HOME | CATEGORY HOME | Art | Austria | Christmas | Churchill | Classics | Climate | Climbing | COVID | Culture | English language | English literature | EU | France | Free speech | French literature | German language | German literature | Germany | Goethe | Gotthard | Heine | Heloise Höchner | Misc | Nature | Philosophy | Pound | Religion | Romania | Romansh | Rousseau | Rückert | Schubart | Schubert | Science | Senn | Sociology | Switzerland | UK | UK monarchy | Ukraine | US | Website | WW1 | WW2 98 articles in category 'German literature'. Quote and image of the month for November Erich Kästner, Sachliche Romanze; Martin Parr, A couple in a cafe Posted on UTC 2025-11-01 07:22 Words: 684; reading time: 3 minutes Erinnerung an die Marie A. One more notch on the plum tree: Bertolt Brecht's selective memory. Posted on UTC 2021-10-07 07:11 Words: 6,339; reading time: 28 minutes Quote and image of the month for November Quote: Hermann Hesse, Im Nebel. Image: Giovanni Giacometti, Nebbia (Maloja). Posted on UTC 2020-11-01 05:02 Words: 1,799; reading time: 8 minutes Herbsttag, Autumn Day Rainer Maria Rilke's farewell to autumn – or, why great poetry should be read slowly. Posted on UTC 2020-10-31 12:12 Words: 1,520; reading time: 6 minutes Goethe's Römische Elegien The master's midlife crisis. [8 pages] Posted on UTC 2020-10-21 06:42 Words: 304; reading time: 1 minute Goethe's Römische Elegien I-IV I Prolog II Saget, Steine, mir an III Mehr als ich ahndete schön IV Ehret, wen ihr auch wollt! Posted on UTC 2020-10-21 06:42 Words: 10,091; reading time: 45 minutes Goethe's Römische Elegien V-VIII V Laß dich, Geliebte VI Fromm sind wir Liebende VII Froh empfind ich mich VIII Kannst du, o Grausamer Posted on UTC 2020-10-21 06:42 Words: 7,442; reading time: 33 minutes Goethe's Römische Elegien IX-XII IX O wie fühl ich in Rom X Wenn du mir sagst XI Herbstlich leuchtet die Flamme XII Alexander und Cäsar Posted on UTC 2020-10-21 06:42 Words: 4,141; reading time: 18 minutes Goethe's Römische Elegien XIII-XVI XIII Euch, o Grazien XIV Hörest du, Liebchen XV Amor bleibet ein Schalk XVI Zünde mir Licht an, Knabe! Posted on UTC 2020-10-21 06:42 Words: 12,001; reading time: 54 minutes Goethe's Römische Elegien XVII-XX XVII Zwei gefährliche Schlangen XVIII Cäsarn wär ich wohl nie XIX Warum bist du, Geliebter XX Manche Töne sind mir Verdruß Posted on UTC 2020-10-21 06:42 Words: 7,093; reading time: 32 minutes Goethe's Römische Elegien XXI-XIV XXI Eines ist mir verdrießlich XXII Schwer erhalten wir uns XXIII Zieret Stärke den Mann XXIV Epilog Posted on UTC 2020-10-21 06:42 Words: 12,327; reading time: 56 minutes Goethe's Römische Elegien Paralipomena Some bits on the side. Posted on UTC 2020-10-21 06:42 Words: 10,917; reading time: 49 minutes Swiss National Day, 1 August Gottfried Keller's poem Sommernacht. Posted on UTC 2020-08-01 03:04 Words: 999; reading time: 4 minutes Friedrich Rückert's Über alle Gräber Recovering a particularly poignant poem from the Kindertodtenlieder Posted on UTC 2020-07-10 10:55 Words: 1,913; reading time: 8 minutes Quote and image of the month for February Quote: Bertolt Brecht, Fragen eines lesenden Arbeiters. Image: Albin Egger-Lienz, Mann und Weib. Posted on UTC 2020-02-03 14:17 Words: 1,705; reading time: 7 minutes A book burning The Frankfurt Book Fire of 1758. Posted on UTC 2020-02-01 08:02 Words: 1,886; reading time: 8 minutes Quote and image of the month for January Quote: Siegfried Lenz, Heimatmuseum. Image: Anshelm Schultzberg, A Winter Morning after a Snowfall in Dalarna. Posted on UTC 2020-01-25 11:13 Words: 478; reading time: 2 minutes Die Sterne D 939 Musical mission impossible: Leitner's terrible poem and Schubert's attempted rescue. Posted on UTC 2020-01-20 14:15 Words: 1,895; reading time: 8 minutes Franz Schubert and Franz von Schlechta Cracking the door, but just a little bit. Posted on UTC 2020-01-17 16:43 Words: 4,553; reading time: 20 minutes Fischerweise D 881 Franz Xaver Freiherr Schlechta von Wssehrd's mediocre poem, rescued by Franz Schubert. Posted on UTC 2020-01-15 10:21 Words: 4,770; reading time: 21 minutes Ueber allen Gipfeln Ist Ruh' D 768 One genius stands on another's shoulders: Goethe and Schubert. Posted on UTC 2020-01-01 08:14 Words: 10,235; reading time: 46 minutes Quote and image of the month for December Quote: Werner Bergengruen, The Shepherds. Image: Jules Bastien-Lepage, The