1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Kopisch, August

KOPISCH, AUGUST (1799–1853), German poet, was born at Breslau on the 26th of May 1799. In 1815 he began the study of painting at the Prague academy, but an injury to his hand precluded the prospects of any great success in this profession, and he turned to literature. After a residence in Dresden Kopisch proceeded, in 1822, to Italy, where, at Naples, he formed an intimate friendship with the poet August, count of Platen Hallermund. He was an expert swimmer, a quality which enabled him in company with Ernst Fries to discover the blue grotto of Capri. In 1828 he settled at Berlin and was granted a pension by Frederick William IV., who in 1838 conferred upon him the title of professor. He died at Berlin on the 3rd of February 1853. Kopisch produced some very original poetry, light in language and in form. He especially treated legends and popular subjects, and among his Gedichte (Berlin, 1836) are some naïve and humorous little pieces such as Die Historie von Noah, Die Heinzelmännchen, Das grüne Tier and Der Scheiderjunge von Krippstedt, which became widely popular. He also published a translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy (Berlin, 1840), and under the title Agrumi (Berlin, 1838) a collection of translations of Italian folk songs.

Kopisch’s collected works were published in 5 vols. (Berlin, 1856.)