[

] is a collection of travel narratives that appeared in four installments from 1826-1831. Marking Heine’s generic transition from lyric poetry to prose, the

signal the arrival of a new sense of literary modernity. With its stylish, exhilarating take on the mode of travel writing increasingly popular at the height of the Romantic period, Heine’s prose achieves a new tone that engages Classicism and Romanticism in provocative manner. Carrying over a rhythmic flow and tone from his poetry, the

created a unique fusion of prose and poetry, in a carefree style that took on a paradigmatic significance for nineteenth-century culture.

The opening piece of the Reisebilder, “Die Harzreise” [“Harz Journey”], captures Heine’s bold new

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Citation: Goetschel, Willi. "Reisebilder". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 January 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11178, accessed 23 November 2024.]