Discuss the most important works by Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffman.

German Romantic author, composer, music critic, and artist Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffman (E. T. A. Hoffman) lived from 1776 to 1822. Recognized as a pioneer of the fantasy genre with a predilection for the macabre, Hoffman’s literary influence has been far-reaching and has left its mark on such literary giants as Poe, Dickens, and Baudelaire. Along with the German Romantics of his era, Hoffman believed that Rationalism put the imagination under threat—and his writing delves deeply into the wanderings of the imagination. But Hoffman’s important works are not limited to literature. He is also recognized for his musical compositions and works for the stage.
In terms of literature, some of his most famous writings include The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, a novella on which Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker was based. His novella The Golden Pot: A Modern Fairytale is regarded by scholars as perhaps his finest tale and one of the masterpieces of Romantic literature. “The Sandman” is a very influential science-fiction short story and one of the first in its genre.
Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker is based on a retelling of Hoffman’s original story by Alexandre Dumas. Dumas lightened up what was a much darker tale. In Hoffman’s original version, the protagonist, a girl named Marie, decides to remain in her fantasy world and is thus liberated from the constraints of the real world.
The Golden Pot: A Modern Fairytale is the third volume in Hoffman’s anthology Fantasy Pieces in the Manner of Callot (Callot was an artist who created etchings in the Baroque style). The Golden Pot follows the extraordinary and enchanted adventures of an awkward student, Anselmus, in Dresden. Hoffman wrote this remarkable story as a mental escape from the terrible conditions of Dresden while he lived there, at a time when the battles between Napoleon and the Allies (Prussia, Austria, and Russia) left their scars on the city.
Hoffman’s short story “The Sandman” is the first in a book of stories entitled The Night Pieces. Told through a series of letters, the story takes a traditional character from folklore, the Sandman, and creates a frightening and psychologically dark twist so original and notable that Freud famously referred to it in one of his lectures.