The Asra
(I’ll come back to continue my earlier post soon when I’ve finished my essay)
I first read Heinrich Heine, a German Romantic poet, in college and was immediately knocked over. This is my favorite from him:
Der Asra
Täglich ging die wunderschöne
Sultanstochter auf und nieder
Um die Abendzeit am Springbrunn,
Wo die weißen Wasser plätschern.Täglich stand der junge Sklave
Um die Abendzeit am Springbrunn,
Wo die weißen Wasser plätschern;
Täglich ward er bleich und bleicher.Eines Abends trat die Fürstin
Auf ihn zu mit raschen Worten:
“Deinen Namen will ich wissen,
Deine Heimat, deine Sippschaft!”Und der Sklave sprach: “Ich heiße
Mohamet, ich bin aus Yemen,
Und mein Stamm sind jene Asra,
Welche sterben, wenn sie lieben.”
How bout that? Here’s a translation:
Every day so lovely, shining,
up and down, the Sultan’s daughter
walked at evening by the water,
where the white fountain splashes.Every day the young slave stood
by the water, in the evening,
where the white fountain splashes,
each day growing pale and paler.Then the princess came one evening,
quickly speaking to him, softly,
‘Your true name – I wish to know it,
your true homeland and your nation.’And the slave said, ‘I am called
Mahomet, I am from Yemen,
and my tribe, it is the Asra,
who die, when they love.’
The exotic theme itself is typical of the era but also note the strength of the rhythm yet the easy, natural way the words form the phrases through his word choice. It’s as if the poet slowly opened his hand to let stones fall and form a beautiful structure. All of his poems have this remarkable quality.
Heine’s skill with meter, rhythm and phrasing make him much akin to songwriters like Chuck Berry. Yes, I said it: Heine was the Chuck Berry of his time. Or vice-versa.