This study was undertaken with the purpose of affording some insight into the musical aims and composing methods of Hugo Wolf and of showing his position in the history of the German Lied and his contributions to the development of this form through the analysis of one part of his work. This study of the history of the Lied and examination of the Italienisehes Liederbuch of Hugo Wolf has led to certain conclusions. The first is that Wolf truly stands as the culmination of Romantic activity in the Lied form. This has been ascertained by a comparison of his ideals and techniques of song writing with those of the earlier Lieder writers, Schubert and Schumann, and of Wagner. The second is that Wolf made certain distinctive contributions to the Lied. Among these are his application of Wagnerian principles to the form of the Lied in their refinements as characterizing motives (from the Leitmotiv), free metric accents (from speech-song) and use of the accompaniment to intensify expression through faithful rendering of details of the text. Another contribution is his distillation of harmonic practices into the purest expressive materials which made possible his miniature style. Still another contribution is his elevation of the accompaniment to a position equal with the vocal part, making both parts of an expressive whole. Another is his piercing psychological insight which utilized musical resources for the most subtle dramatic delineation.The third is that the Italienisches Liederbuch owes many of its stylistic features to the subject matter and formal structure of the poems on which it is based. The fourth conclusion is that these songs reveal a musical style which is indeed compact and devoid of nonessentials, achieving a maximum of expressiveness with a minimum of means.