Aspazija
Elza Johanna Emilija Lizete Pliekšāne (née Elza Rozenberga; 16 March 1865 – 5 November 1943), known by her pen name Aspazija, was a Latvian poet and playwright. The Latvian transliteration of Aspasia.
Also recorded as Else Aspasija · Elza Pliekšāne
Aspazija

Cirkulis11 · CC0
- Name
- Aspazija
- Birth Name
- Elza Johanna Emilija Lizete Rozenberga
- Born
- 16 March 1865
- Birthplace
- Zaļenieki parish, Russian Empire
- Died
- 5 November 1943
- Place of death
- Jūrmala, Generalbezirk Lettland (Nazi-occupied Latvia)
- Occupation
- Poet Playwright politician
- Spouse
- Rainis
- Awards
- Order of the Three Stars Cross of Recognition
- Movement
- Romanticism
- Nationality
- Russian Empire and Latvia.
- Fields
- poetry.
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Documentary summary
Elza Johanna Emilija Lizete Pliekšāne (née Elza Rozenberga; 16 March 1865 – 5 November 1943), known by her pen name Aspazija, was a Latvian poet and playwright. The Latvian transliteration of Aspasia.
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Note VALÉORINE
Aspazija (1865–1943) was a Latvian and Russian journalist, playwright and poet, among other activities. Born in Zaļenieki Parish, the journalist died in Dubulti.
Aspazija held the position of deputy of Saeima and worked in Riga. The journalist was active in poetry.
Genres include poetry. Languages used include German and Latvian. Aspazija received Cross of Recognition and Order of the Three Stars, 3rd Class.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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Authority files
gnd · 121291448 · wikidata · Q257872 · wikipedia · Aspazija
In this article
Biography
Biography
The recorded working language is Latvian and German. The field of work recorded is poetry. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are poetry. Places of work recorded in the authority are Riga. Positions recorded include deputy of Saeima. Distinctions recorded are Order of the Three Stars, 3rd Class and Cross of Recognition.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Aspazija • Birth Name — Elza Johanna Emilija Lizete Rozenberga • Born — 16 March 1865 • Birthplace — Zaļenieki parish, Russian Empire • Died — 5 November 1943 • Place of death — Jūrmala, Generalbezirk Lettland (Nazi-occupied Latvia) • Occupation — Poet Playwright politician • Spouse — Rainis • Awards — Order of the Three Stars Cross of Recognition • Movement — Romanticism
Biography
Biography
Aspazija was born and raised in a wealthy peasant family in the Dobele county of Courland Governorate near Jelgava in 1865, where she studied and was active in youth organizations. She left the gymnasium during the last year of her studies, and in 1886, married Wilhelm Max Valter. Later, she became interested in literature, mainly by German authors. Her first publication appeared in 1887 in the newspaper Dienas Lapa. In 1891, she divorced her husband and, until 1893, worked as a private teacher in Jaunsvirlauka. In 1893, she settled in Riga and started to work as a journalist. In 1894, her first plays Vaidelote and Zaudētās tiesības were staged in Riga. In those years she met Jānis Pliekšāns (better known as Rainis), a newspaper editor, poet, lawyer, and a leader of the New Current (Jaunā strāva) movement. Under his influence, Aspazija joined the New Current. The couple married in 1897 when they moved to Panevėžys, Lithuania, after the crackdown of New Current. In the same year, she published her first collection of poetry. For his activities, Rainis was imprisoned and later sentenced to five years in exile in Russia from 1897 to 1903, and Aspazija followed him. Together they translated, into Latvian, many works of Goethe. Later on, they returned to Latvia and continued writing, while Rainis also participated in socialist politics. The 1905 Revolution began with protests in St. Petersburg in January. Within days, protests spread to Riga and many were killed on 13 January 1905. Aspazija's play "Vaidelote" (The Vestal) opened in January and was interpreted as a breakup call from Imperialist Russia. (Rainis also published a collection of revolutionary poems, called Vētras Sēja (The Sowing of the Storm).) The czar ordered a crack-down, and many revolutionaries were arrested and killed in 1905–1906. And so, Rainis and Aspazija fled to Switzerland and lived in exile in Castagnola from 1905 to 1920. When they returned to independent Latvia after World War I, Aspazija was active in the feminist movement. She also joined the Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party and was elected to the constitutional assembly. After Rainis died in 1929, Aspazija lived very privately in Riga or in her summer house in Dubulti. She died on 5 November 1943 in Dubulti, and was buried in the Rainis cemetery in Riga, next to her husband. • Illustration — Aspazija's summer home in Dubulti
Literary works
Literary works
Aspazija's first works are realistic, but most of her work is neo-romantic. Some are a nostalgic look at the past. For example, the play Vaidelote (a female servant to gods in Lithuanian mythology), written in 1894, takes place in the 14th century Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The plays Simple Rights and Unattained Goals provoked many discussions because of their protest against the patriarchal society. The play Silver Veil (Sidraba šķidrauts) is considered to be her best work. In 1923, she wrote a play titled Aspazija. • Illustration — Memorial plaque of Rainis and Aspazija in Zurich, Switzerland In the poetry compilation Red Flowers, simple and ordinary things are viewed in a romantic light. At the same time, her poems are full of light, fantasy, and rebellious moods. In Soul's Twilight (1904), pessimistic moods take over. While living abroad, Aspazija wrote the poetry compilations Sunny Corner and Spread Wings, which have fewer social aspects and more intimate text, less rebellion against society, and more personal feelings. Latvian composer Lauma Reinholde used Aspazija’s text for her song “Menestins Meloja.”[1]
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1865
Aspazija born at Zaļenieki Parish.
1943
Aspazija died at Dubulti.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Zaļenieki Parish.
Birth place
Dubulti.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Aspazija”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q257872: Aspazija
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 121291448, Aspazija.
Unverified · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 4
- Aspazija. A Latvian Writer 1865–1943. Her Lyrical Prose. Translated by Astrida B. Stahnke. Jūrmalas vēstures un mākslas biedrība, 2015. .
- Stahnke, Astrida B. Aspazija: her life and her drama. Lanham, MD.: Univ. Press of America, 1984. ; .
- Meskova, Sandra (2003). Two mothers of Latvian literature : Aspazija and Anna Brigadere. Journal of Baltic Studies. 34.3, 276–297.
- Nesaule, Agate (1992). What happened to Aspazija? In search of feminism in Latvia. Hecate. 18.2, 112–125. ISSN 0311-4198;
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedauthority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 121291448, Aspazija.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
The authorities additionally record the headings Else Aspasija and Elza Pliekšāne. Her recorded languages were Latvian and German. She married Rainis. Recorded as poet, playwright, politician, translator and writer.
Identity and origins
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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