A widely held stereotype sees the Romantic artist as a vessel of divine and largely uncontrolled inspiration. But Robert Schumann (1810–56) – an ardent Romantic in so many other ways–pursued an almost eerily systematic path in channeling his creativity. One by one, he conquered the important genres of instrumental and vocal music of his day. These ranged from the piano character piece in the 1830s, often grouped in large cycles, to songs, again grouped into cycles or collections, to symphonies, chamber music, and secular oratorio during the early 1840s, all of which gave him confidence in his last years to try his hand at opera and sacred music. During an unusually rich creative career, which lasted more than twenty-five years from the late 1820s to 1854, Schumann, at three different times and always at crucial crossroads, took up the composition of Lieder. The first of these occurred during the years 1827–28 and coincides with his first significant attempts at composing. The second dates from 1840 and overlaps with a period of crisis, both personal and professional, from which he emerged victorious and strengthened. The last came after 1847 when he attempted to renew himself as an artist in the face of demons both within and without; while the former doubtless will elude historical exactitude, the latter were egged on by the political turmoil that swept all of Europe in the late 1840s. As will be seen, there are specific reasons why the Lied, and not some other musical genre, became the catalyst for self-discovery, salvation, and renewal at each of these junctures.