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Reinhard Johannes Sorge

ラインハルト・ヨハネス・ゾルゲ

Reinhard Johannes Sorge

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1892-01-29 （Berlin, Germany）
Died
1916-07-20 （Ablaincourt, France） age 24
Nationality
German
Languages
German
Religion
Roman Catholic Church Baptized in 1913

Career

Occupations
playwright, poet, writer
Active Years
1911-1916
Influenced By
Richard Dehmel, Stefan George, August Strindberg, Friedrich Nietzsche (early influence)
Influenced
Max Reinhardt (influence via staging of his play), German-language Christian poets, development of Expressionist theatre

Awards

Kleist Prize
1912
Work: Der Bettler (The Beggar)
Organization: Kleist Prize committee
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Der Bettler (The Beggar)

1912 stage play (Expressionism)

An Expressionist stage play depicting a young poet's exalted ideals and trials; notable for stage directions that visualize inner states through lighting and abstract staging.

faith and doubtself-sacrificeinner transformationExpressionist symbolism
Adaptations
  • [stage] Der Bettler / Max Reinhardt (1917)
Translations
  • The Beggar (English translation)

Guntwar: Die Stunde eines Propheten

1914 stage play

A play depicting the hour of a prophet; treats religious and mystical themes.

prophecyreligious vocation

Metanoeite: Three Mysteries

1915 stage play / mystery plays

A tripartite mystery play strongly reflecting his post-conversion religious concerns.

repentancemysticism

König David (King David)

1916 stage play / religious drama

A religious visionary drama incorporating biblical motifs.

biblical themessalvation

Mutter der Himmel (Mother of Heaven)

1917 poetry

A long, religiously fervent poem published posthumously.

marian devotionreligious vision

Bibliography

  • Der Bettler. Eine dramatische Sendung (1912)
  • Guntwar. Die Stunde eines Propheten (1914)
  • Metanoeite. Drei Mysterien (1915)
  • König David (1916)
  • Mutter der Himmel. Ein Sang in zwölf Gesängen (1917)
  • Posthumous Poems (Nachgelassene Gedichte) (1925)
  • Werke, 3 volumes (1962–1967)

Adaptations

  • Max Reinhardt's 1917 production of Der Bettler (stage)

Translations of Works

  • Take Flight to God (English translation, translated by John Gallas, SLG Press, 2023)
  • Collected Poems of Reinhard Sorge (English translation, translated by John Gallas, SLG Oxford 2024)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Expressionist stagecraftsymbolic and mystical imageryreligious fervor in tone
Recurring Motifs
light and darknesssearch for God and faithself-sacrifice and purification

Health

  • mental breakdown / psychological crisis
    1911（ノーダーンニー滞在時）
    Led to his conversion and a religious turn in his writing; deeply affected his creative output.

Legacy

A young Expressionist playwright and poet whose innovative stage directions in Der Bettler influenced theatrical history. Through Max Reinhardt's productions and others, his work helped shape Expressionist theatre. After his conversion he had notable influence on German-language Christian literature.

Museums

  • Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach (manuscript collections) Marbach am Neckar, Germany

Academic Societies

  • German literary study groups
  • Expressionism research groups

Archives

  • Manuscripts at the Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach
  • German National Library (DNB)

In Popular Culture

  • Commemorated at multinational ceremony in Belloy-en-Santerre on 4 July 2016

Quotes

  • “Thenceforth my pen has been and forever will be Christ's stylus—until my death.”
    Source: Letter after conversion (1913) (1913)
  • “The stage becomes a universe of the mind, and the individual scenes visualize stages of thought rather than replicas of three-dimensional physical reality.”
    Source: Walter H. Sokel (critical commentary) (1959)

Trivia

  • Won the Kleist Prize in 1912 for Der Bettler (aged about 20).
  • Killed in action during World War I in 1916 (aged 24).
  • Converted to Roman Catholicism in 1913 after marrying Susanne Maria Handewerk.
  • Der Bettler premiered posthumously in 1917 under Max Reinhardt and influenced Expressionist theatre.