ERNST, PAUL (1866-1933), German author, was born at Elbingerode on March 7, 1866, and educated locally and at the universities of Gottingen, Tubingen, Berlin and Berne. After early experiments in journalism, farming and the local adminis trative service, he later devoted himself exclusively to literature. Attached for a time to the Dusseldor f er Schauspielhaus, he wrote many dramas: Lumpenbagasch and Im Chambre separee (1898), Demetrios (1905) ; Das Gold (1906) ; Canossa (1908) ; Brunhild (1909) ; Ariadne auf Naxos 0914); Chriemhild (1918), which, however, suffer from a certain stiffness and artificiality. He also wrote many narrative poems and short stories, and in 1924 com menced to publish his great classical epic, Das Kaiserbuch. He was most at home, however, in the short story, in which he imi tated the manner of the Italian renaissance with great dexterity (Sechs Geschichten ['goo] ; Prinzessin des Ostens [1902], Hoch zeit [ 1913 ] ; Die Tau f e [1916], etc.) . His style is less well adapted to the novel, but his semi-autobiographical Der Schmale Weg zuin Glick (19o3) met with some success. Ernst was the leading representative of the German neo-classic school, and as such strongly opposed to the expressionism of his day. His the ories, which he evolved scientifically and followed conscientiously, are set out in his Der Weg zur Form (1906), a very interesting literary manifesto. Two political works, Der Zusammenbruch des Marxismus (1918) and Der Zusammenbruch des deutsc/ien Ideal ismus (192o) show the evolution of his mind from Socialism to Conservatism. His collected works (15 vols.) were published 1916-22.
See R. Faesi, Paul Ernst and die neuklassizischten Bestrebungen im Drama (1913) ; W. Mahrholz, Paul Ernst (1917) .