Burger is only remarkable as a lyric poet. He has tried all the different species of this class of the pro ductions of genius ; but he succeeded eminently on ly in the song and the ballad. We shall, perhaps, characterize his genius sufficiently by saying, that his imagination is more fresh than rich,—that he has more sensibility than elevation,—more naivete and good nature than delicacy or taste. His style sparkles by its clearness, its energy, and from an elegance which is rather the result of labour than of natural grace ; he possesses, in short, all the qualities which please the multitude. Allowing the title of poet only to those whose writings were calculated to be come popular, he early habituated himself to reject whatever appeared to him not sufficiently intelligible and interesting to all classes of readers. Always clear and forcible, he is never either low or trivial ; and if, at certain times, there appears a want of se lection and care in the details, yet the sentiments are uniformly noble, and the moral intention of the majority of his pieces altogether irreproachable. Some breathe the loftiest piety and the purest love of virtue. Wieland said of him (see the German Mercury, 1778), that in composing his poem entitled Meznnerkeuschheit (on Chastity), Burger had de served better of the present and future generations, than if he had written the finest treatise of. mo rality. This little piece has been inserted in most of the collections of hymns for the use of the Lu theran church.
There are three editions of Burger's works. The two first appeared in his lifetime, in 1778 and 1789, in 8 vols. 8vo, and the 'third, after his death, was published by his friend Ch. Reinhard, in 4 vols., 1796. All three were printed atGottingen. The last contains some posthumous pieces, and miscellanies in prose. We must confine ourselves to a short notice of those for which their merit or the singularity of the sub ject has procured the greatest degree of celebrity. I. A translation, or rather an imitation, of the Vigil of Venus (Pervigilium Venetia). It is a fine piece of poetic diction and rythinical harmony. II. Leo nora, a romance, which belongs to the class which Burger himself called the epic lyric. The story is bor rowed from a popular tradition, of which the traces are to be found in the different countries of the north. Leonora was translated into Danish, in 1788,—six times into English, by Stanley, Pye, Spencer, Taylor, &c.---and from English into French, by De is Ma
deleine, in 1811. The translation by Mr Spencer is accompanied with engravings after designs by Lady Diana Beauclerc. Two German composers have set it to music. Burger often appeared very ill-content ed with the vast success of this production of his youth. He preferred a great number of his other poems, and was hiamelf the first to blame the puerile trick of the play upon sounds which he has there in dulged in. III. The Minister's Daughter of Tau. benhain. It is the story of the seduction and tragi cal end of a young girl. There are in this, as in the other productions of the same author, some objec. tionable details, but the whole leaves a deep he. pression. IV. The Inhuman Huntssnan. V. Song of the Brave ; in which the heroism of a pea. sant, who saves a family from the fury of the snores, is related with admirable feeling. VI. The Song of Songs, conceived at the foot of the altar. This is a hymn or ode in praise of his Molly. VII. A Tra. vestie of the Fable of Jupiter and Europa. This is a piece of humour of the most clumsy kind, and in a taste the most wretched, yet it had a great run when it first appeared. VIII. A translation, ix iambic verse, of some books of the Iliad. The choice of the measure is by no means happy. He was accordingly requested, ironically, to set about translating Anacreon into hexameters, when he had finished his version of Horner into Ger man iambics. IX. An excellent Translation of Shakespear's Macbeth. X. Pieces of Poetry and of Rhetorical Prose. He had begun to write cri. tical observations on his own works, with equal se verity and But he has only left some fret meats of this work. XI. He was editor of the Got tingen Almanack of the Muses, from 1779 to 17. Vetterlein, Politz, and _Engel, have published a se lection of the poetry of Burger, with notes ; and ce lebrated composers, such as Schulz and Reichardt, have set a great number of his songs to music. Burger's third wife, whom German biography has thought worthy to have her name associated with his on account of her taste for literature, and particular. ly poetry, is author of several pieces in verse, insert. •ed in the Collections. The one having for its title ' The Raillery of a Mother, is sufficient to prove her 'poetical talent.
See the account of Burger in the sixth Volume of the Biogrephie Universelle. (a.)