Jean Paul were critical. The evaluation of Anacreontic poetry in the 18th century was contradictory—on one hand, it held aesthetic appeal, yet on the other, it seemed insignificant in the history of German poetry. The new generation of Sturm und Drang poets replaced the Anacreontic school, and Uz himself recognized his own obsolescence. Nevertheless, certain elements of his work were carried forward, especially after Goethe elevated Rococo poetry to its peak and then transcended it. This paper will analyze Uz's "The Joy of Spring" and "To Amor," as well as Goethe's "Little Flower, Little Leaves," exploring which components of Anacreontic poetry are seen as a blend of charm and dull mediocrity, and how these elements persist in Goethe's poetry. The study employs quantitative content analysis to compare motifs and reveal new tendencies in Goethe's work. Additionally, it examines the relationship between the lyrical subject and the real author in Uz and Goethe's poetry, using the terms "fictional persona" and "author-authentic poetry," while referencing historical and biographical sources.

2. Uz and the 18th-Century Anacreontic School

Uz's poetic style was influenced by the ancient Greek poet Anacreon, with themes centered on sensory pleasure, love, and hedonism. The 16th-century Anacreontic collection spread through Latin translations in German-speaking regions, and in the 17th century, Martin Opitz first attempted to adapt it into German. By the 1740s, the Anacreontic school gradually emerged as a literary movement, supported by the rising appreciation of sensibility in epistemology, poetic theory, and aesthetics. Uz's "Lyric Poems" became one of the most popular poetry publications of the mid-18th century. In contrast to the asceticism of early Enlightenment, the Anacreontic school explored a new hedonistic outlook on life, embodied in "carpe diem" poetry. The lyrical subject in these poems is surrounded by idyllic scenery, rejoicing in love, life, and wine, speaking with enthusiasm, liveliness, wit, and erotic stimulation.

3. Uz: "The Joy of Spring"

Uz's "The Joy of Spring" is a quintessential Anacreontic poem celebrating the joys of spring. The lyrical subject indulges in wine, earthly pleasures, and love during springtime, expressing a playful tone through trochaic meter that mirrors the season's vibrancy. Classical mythological figures like Bacchus, Amor, Phyllis, and Aurora serve as allegories, emphasizing that love surpasses wine in importance. Uz's poetry seeks moderate pleasure within emotional equilibrium, avoiding personal experiences in favor of fictional observations. The mythological figures in his work only display positive traits, omitting tragic or brutal aspects. Anacreontic poetry relies on conventional genre conventions, playing with repeated themes and motifs through allegory. Uz's poems are role-poetry, emphasizing elegant rhythm and meter, aligning with impersonal characteristics. Common motifs in Uz and other Anacreontic poets include the Muse, wine, love, joy, pleasure, spring, and roses. Through jest and allegorical personification, Anacreontic poetry artistically elevates erotic themes, avoiding personal traits and elevating depictions of emotion and passion to a universal level.

4. Goethe: "Little Flower, Little Leaves"

This section explores the stylistic shift in Goethe's early poetry, particularly his transition from Rococo to more authentic and profound love themes. It analyzes Goethe's "Little Flower, Little Leaves," noting that while the opening follows Anacreontic conventions, it soon shifts to a longing for genuine love, rejecting the frivolity of Rococo poetry. The change from third to second person and the dismissal of the "feeble rose garland" mark Goethe's break from traditional poetic forms. This shift is seen as a pivotal moment in Goethe's poetic development, leading him toward Sturm und Drang poetry. The chapter also discusses how Goethe's relationship with Friederike Brion influenced his work and examines the autobiographical dimension of his poetry through the concept of "author-authentic poetry." Ultimately, while Goethe may have stylized this love affair, the connection between the lyrical subject and the real author is evident, reflecting the interplay of truth and fiction in his poetry.

5. Goethe and the Anacreontic School

This section examines the link between Goethe's early poetry and the Anacreontic school. Anacreontic poetry played a crucial role in Goethe's development as a poet and a Sturm und Drang figure, providing formal elements, stylistic material, and natural imagery. In Goethe's work, a deeper connection to nature emerges, particularly in "May Song," where the unity of nature and humanity reaches new heights, whereas Anacreontic poets treated nature as a pastoral backdrop. Goethe's poetry seeks personal relationships with real individuals, with the lyrical subject directly addressing the beloved, surpassing Anacreontic models. Uz's poems occasionally feature female figures based on real-life prototypes, suggesting an equivalence between the lyrical subject and the author, but this "author-authentic" turn never became a programmatic feature of his work, as he remained within the mythologized framework of fictional personas.

6. Conclusion

Uz, alongside Gleim, Weisse, Götz, and Hagedorn, shaped 18th-century Rococo poetry, serving as an early model for the young Goethe. His Anacreontic poetry influenced the formation of Sturm und Drang, though he himself opposed the movement. Uz's correspondence with fellow poets makes no mention of Schiller, Klinger, or Lenz, and Goethe's name appears only once in Gleim's letters, disparagingly. By 1754, Uz declared he had abandoned casual versification, and in 1765, he claimed he had not played the lyre for years. Despite Herder's 1796 "school speech" praising Uz as a model poet and recommending his works for schools, Uz was aware of his own obsolescence. His achievement lies in contributing to transitional poetry, offering resonant forms, themes, and motifs—especially natural imagery—that paved the way for the young Goethe and persisted in Sturm und Drang poetry.