HEBEL, JOHANN PETER (1760-1826), German poet and popular writer, is one of the most widely read of all German popular poets and writers. His poetical narratives and lyric poems, written in dialect, are popular in the best sense. His Allemannische Gedichle (1803) bucolicize, in the words of Goethe, the whole world in the most attractive manner. Indeed, few modern German poets surpass him in fidelity, naIvety, humour, and in the freshness and vigour of his descriptions. His poem, Die Wiese, has been described as the pearl of German idyllic poetry; while his prose writings, especially the narratives and essays belong to the best class of German stories.
