Analysis of Romanticism, The Brothers Grimm, and Hansel and Gretel
Timothy Towers
Becky Austin
Honors English IV
April 18th, 2014
The Brothers Grimm, Romanticism, and Hansel and Gretel Today when one thinks about the Grimm Brothers, they most likely think about how widespread their stories are, being that they are told in many homes and have had many adaptations of them. This was not the case however when Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm first started to write and collect their tales. Many were uncomfortable with them and the very violent scenes they had. People eventually came around and Jacob and Wilhelm became two of the most famous people in the history of things relating to literature and this shows through their tales such as Hansel and Gretel. The Grimm Brothers were both born in Hanau Germany in the late eighteenth century. Jacob was born first on January fourth, 1785 and Wilhelm was born second on February twenty fourth, 1786. Although they were not the first two born children of Philipp Grimm, a lawyer who served as a cleric in the city of Hanau, they were the oldest of his surviving children (“Grimm Brothers” 837). Being just a year apart in age, they were very close and rarely left each other’s side. They were both very even tempered boys which helped them get along well with each other. The main difference in their personalities was that Jacob Grimm was into research of literary theories and how languages worked while Wilhelm Grimm was more interested with music and the flow of language (“Brothers Grimm” 837). These two stylistic differences helped in creating better tales; Jacob would work out the underlying themes and word choices while Wilhelm would focus on how the tale would flow and what type of pattern it would have (if it were some type of poem). They both started their educations at a primary and then secondary school in Kassel, Germany and later went on to the University of Marburg in Germany to take up legalistic studies. While there, they became very interested in one professor in specific, Friedrich
Becky Austin
Honors English IV
April 18th, 2014
The Brothers Grimm, Romanticism, and Hansel and Gretel Today when one thinks about the Grimm Brothers, they most likely think about how widespread their stories are, being that they are told in many homes and have had many adaptations of them. This was not the case however when Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm first started to write and collect their tales. Many were uncomfortable with them and the very violent scenes they had. People eventually came around and Jacob and Wilhelm became two of the most famous people in the history of things relating to literature and this shows through their tales such as Hansel and Gretel. The Grimm Brothers were both born in Hanau Germany in the late eighteenth century. Jacob was born first on January fourth, 1785 and Wilhelm was born second on February twenty fourth, 1786. Although they were not the first two born children of Philipp Grimm, a lawyer who served as a cleric in the city of Hanau, they were the oldest of his surviving children (“Grimm Brothers” 837). Being just a year apart in age, they were very close and rarely left each other’s side. They were both very even tempered boys which helped them get along well with each other. The main difference in their personalities was that Jacob Grimm was into research of literary theories and how languages worked while Wilhelm Grimm was more interested with music and the flow of language (“Brothers Grimm” 837). These two stylistic differences helped in creating better tales; Jacob would work out the underlying themes and word choices while Wilhelm would focus on how the tale would flow and what type of pattern it would have (if it were some type of poem). They both started their educations at a primary and then secondary school in Kassel, Germany and later went on to the University of Marburg in Germany to take up legalistic studies. While there, they became very interested in one professor in specific, Friedrich