Hermann And Dorothea. In Nine Cantos. - Ix. Urania. Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: A BCDEFE FCCGFF CH IDJEKFACLMFCNEOPQCEE EPRSCPOPLKA FTAAPUCRC FCEVFEFHQPFDEAPLFWFP PIPXCPFFHACVC CCYZCAFFFETFA2EGAEC FFGCAAGFPFWHGECPCCGG CGGFQGFGCFGHECCEFGGH B2CCAFDAB2PAPCC2FHAA PCPED2AB2DFAEGPGFGHF C FEACWAGGPGACGGE2FCPA AECFPB2 CAGFGGAFAGFAFAKAFGGP FCAFCPHPC FFFFFCAAAAEFG AACCEAF CCD2AGAAACF2HHPGFGCG CFGACGGQAHGHG2EF FEEECFC2 FAAEGEFGAFCGAFFCAGCF CE| CONCLUSION | A |
| - | |
| O ye Muses who gladly favour a love that is heartfelt | B |
| Who on his way the excellent youth have hitherto guided | C |
| Who have press'd the maid to his bosom before their betrothal | D |
| Help still further to perfect the bonds of a couple so loving | E |
| Drive away the clouds which over their happiness hover | F |
| But begin by saying what now in the house has been passing | E |
| - | |
| For the third time the mother impatiently enter'd the chamber | F |
| Where the men were sitting which she had anxiously quitted | C |
| Speaking of the approaching storm and the loss of the moon's light | C |
| Then of her son's long absence and all the perils that night brings | G |
| Strongly she censured their friends for having so soon left the youngster | F |
| For not even addressing the maiden or seeking to woo her | F |
| - | |
| Make not the worst of the mischief the father peevishly answer'd | C |
| For you see we are waiting ourselves expecting the issue | H |
| - | |
| But the neighbour sat still and calmly address'd them as follows | I |
| In uneasy moments like these I always feel grateful | D |
| To my late father who when I was young all seeds of impatience | J |
| In my mind uprooted and left no fragment remaining | E |
| And I learnt how to wait as well as the best of the wise men | K |
| Tell us what legerdemain he employ'd the pastor made answer | F |
| I will gladly inform you and each one may gain by the lesson | A |
| Answer'd the neighbour When I was a boy I was standing one Sunday | C |
| In a state of impatience eagerly waiting the carriage | L |
| Which was to carry us out to the fountain under the lime trees | M |
| But it came not I ran like a weasel now hither now thither | F |
| Up and down the stairs and from the door to the window | C |
| Both my hands were prickling I scratch'd away at the tables | N |
| Stamping and trotting about and scarcely refrain'd I from crying | E |
| All this the calm man composedly saw but finally when I | O |
| Carried my folly too far by the arm he quietly took me | P |
| Led me up to the window and used this significant language | Q |
| 'See you up yonder the joiner's workshop now closed for the Sunday | C |
| 'Twill be re open'd to morrow and plane and saw will be working | E |
| Thus will the busy hours be pass'd from morning till evening | E |
| But remember this the rimming will soon be arriving | E |
| When the master together with all his men will be busy | P |
| In preparing and finishing quickly and deftly your coffin | R |
| And they will carefully bring over here that house made of boards which | S |
| Will at length receive the patient as well as impatient | C |
| And which is destined to carry a roof that's unpleasantly heavy | P |
| All that he mention'd I forthwith saw taking place in my mind's eye | O |
| Saw the boards join'd together and saw the black cover made ready | P |
| Patiently then I sat and meekly awaited the carriage | L |
| And I always think of the coffin whenever I see men | K |
| Running about in a state of doubtful and wild expectation | A |
| - | |
| Smilingly answered the pastor Death's stirring image is neither | F |
| Unto the wise a cause of alarm or an end to the pious | T |
| Back into life it urges the former and teaches him action | A |
| And for the weal of the latter it strengthens his hope in affliction | A |
| Death is a giver of life unto both Your father did wrongly | P |
| When to the sensitive boy he pointed out death in its own form | U |
| Unto the youth should be shown the worth of a noble and ripen'd | C |
| Age and unto the old man youth that both may rejoice in | R |
| The eternal circle and life may in life be made perfect | C |
| - | |
| Here the door was open'd The handsome couple appear'd there | F |
| And the friends were amazed the loving parents astonish'd | C |
| At the form of the bride the form of the bridegroom resembling | E |
| Yes the door appear'd too small to admit the tall figures | V |
| Which now cross'd the threshold in company walking together | F |
| To his parents Hermann presented her hastily saying | E |
| Here is a maiden just of the sort you are wishing to have here | F |
| Welcome her kindly dear father she fully deserves it and you too | H |
| Mother dear ask her questions as to her housekeeping knowledge | Q |
| That you may see how well she deserves to form one of our party | P |
| Then he hastily took on one side the excellent pastor | F |
| Saying Kind sir I entreat you to help me out of this trouble | D |
| Quickly and loosen the knot whose unravelling I am so dreading | E |
| For I have not ventured to woo as my bride the fair maiden | A |
| But she believes she's to be a maid in the house and I fear me | P |
| She will in anger depart as soon as we talk about marriage | L |
| But it must be decided at once no longer in error | F |
| Shall she remain and I no longer this doubt can put up with | W |
| Hasten and once more exhibit that wisdom we all hold in honour | F |
| So the pastor forthwith turn'd round to the rest of the party | P |
| But the maiden's soul was unhappily troubled already | P |
| By the talk of the father who just had address'd her as follows | I |
| Speaking good humour'dly and in accents pleasant and lively | P |
| Yes I'm well satisfied child I joyfully see that my son has | X |
| Just as good taste as his father who in his younger days show'd it | C |
| Always leading the fairest one out in the dance and then lastly | P |
| Taking the fairest one home as his wife 'twas your dear little mother | F |
| For by the bride whom a man selects we may easily gather | F |
| What kind of spirit his is and whether he knows his own value | H |
| But you will surely need but a short time to form your decision | A |
| For I verily think he will find it full easy to follow | C |
| Hermann but partially heard the words the whole of his members | V |
| Inwardly quivered and all the circle were suddenly silent | C |
| - | |
| But the excellent maiden by words of such irony wounded | C |
| As she esteem'd them to be and deeply distress'd in her spirit | C |
| Stood while a passing flush from her cheeks as far as her neck was | Y |
| Spreading but she restrain'd herself and collected her thoughts soon | Z |
| Then to the old man she said not fully concealing her sorrow | C |
| Truly I was not prepared by your son for such a reception | A |
| When he described his father's nature that excellent burgher | F |
| And I know I am standing before you a person of culture | F |
| Who behaves himself wisely to all in a suitable manner | F |
| But it would seem that you feel not pity enough for the poor thing | E |
| Who has just cross'd your threshold prepared to enter your service | T |
| Else you would not seek to point out with ridicule bitter | F |
| How far removed my lot from your son's and that of yourself is | A2 |
| True with a little bundle and poor I have enter'd your dwelling | E |
| Which it is the owner's delight to furnish with all things | G |
| But I know myself well and feel the whole situation | A |
| Is it generous thus to greet me with language so jeering | E |
| Which was well nigh expelled me the house when just on the threshold | C |
| - | |
| Hermann uneasily moved about and signed to the pastor | F |
| To interpose without delay and clear up the error | F |
| Quickly the wise man advanced to the spot and witness'd the maiden's | G |
| Silent vexation and tearful eyes and scarce restrain'd sorrow | C |
| Then his spirit advised him to solve not at once the confusion | A |
| But on the contrary prove the excited mind of the maiden | A |
| So in words framed to try her the pastor address'd her as follows | G |
| Surely my foreign maiden you did not fully consider | F |
| When you made up your mind to serve a stranger so quickly | P |
| What it really is to enter the house of a master | F |
| For a shake of the hand decides your fate for a twelvemonth | W |
| And a single word Yes to much endurance will bind you | H |
| But the worst part of the service is not the wearisome habits | G |
| Nor the bitter toil of the work which seems never ending | E |
| For the active freeman works hard as well as the servant | C |
| But to suffer the whims of the master who blames you unjustly | P |
| Or who calls for this and for that not knowing his own mind | C |
| And the mistress's violence always so easily kindled | C |
| With the children's rough and supercilious bad manners | G |
| This is indeed hard to bear whilst still fulfilling your duties | G |
| Promptly and actively never becoming morose or ill natured | C |
| Yet for such work you appear little fit for already the father's | G |
| Jokes have offended you deeply yet nothing more commonly happens | G |
| Than to tease a maiden about her liking a youngster | F |
| Thus he spoke and the maiden felt the weight of his language | Q |
| And no more restrain'd herself mightily all her emotions | G |
| Show'd themselves her bosom heaved and a deep sigh escaped her | F |
| And whilst shedding burning tears she answer'd as follows | G |
| Ne'er does the clever man who seeks to advise us in sorrow | C |
| Think how little his chilling words our hearts can deliver | F |
| From the pangs which an unseen destiny fastens upon us | G |
| You are happy and merry How then should a jest ever wound you | H |
| But the slightest touch gives torture to those who are suff'ring | E |
| Even dissimulation would nothing avail me at present | C |
| Let me at once disclose what later would deepen my sorrow | C |
| And consign me perchance to agony mute and consuming | E |
| Let me depart forthwith No more in this house dare I linger | F |
| I must hence and away and look once more for my poor friends | G |
| Whom I left in distress when seeking to better my fortunes | G |
| This is my firm resolve and now I may properly tell you | H |
| That which had else been buried for many a year in my bosom | B2 |
| Yes the father's jest has wounded me deeply I own it | C |
| Not that I'm proud and touchy as ill becometh a servant | C |
| But because in truth in my heart a feeling has risen | A |
| For the youth who to day has fill'd the part of my Saviour | F |
| For when first in the road he left me his image remain'd still | D |
| Firmly fix'd in my mind and I thought of the fortunate maiden | A |
| Whom as his betroth'd one he cherish'd perchance in his bosom | B2 |
| And when I found him again at the well the sight of him charm'd me | P |
| Just as if I had seen an angel descending from heaven | A |
| And I follow'd him willingly when as a servant he sought me | P |
| But by my heart in truth I was flatter'd I need must confess it | C |
| As I hitherward came that I might possibly win him | C2 |
| If I became in the house an indispensable pillar | F |
| But alas I now see the dangers I well nigh fell into | H |
| When I bethought me of living so near a silently loved one | A |
| Now for the first time I feel how far removed a poor maiden | A |
| Is from a richer youth however clever she may be | P |
| I have told you all this that you my heart may mistake not | C |
| Which an event that in thought I foreshadow has wounded already | P |
| For I must have expected my secret wishes concealing | E |
| That ere much time had elapsed I should see him bringing his bride home | D2 |
| And how then could I have endured my hidden affliction | A |
| Happily I am warn'd in time and out of my bosom | B2 |
| Has my secret escaped whilst curable still is the evil | D |
| But no more of the subject I now must tarry no longer | F |
| In this house where I now am standing in pain and confusion | A |
| All my foolish hopes and my feelings freely confessing | E |
| Not the night which with sinking clouds is spreading around us | G |
| Not the rolling thunder I hear it already shall stop me | P |
| Not the falling rain which outside is descending in torrents | G |
| Not the blustering storm All this I had to encounter | F |
| In that sorrowful flight while the enemy follow'd behind Us | G |
| And once more I go on my way as I long have been wont to | H |
| Seized by the whirlpool of time and parted from all that I care for | F |
| So farewell I'll tarry no longer My fate is accomplish'd | C |
| - | |
| Thus she spoke and towards the door she hastily turn'd her | F |
| Holding under her arm the bundle she brought when arriving | E |
| But the mother seized by both of her arms the fair maiden | A |
| Clasping her round the body and cried with surprise and amazement | C |
| Say what signifies this These fruitless tears what denote they | W |
| No I'll not leave you alone You're surely my dear son's betroth'd one | A |
| But the father stood still and show'd a great deal of reluctance | G |
| Stared at the weeping girl and peevishly spoke then as follows | G |
| This then is all the indulgence my friends are willing to give me | P |
| That at the close of the day the most unpleasant thing happens | G |
| For there is nothing I hate so much as the tears of a woman | A |
| And their passionate cries set up with such heat and excitement | C |
| Which a little plain sense would show to be utterly needless | G |
| Truly I find the sight of these whimsical doings a nuisance | G |
| Matters must shift for themselves as for me I think it is bed time | E2 |
| So he quickly turn'd round and hasten'd to go to the chamber | F |
| Where the marriage bed stood in which he slept for the most part | C |
| But his son held him back and spoke in words of entreaty | P |
| Father don't go in a hurry and be not amniote with the maiden | A |
| I alone have to bear the blame of all this confusion | A |
| Which our friend has increased by his unexpected dissembling | E |
| Speak then honour'd Sir for to you the affair I confided | C |
| Heap not up pain and annoyance but rather complete the whole matter | F |
| For I surely in future should not respect you so highly | P |
| If you play practical jokes instead of displaying true wisdom | B2 |
| - | |
| Thereupon the worthy pastor smilingly answer'd | C |
| What kind of wisdom could have extracted the charming confession | A |
| Of this good maiden and so have reveal'd all her character to us | G |
| Is not your care converted at once to pleasure and rapture | F |
| Speak out then for yourself Why need explanations from others | G |
| Hermann then stepped forward and gently address'd her as follows | G |
| Do not repent of your tears nor yet of your passing affliction | A |
| For they perfect my happiness yours too I fain would consider | F |
| I came not to the fountain to hire so noble a maiden | A |
| As a servant I came to seek to win you affections | G |
| But alas my timid gaze had not strength to discover | F |
| Your heart's leanings it saw in your eye but a friendly expression | A |
| When you greeted it out of the tranquil fountain's bright mirror | F |
| Merely to bring you home made half of my happiness certain | A |
| But you now make it complete May every blessing be yours then | K |
| Then the maiden look'd on the youth with heartfelt emotion | A |
| And avoided not kiss or embrace the summit of rapture | F |
| When they also are to the loving the long wish'd for pledges | G |
| Of approaching bliss in a life which now seems to them endless | G |
| Then the pastor told the others the whole of the story | P |
| But the maiden came and gracefully bent o'er the father | F |
| Kissing the while his hand which he to draw back attempted | C |
| And she said I am sure that you will forgive the surprised one | A |
| First for her tears of sorrow and then for her tears of true rapture | F |
| O forgive the emotions by which they both have been prompted | C |
| And let me fully enjoy the bliss that has now been vouchsafed me | P |
| Let the first vexation which my confusion gave rise to | H |
| Also be the last The loving service which lately | P |
| Was by the servant promised shall now by the daughter be render'd | C |
| - | |
| And the father his tears concealing straightway embraced her | F |
| Lovingly came the mother in turn and heartily kiss'd her | F |
| Warmly shaking her hand and silently wept they together | F |
| Then in a hasty manner the good and sensible pastor | F |
| Seized the hand of the father his wedding ring off from his finger | F |
| Drawing not easily though so plump was the member that held it | C |
| Then he took the mother's ring and betroth'd the two children | A |
| Saying Once more may it be these golden hoops' destination | A |
| Firmly to fasten a bond altogether resembling the old one | A |
| For this youth is deeply imbued with love for the maiden | A |
| And the maiden confesses that she for the youth has a liking | E |
| Therefore I now betroth you and wish you all blessings hereafter | F |
| With the parents' consent and with our friend here as a witness | G |
| - | |
| And the neighbour bent forward and added his own benediction | A |
| But when the clergyman placed the gold ring on the hand of the maiden | A |
| He with astonishment saw the one which already was on it | C |
| And which Hermann before at the fountain had anxiously noticed | C |
| Whereupon he spoke in words at once friendly and jesting | E |
| What You are twice engaging yourself I hope that the first one | A |
| May not appear at the altar unkindly forbidding the banns there | F |
| - | |
| But she said in reply O let me devote but one moment | C |
| To this mournful remembrance For well did the good youth deserve it | C |
| Who when departing presented the ring but never return'd home | D2 |
| All was by him foreseen when freedom's love of a sudden | A |
| And a desire to play his part in the new found Existence | G |
| Drove him to go to Paris where prison and death were his portion | A |
| 'Farewell ' said he 'I go for all things on earth are in motion | A |
| At this moment and all things appear in a state of disunion | A |
| Fundamental laws in the steadiest countries are loosen'd | C |
| And possessions are parted from those who used to possess them | F2 |
| Friends are parted from friends and love is parted from love too | H |
| I now leave you here and whether I ever shall see you | H |
| Here again who can tell Perchance these words will our last be | P |
| Man is a stranger here upon earth the proverb informs us | G |
| Every person has now become more a stranger than ever | F |
| Ours the soil is no longer our treasures are fast flying from us | G |
| All the sacred old vessels of gold and silver are melted | C |
| All is moving as though the old fashion'd world would roll backwards | G |
| Into chaos and night in order anew to be fashion'd | C |
| You of my heart have possession and if we shall ever here after | F |
| Meet again over the wreck of the world it will be as new creatures | G |
| All remodell'd and free and independent of fortune | A |
| For what fetters can bind down those who survive such a period | C |
| But if we are destined not to escape from these dangers | G |
| If we are never again to embrace each other with raptures | G |
| O then fondly keep in your thoughts my hovering image | Q |
| That you may be prepared with like courage for good and ill fortune | A |
| If a new home or a new alliance should chance to allure you | H |
| Then enjoy with thanks whatever your destiny offers | G |
| Purely loving the loving and grateful to him who thus loves you | H |
| But remember always to tread with a circumspect footstep | G2 |
| For the fresh pangs of a second loss will behind you be lurking | E |
| Deem each day as sacred but value not life any higher | F |
| Than any other possession for all possessions are fleeting ' | - |
| Thus he spoke and the noble youth and I parted for ever | F |
| Meanwhile I ev'rything lost and a thousand times thought of his warning | E |
| Once more I think of his words now that love is sweetly preparing | E |
| Happiness for me anew and the brightest of hopes is unfolding | E |
| Pardon me dearest friend for trembling e'en at the moment | C |
| When I am clasping your arm For thus on first landing the sailor | F |
| Fancies that even the solid ground is shaking beneath him | C2 |
| - | |
| Thus she spoke and she placed the rings by the side of each other | F |
| But the bridegroom answer'd with noble and manly emotion | A |
| All the firmer amidst the universal disruption | A |
| Be Dorothea our union We'll show ourselves bold and enduring | E |
| Firmly hold our own and firmly retain our possessions | G |
| For the man who in wav'ring times is inclined to be wav'ring | E |
| Only increases the evil and spreads it wider and wider | F |
| But the man of firm decision the universe fashions | G |
| 'Tis not becoming the Germans to further this fearful commotion | A |
| And in addition to waver uncertainly hither and thither | F |
| 'This is our own ' we ought to say and so to maintain it | C |
| For the world will ever applaud those resolute nations | G |
| Who for God and the Law their wives and parents and children | A |
| Struggle and fall when contending against the foeman together | F |
| You are mine and now what is mine is mine more than ever | F |
| Not with anxiety will I preserve it or timidly use it | C |
| But with courage and strength And if the enemy threaten | A |
| Now or hereafter I'll hold myself ready and reach down my weapons | G |
| If I know that the house and my parents by you are protected | C |
| I shall expose my breast to the enemy void of all terror | F |
| And if all others thought thus then might against might should be measured | C |
| And in the early prospect of peace we should all be rejoicing | E |
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
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