- "Du liebes Kind, komm, geh mit mir! - I love to hear from those of you who have learned German. In fact, many of his works during this time include a sense of the supernatural. Though Goethe was interested in science and the natural world, he retained a fondness for the unexplainable. Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch´ ich Gewalt." “Be calm, dearest child, ‘tis thy fancy deceives; Oh, come, thou with me! But, according to Bowring, the best translations can be achieved by a “literal rendering of the original as is consistent with good English, and also a very strict adherence to the meter of the original” (6); anything less “is not a translation, but a paraphrase” (6). I just posted “Der Erlkonig” on my blog, and stumbled upon this post in the process. The elfin king with his cloak and crown? Now struck with horror the father rides fast, This particular poem takes place in a dark and drear forest. What the elfin king breathed into my ear? Translating a poem must include the right blend of linguistic imagination and dedication to the original. As a father rides at night with his young son in his arms, the son claims to see the Elf-King. Translating poetry is a double whammy as not only have you got the sense and atmosphere but also the meter , here indicating the canter of the frantic father and his anxiety… It is satisfying when you can retread it in a foreign language and it still evokes the some feelings and tension. Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dort We will be linking to this great article on our ", Mein Vater, mein Vater, und hörest du nicht, And I agree with the fidelity to rhyme and meter, as language in itself is the vessel of thought. Make sure you update this again very soon. Father, you see him, there in that place, Er halt in Armen das ächzende Kind, “Du liebes Kind, komm, geh mit mir! ~Alaska Mirror lake Conductor His ballad “Der Fischer”, a work that is occasionally referenced alongside “Der Erlkönig”, is about a fisherman lured to his death by a water-dwelling nymph (Dieckmann, 87). Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Selected Poems was published in 1983 and its translations are by Christopher Middleton. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. The father now gallops, with terror half wild, Those people must settle for translations and understand what the act of translating may do to a written work. ‘Tis the aged gray willows deceiving thy sight.”, “I love thee, I’m charmed by they beauty, dear boy! [Wörterbuch] He grasps in his arms the poor shuddering child: Father, now look, in the gloom, do you see Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind? He holds him tight, he keeps him warm. - Mein Sohn, was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht? Dry leaves it was that click in the wind. Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind; “Look, father, the Erl-King is close by our side! Manch bunte Blumen sind an dem Strand, Den Erlenkönig mit Kron´ und Schweif? Thanks for sharing this with us! Thank you! The father it is, with his infant so dear; In seinen Armen das Kind war tot. [Epochen] - Siehst, Vater, du den Erlkönig nicht? Poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (see below for translation). Dem Vater grauset´s, er reitet geschwind, - Mein Sohn, es ist ein Nebelstreif. Those old willows, they look so grey. can look out for a lot more of your respective intriguing content. "Mein Sohn, was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht?" - All of the information here is great and well thought out! Dem Vater grausets, er reitet geschwind, Writing a thought in different styles actually means expressing different thoughts, and in translating, that could compromise the Poet intentions… Again, Great post! ( Log Out / Your presentation was really good as well! Erlkönig hat mir ein Leids getan! Erlkönig. They’ll dance thee, and rock thee, and sing thee to sleep.”, “My father, my father, and dost thou not see, Goethe Gedichte Balladen. Mein Vater, Mein Vater, und hörest du nicht, Translation as it appears on page 102 of Poems of Goethe: Translated in the Original Metres, by Edgar Alfred Bowring, C.B, published in 1885: Who rides there so late through the night dark and drear? Tweet. “My darling, my darling, I see it aright, ‘Tis the sad wind that sighs through the withering leaves.”, “Wilt go, then, dear infant, wilt go with me there? Below is the original “Der Erlkönig”, followed by each translation mentioned above. The same translation was found in a 1902 Weimar publication titled Poems of Goethe, suggesting that Bowring’s may have been the accepted translation of the poem between these two dates. It’s awesome to pay a visit this site and reading the views of all colleagues regarding this paragraph, The elfin daughters beckon to me? His father, finally frightened, rushes through the forest only to find, once he reaches his destination, that the child has died. In the end, the Elf-King decides to take the boy by force, and the child cries out in terror. Erlkönig Lyrics: Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind? Erlkönig . I had been wondering if your hosting is OK? My favorite section is the one on translations probably because I love languages. My son, what is it, why cover your face? Erreicht den Hof mit Mühe und Not; It is only the mist rising up, my son. [Anfangszeilen] My daughters dance all night in a ring, After doing some digging, I have found the correct word is “Wer”. 29.07.2018 - Hier finden Sie alles zum Thema Auto: ausführliche Tests, exklusive Erlkönig-Bilder, Kaufberatung, alles zu Verkehr & Politik, Formel 1 und aktuellen News. He holdeth him safely, he keepeth him warm. The form of the ballad, in which “no one expects rational explanations of irrational events, and where the supernatural occurs next to the purely human” (Dieckmann, 67), greatly appealed to Goethe. As the poem unfolds, the son seems to see and hear beings his father does not; the father asserts reassuringly naturalistic explanations … He reaches his courtyard with toil and with dread, His gasping child in his arm to the last, website. Sei ruhig, bleibe ruhig, mein Kind! [Bücher] ", Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dort