The Lyrical Poems of Hugo von Hofmannsthal

by Hugo von Hofmannsthal

The lyrical poems of Hugo von Hofmannsthal. 116 Pages.

Genres: Poetry

100 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1907

About the author

Austrian writer Hugo von Hofmannsthal established his reputation with lyric poems and a number of plays, including Yesterday (1891) and Death and the Fool (1893).

This Austrian novelist, librettist, poet, dramatist, narrator, and essayist flourished.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_vo...

Reviews

[Steven Godin · Rating 4 out of 5]

On peacock, lamb and eagle
His youthful lordship brave
May waste the ointment regal
An old dead woman gave.
The dead, whose flight upstreameth
And o'er the tree-tops gleameth, —
Naught more are these, he deemeth,
Than dancers' robes that wave.

He goes as if no justling
Behind e'er threateneth.
He smiles whene'er the rustling
Of Life's robe whispers: Death!
For every place delights him
And every door invites him,
Each passion-wave incites him
As lone he wandereth.

When wild-bee swarms are winging,
His soul pursues in play;
The dolphins with their singing
Upbear him on his way.
All countries are his dwelling,
But soon with hand compelling
A dark stream, ever swelling.
Will bound his shepherd's-day.

On peacock, lamb and eagle
My lord with laughter brave
Life-Song May waste the ointment regal
An old dead woman gave,
On friends a smile bestowing,
Through Life's fair garden going
Toward dim gulfs, all unknowing,
From which no skill can save.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I’m surprised I wasn’t more drawn to Hofmannstahl’s poetry, since I enjoy what I’ve read of his prose and dramatic verse. But these early poems lack the psychological insight of the former and the narrative tension of the latter. Not surprisingly, my favorite poem was the Dramatic Idyll, which seems to be a transition into his early verse dramas. (Those dramas are included in the Bollingen Series volume edited by Michael Hamburger. I preferred the translations of the lyrical poems in this volume to those by Charles Wharton Stork in the volume I am reviewing, although I read both books since the number of poems is so small. Hamburger’s critical Introduction was also much more comprehensive than Stork’s.) I admire Hofmannstahl’s lyric poetry more for what it represented -- a resistance to the mysticism inherent in the cult of Stefan George and the poetry of Rilke -- than for the verse itself.

[Myhte · Rating 5 out of 5]

kleine Blumen, kleine Lieder,
heller Klang und bunte Pracht,
Blume, die ich nicht gezogen,
Lieder, die ich nicht gedacht:
Und ich selber hätte nichts,
dir zu bringen, dir zu danken,
sollte heute, heute schweigen?
Ach, was mein war, die Gedanken,
sind ja längst, schon längst dein Eigen.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm when Amazon actually charges money for the kindle version it would be nice with just a little editing/removing of typos etc....