German poets
German poets to know and love.
Goethe
1749-1832
In 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.
Gottfried Keller
1819 - 1890
Nineteenth-century Swiss novelist, author of short stories and poet, writing in German.
Waldlied (Forest Song)
Arm in Arm und Kron' an Krone steht der Eichenwald verschlungen,
A fine Swiss poet uses ancient myth.
Rilke
1875 - 1926
The 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.
Der Schwan (The Swan)
Diese Mühsal, durch noch Ungetanes
Rilke sees a metaphor for life and death in the swan on land and on water.
Schiller
1759 - 1805
Friedrich 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
Laocoon’s warning
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
Schiller’s death of Priam
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
A royal affair begins
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
Mourning and hope
Auch das Schöne muß sterben! Das Menschen und Götter bezwinget
Schiller's sad elegy for the transience of beauty
