Poem
Does anybody have/can post the poem "to Love" (I think that's how it was called)???
Thanks in advance.
I am also looking for this poem ( the one written by Paul and Hielde read it while the three were having dinner)
Is the name "zur Liebe", right?
thanks
Yes! Please, someone post the transcript of the poem. Please?
I know... I could just rent it and get it myself, but if someone owns the movie it would be so much easier, wouldn't it? And that way we can all share it!
Hi,
Thought I'd share this with you. I also attached Hilde's "reply-poem".
Hope you understand German for I am too lazy to translate
An die Liebe
Ich habe dich nicht gebeten zu bleiben,
doch du bist geblieben.
Ich habe dich niemals gefragt
wer du bist,
oder was du auch willst?
Du warst einfach da.
Was willst du nur Liebe von mir?
War ich nicht viel stärker alleine?
Und hab ich dich jemals gebraucht?
Doch bleib noch ein bisschen.
Nich’ lange!
So lange nur bis keiner mehr fragt:
„Na, wie geht’s?“
Und ich nicht mehr sage:
„Es geht!“
Ein jeder sieht gleich, du bist da.
Denn wenn du mich einstmals verlässt,
sei dir sicher
ich gehe mit dir.
Was nützt die Liebe in Gedanken
Dies Buch trägt die Ergüsse deiner Seele.
Mein Sohn, du bist poetisch angehaucht.
Zwar sind die Reime ohne Fehle,
doch die Gedanken sind in Finsternis getaucht.
Auch scheint es mir, da du noch jung an Jahren,
Daß dein Erleben in der Liebe nur erträumt.
Ich fürcht', du bist darin noch reichlich unerfahren.
Beeile dich, du hast schon viel versäumt.
Ein Mädel wird sich schön bedanken,
Wenn deine Glut nur aus Gedichten spricht.
Was nützt die Liebe in Gedanken?
Kommt die Gelegenheit, dann kannst du's nicht.
Doch ist das noch kein Grund, sich zu erschiessen.
Die Kugel spare Dir zu anderm Zweck.
Auch würden viele Tränen fliessen,
Das lohnt sich nicht, für solchen Dreck.
Aspire to climb as high as you can dream
Ha, ha. Thanks! Since I don't speak German it seems kind of cruel... but thanks anyway.
Hey, the poem was written in German. In fact, there is no point in translating anything, if you want to enjoy something in its full beauty, you should learn the respective language
But thanks to the person above me, you have a translation now, too ]
Aspire to climb as high as you can dream
Does that mean that to enjoy Borges, Neruda, Benedetti you have to learn Spanish? And then, to enjoy Baudelaire or Artaud... completely mandatory to learn French?
Thanks for the lesson, I had no idea.
To enjoy them in their full beauty, yes.
Aspire to climb as high as you can dream
I'm just kidding, you know? I understand what you mean, but it's just ALMOST impossible to learn every language just to enjoy the literature written in it - especially if that's not even what you do for a living -but that shouldn't stop you for trying to enjoy it in your own. I think it's great to nurture from different cultures and I don't see the point in reading a poem in a language I don't understand OR in not reading it because it was translated from its original language. English is not even my first language, but it's just easier than German, that's all.
I know you were kidding. By taking jokes seriously, though, one can unnerve others more easily than by taking them for what they are.
Sure, I do see your point.
But the thing is that while prose can be translated fairly easily (while still losing much, and to some extent that what I am going to write applies to prose as well), it's a different thing with poems. Poetry is extremely sensitive, every word is set deliberately and even the best translation distorts the meaning. You get the message, that's true, but poetry is about much more than just getting a message across.
Thus when I read a sonnet by Shakespeare translated into German, I am not reading Shakespeare anymore; when I am reading a poem by von Hofmannsthal translated into English, I am not reading Hofmannsthal anymore - I am reading the interpretation of the poem by the translator which basically is a completely different poem.
Therefore reading translated poetry is the same as not reading it.
Aspire to climb as high as you can dream
I know you have a point; there's no comparison to savoring the rhythm of a poem the way it was intentended to be read. However, I like poetry and I have been moved by the "message" many, many times and I can't simply limit myself to read poems in Spanish because that's the language I can speak. So let's just agree to disagree!
(I'll even do the silly attempt to read the poems in German - when there's no one around, of course - to see if I can enjoy the rhymes and rhythm of the words)
SirinJulia,
I just tried it, I'm not kidding! It's one of the most ridiculous things I've done in a while (trying to pronounce in German when in fact I might know no more than 4 or 5 very badly pronounced words in the language). It was hilarious!!!