GERMAN ROMANTIC POETRY by Carol Appleby
A study of German Romantic poetry, focusing on four of the great
poets of the modern era: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich
Holderlin, Heinrich Heine and Novalis.
The book includes lengthy extracts from the poetry of German
Romanticism, with a selection of poems by Goethe, Novalis,
Holderlin and Heine at the back. This new edition (the 4th) has
been revised.
Illustrated. ISBN 9781861713254. 184 pages. www.crmoon.com
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This book offers an introduction to four of the
great German poets of the Romantic era aimed at first-time readers
of poetry, students, but also readers familiar with their work. I
have concentrated on the poetry, and have included many quotes.
Some of the well-known poems by the writers are featured in the
second half of the book.
EXTRACT FROM THE FRIEDRICH HOLDERLIN CHAPTER
Friedrich Holderlin believed in the notion of the poet as
shaman, a vates, a prophet. As he wrote in 'An die Deutschen' ('To
the Germans'), 'sweet it is to divine, but an affliction too'. And
he believed in his poetic world, as poets have to: 'Holderlin's
world was one in which he alone believed', wrote Alessandro
Pelegrini. His poetry is marked by a movement towards bliss, the
ecstasy of the shaman, which Holderlin does not hide. Rather, he
cultivates it scrupulously. His lyrics are pure lyrics, set in the
Orphic mode, that way of making poetry that comes from Orpheus, the
ancient deity of shamanic poetry.
Friedrich Holderlin's poetry, especially his early lyrics, is
powerfully shamanic; it is full of shamanic imagery, as is the
early poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley or Francesco Petrarch. In
Holderlin's art we find images of light, of bliss, of motion, of
revelation, all shamanic/ religious motifs. Heinrich Heine's view
of the poet as shaman was more political, aware of the role of the
poet in societal revolutions: 'Our age is warmed by the idea of
human equality, and the poets, who as high priests do homage to
this divine sun, can be certain that thousands kneel down beside
them, and that thousands weep and rejoice with them'. 'Hyperion's
Song of Fate' is one of the best examples of Friedrich Holderlin's
lyricism, his Orphic/ shamanic voice, his Hellenism, and his
triumphant use of the hymn or ode form:
You walk above in the light, weightless tread a soft floor,
blessed genii radiant the gods' mild breezes gently play on you as
the girl artist's fingers on holy strings. Fateless the Heavenly
breathe like an unweaned infant asleep; chastely preserved in
modest bud for ever their minds are in flower and their blissful
eyes eternally tranquil glaze, eternally clear.]
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