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Zesen, Philipp von

Zesen, Philipp von fēˈlĭp fən tsāˈzən [key], 1619–89, German poet and novelist. Zesen was a major champion of the purification of the German language. His works include Deutscher Helikon [German Helicon] (1640) and a phonetic orthography. Named poet laureate by Ferdinand III, he also wrote emotionally sensitive and philosophically interesting novels, including Adriatische Rosemund (1645), Assenat (1670), and the allegory Simson [Samson] (1679).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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