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Poetry of Heinrich Heine
Book by Heine, Heinrich
319 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1969
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 2, 2023
When I find a book of poetry I really like, I prefer to take a long time reading it. This one I own, so I've been able to work my way through it, a bit each day for the past several weeks. I'm struck with an image of the poet attempting, again and again, to climb out of a pit of despair at the artistically and politically backward state of Germany in his day — a time when much of Europe was waking up and revolution was afoot — while also working through his own failed love affairs.
Coming from a tradition of dreamy, wistful romanticism, often on outworn classical themes, Heine (thankfully) grew both stylistically and in terms of substance. There are even moments of happy relief in pieces such as "The Song of Songs" a frankly sensuous celebration of the body of woman. And yet Heine could never truly escape the repressive cloud that hung over Metternich's Germany and the cultural weight of the old aristocracy, which he felt keenly and wrote about at great length. He pinned his hopes on the emergence of Napoleonic France — but, like Beethoven and other idealist of his day, he was disappointed at the end.
In his later days, as reflected in his last work, he was gravely ill, blind and helpless, raging against his fate in the "Mattress Grave"; and yet, ever the romantic, he was also reminiscing about the joys of love.
Reading his many lyric ballads such as "The Loreley" or "On Wings of Song", it's not surprising that so many composers seized upon them, setting them to music in art songs for solo voice.
So, why only 3 stars? Simply because much of this material, elegant and well crafted as it is, remains for me somewhat dated; and it's hard to escape the atmosphere of impending "liebestod".
Coming from a tradition of dreamy, wistful romanticism, often on outworn classical themes, Heine (thankfully) grew both stylistically and in terms of substance. There are even moments of happy relief in pieces such as "The Song of Songs" a frankly sensuous celebration of the body of woman. And yet Heine could never truly escape the repressive cloud that hung over Metternich's Germany and the cultural weight of the old aristocracy, which he felt keenly and wrote about at great length. He pinned his hopes on the emergence of Napoleonic France — but, like Beethoven and other idealist of his day, he was disappointed at the end.
In his later days, as reflected in his last work, he was gravely ill, blind and helpless, raging against his fate in the "Mattress Grave"; and yet, ever the romantic, he was also reminiscing about the joys of love.
Reading his many lyric ballads such as "The Loreley" or "On Wings of Song", it's not surprising that so many composers seized upon them, setting them to music in art songs for solo voice.
So, why only 3 stars? Simply because much of this material, elegant and well crafted as it is, remains for me somewhat dated; and it's hard to escape the atmosphere of impending "liebestod".
March 3, 2010
I probably first encountered the poetry of Heinrich Heine when listening to the lieder of Franz Schubert. This book includes those poems and more: a wide selection that encompasses a variety of the author's work. The poems are grouped into sections including Ballads, Songs, Romances, Posthumous Verse, Germany, Songs of Protest, and Hebrew Melodies. I love to read the poetry at random and linger over some of the more lyrical poems, but my favorites are "The Loreley" and the beautiful "Seraphine" poems. The editor, Frederic Ewen, includes a biographical essay that is a basic introduction to the life and work of this great poet.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews