Joseph von Eichendorff - German Romantic Poet and Writer. Some of His Poems Translated into English
Roman Bugla, Poland
Roman Bugla comes from Racibórz and works in State Primary School in Łany, Poland.
E-mail: erbugla@tlen.pl
Me at the Eichendorff’s monument in Racibórz.
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Introduction
Chosen poems
References
As an English teacher working in State Primary School in Łany, where I have been teaching since 2007 and receiving my first experiences in this occupation, once I noticed while running extra lessons on European Union that it’d be worth paying attention to local treasures and landscapes to make my pupils realize the beauty of local part of the whole picture of European community. One of those pearls, that not only have I found but also the whole local society, is an outstanding author, well-known German romantic poet, writer and translator –Joseph von Eichendorff, who was born in this land in German romantic period. His birth happened in 1788 in a village called Lubovitz (now Łubowice) located between Ratibor (now Racibórz- county town) and the village Lohnau (now Łany) where I work. The poet originated from a wealthy and noble family. His father, Adolph von Eichendorff, when decided to marry Caroline von Kloch sold his large property in Kravare (now in the territory of Czech Republic – thirty km to the south of Racibórz) and then he started to rebuild the Kloch’s family palace in Lubovitz. Joseph spent his young years there and got his early education in Wrocław and then studied Law and Philosophy in the University of Halle and later in Heidelberg and in Vienna. In 1814 he married his great love, Louise von Larisch from Pogrzebień, which was against his parents’ will. They happily had five children. Mainly he worked and served for the Prussian government as a clerk, a secret government advisor and also a soldier.
Nowadays, in Łubowice there is a special chamber devoted to Joseph Eichendorff, where a piece of history is hidden connected to the poet and the local people. But unfortunately, the end of the Second World War devoured the Lubovitz palace completely, so today there are only some remains of ruins after it. (Find more info on the page: www.eichendorff.pl). However, The Kravare palace is in better condition surrounded by an English style garden transfigured into a golf course. It still exists and it’s worth visiting.(visit website: www.kravare.cz/o-meste/zamek-a-muzeum/). In Racibórz, to commemorate our local star, his reconstructed monument stands on a central place near the market square. (see the photo below)
In October 2011 with a group of my pupils I organized a short bike trip to see the Eichendorff’s birth place and I after it I commenced to think and look for an English versions of the poet’s poems. Apparently, I couldn’t find almost anything even though Joseph von Eichendorff was known to German people like Johann Wolfgang Goethe and Friedrich Schiller. It seemed that there were only original German versions of his works and some Polish ones. This was a starting point when I decided to try translating his poems into English.
Below you will find enclosed my first attempts of interpreting some of his wonderful, melodic, rhyming and praising the beauty of nature and humanity poems. It is my great great pleasure to publish them for the first time in HLT magazine thanks to meeting Hania Kryszewska while attending a Pilgrims teacher training course in Canterbury at Easter 2012.
The morning prayer
What a deep and nice silence
How alone I’m in this world
The woods ease their violence
Letting come through the silent Lord.
I feel like a newborn hare
Somewhere my worries and shame are gone
What yesterday was my nightmare
In the light of morning is none.
The world with its toils, joys and effort
I want, as a pilgrim, boldly enter
And on the bridge to You, my Lord
Who lasts over a flow of time center.
And if my songs were to praise this world’s waste
And worship empty glamour,
Just thrash my instrument and taste
Shivering and speechless before You I’d better stay for ever.
Joyful Wanderer
When God’s favour for someone
To far lands gives him His run
Willing to show his miracles’ lots
Of mountains and rivers, fields and woods.
Lazybones are at home, let them lay
They’ll never admire an early day
Over their children’s cradle rather they hum
Worrying about bread and what’s to be done.
Brooks off the mountains gaily spring
Skylarks above delightedly sing
Why don’t we sing along their best
From the bottom of our young chest.
To Almighty God let’s give Him thanks
For all those brooks, larks, woods and fields
And the whole Earth and heaven awaits His grace
Not mention He willingly enlightened my face.
A vivid ride
Like blue breeze is mildly flowing
Springtime, springtime carrying in
Woodsbound a horn sound’s blowing
Its brave eyes boldly shine.
More and more colorful is the whirl
Like a magic wild flash,
Far to beauty world rolls like a girl
And lures that river’s splash.
And I won’t dig my heels in
May the wind takes me out
On that stream I’d like to sail
Dazzled by its blissful light.
Thousand voices entice together
Over me fiery Auroras glow.
Let’s go! The journey’s end
I don’t want to know.
The little broken ring
In a cool meadow hollow
Where a mill wheel slowly spins
My girl-friend made me sorrow
Disappearing from the beloved place.
She promised to be faithful
And gave me there a little ring
But when her sweet words revealed untruthful
Two parts ring split out of the one thing.
So I’d like to go far ahead
To the world of God’s belongs
Knocking from flat to flat
And sing my written heartly songs.
I’d like as a bleeding rider
To go and fight a wild battle.
Then at dark night as a lonely spider
To sit calmly at a fire rattle.
And when I hear the mill wheel hum
I don’t know what my will is.
I think the death might come
To bring an eternal peace.
Twilight
Darkness wants to spread its wings
Around shaky trees make us fear
Heavy clouds as nightmares coming here.
What do they mean, these awful things?
If you like this deer more than others
Don’t leave her lonely grazing.
Blowing hunters are soon them chasing,
Their horns are heard here and there.
If you’ve got a friend somewhere,
Don’t trust him at this hour.
Thou his friendship is like shower
His intensions might not be simply fair.
What this evening’s faintly gone down
In the morning as a newborn will arise.
Nevertheless the night will some disguise,
So stay alert and careful and watch out!
Stein Volkmar (1993): Joseph von Eichendorff. Ein Lebensbild. Obraz życia. Striftung Kulturwerk Schlesien. Wurzburg.
Newerla Paweł (2007): Joseph von Eichendorff on the postcard. Wydawnictwo i Agencja Infromacyjna WAW Grzegorz Wawoczny. p.5 (introduction)
Please check the Literature course at Pilgrims website.
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