German poets
German poets to know and love.
Goethe
1749-1832In addition to his great work founded on the traditions of German culture and folklore, he was strongly influenced by Latin poets and poetry, especially following a visit to Rome which made a deep impression on him in the 1780s.
Rilke
1875 - 1926The poetry of Rilke, a German-language poet, 1876 - 1926, was strongly introspective and included examination of how individuals can relate to transcendent issues such as death and the godhead.
Diese Mühsal, durch noch Ungetanes
Rilke sees a metaphor for life and death in the swan on land and on water.
Schiller
1759 - 1805Friedrich von Schiller, 1759 - 1805, the great contemporary of Goethe, wrote a first-rate translation of Books 2 and 4 of Virgil's Aeneid, covering the fall of Troy and Aeneas's love-affair with Dido.
Aeneid Book 2 in Schiller's German translation, stanzas 6 - 9
Mit Staunen weilt der überraschte Blick
Laocoon's warning
Schiller's version of the Aeneid, Book 2, stanzas 35 - 39
Friedrich Schiller recounts the death of Laocoon
Jetzt aber stellt sich den entsetzten Blicken
Friedrich Schiller recounts the death of Laocoon
Aeneid Book 2 in Schiller's German translation, stanzas 50 - 53
Aeneas is visited by Hector’s ghost
O sprich, und welcher Frevel durft’ es wagen,
In Schiller's German version, the fall of Troy has begun.
Aeneid Book 2 in Schiller's German translation, stanzas 95 - 97
So, wahrlich, hielt’s mit seinem Feinde nicht
Schiller's translation of the death of Priam
Aeneid Book 4 in Schiller's German translation, stanzas 24 - 31
Indeß war Eos leuchtendes Gespann
The royal affair begins
Aeneis 4, 67 - 72
Schiller tells of Dido’s anguish
Längst hatte sie, indem er sprach, den Rücken
Dido's complaint to Aeneas, by Schiller
Aeneid Book 4 in Schiller's German translation, stanzas 73 - 75
Aeneas prepares to leave Carthage
Wie feurig auch der Menschliche sich sehnt
The Trojans prepare to sail from Carthage.
Aeneid Book 4 in Schiller's German translation, stanzas 125 - 128
Schiller describes the last of Dido
Sie ruft's, und steht schon oben auf den Stufen
Schiller describes Dido's final end