Annunciation to the Shepherds. Posted on UTC 2019-12-16 07:13 Words: 1,110; reading time: 5 minutes All Souls' Day 2019 2 November in the words of Rainer Maria Rilke. Posted on UTC 2019-11-02 14:22 Words: 660; reading time: 3 minutes Quote and image of the month for October Quote: Georg Trakl, Verklärter Herbst. Image: Peder Severin Krøyer, Wine Harvest in the Tyrol. Posted on UTC 2019-10-18 10:17 Words: 614; reading time: 2 minutes The trembling aspen A look at the literary and musical life of a Populus tremula, with a contribution from Franz Schubert. Posted on UTC 2019-09-27 14:12 Words: 7,116; reading time: 32 minutes Quote and image of the month for September Quote: Rudolf Hagelstange Bei den schwarzen Baptisten. Image: Norman Rockwell, The Problem We All Live With. Posted on UTC 2019-09-17 13:02 Words: 1,928; reading time: 8 minutes Franz Schubert and Ludwig Rellstab Yet more Schwanengesang nonsense. Seven execrable poems, six desperate settings, one super hit. Posted on UTC 2019-09-09 14:27 Words: 9,402; reading time: 42 minutes The chestnut tree at the gate How to learn German in nine days. Posted on UTC 2019-08-28 09:27 Words: 2,321; reading time: 10 minutes Heinrich Heine and Franz Schubert Two worlds collide. Posted on UTC 2019-08-26 09:07 Words: 6,392; reading time: 29 minutes Franz Schubert and Heinrich Heine Dismantling Schwanengesang — and about time, too. Posted on UTC 2019-08-14 17:12 Words: 18,353; reading time: 1 hour 23 minutes Goethe on ice Showing off in Frankfurt and Weimar. Posted on UTC 2019-06-16 08:22 Words: 4,333; reading time: 19 minutes Diving deep into Goethe's Der Fischer Keeping cool on the bottom with the eighteen year-old Franz Schubert. Posted on UTC 2019-06-08 16:51 Words: 8,922; reading time: 40 minutes Quote for the first day of May From romance to realism Posted on UTC 2019-05-01 10:21 Words: 523; reading time: 2 minutes Walpurgisnacht Chimney breasts – bottoms, too. Can Walpurgisnacht survive the #metoo era? Posted on UTC 2019-04-28 10:03 Words: 352; reading time: 1 minute Wilhelm Müller's 'three suns' Memories of Die Winterreise in the current northern hemisphere cold snap. Posted on UTC 2019-02-01 11:04 Words: 1,197; reading time: 5 minutes Dass sie hier gewesen D 775: Rückert and Schubert Two lyrical geniuses at work. Posted on UTC 2019-01-16 15:29 Words: 2,828; reading time: 12 minutes Friedrich Rückert – Kindertodtenlieder Blogging rhymes of passage through the dark forest of shades. Posted on UTC 2019-01-13 10:39 Words: 27,368; reading time: 2hours 4 minutes Alinde D 904: Rochlitz and Schubert A lesson in metrical magic from the master. Posted on UTC 2018-12-03 13:12 Words: 5,364; reading time: 24 minutes Quotes and images of the month for December Quotes: George Eliot Journals, Friedrich Hebbel, Diaries. Images: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Virgin and Child. Posted on UTC 2018-12-01 07:32 Words: 2,485; reading time: 11 minutes The Poets' War Heinrich Heine and August Platen calling each other names. Posted on UTC 2018-09-30 22:32 Words: 3,700; reading time: 16 minutes Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock: Der Zürchersee Love Island 30 July 1750, with a Seefahrt that is not to be sniffed at. A meditation for the Swiss National Day, 1 August. Posted on UTC 2018-07-30 17:26 Words: 11,893; reading time: 54 minutes Scrapbook for March The cloud of unknowing | Nerve gas: you ask, we answer. | The cheque's in the post | Amelia Earhart | Persil Man | Dog-bites-man Posted on UTC 2018-03-01 02:01 Words: 1,139; reading time: 5 minutes 21 December: the centenary of Heinrich Böll's birth Rushing to the post office. Posted on UTC 2017-12-22 11:33 Words: 555; reading time: 2 minutes 13 December: Saint Lucy's Day Johann Peter Hebel's classic story Unverhofftes Wiedersehen, 'The Unhoped-for Reunion'. Posted on UTC 2017-12-11 08:53 Words: 4,067; reading time: 18 minutes Quote and image of the month for September Quote: Wolfdietrich Schnurre, Der Schattenfotograf, 1978. Images: Various, The Cheder. Posted on UTC 2017-09-01 01:02 Words: 326; reading time: 1 minute Goethe's Gotthard obsession Three long journeys in 22 years, culminating in a pact with the Devil. Posted on UTC 2017-09-20 10:16 Words: 921; reading time: 4 minutes 1775. Lili: the first Gotthard journey On the road with the Werther tribute band. Posted on UTC 2017-09-20 10:17 Words: 7,578; reading time: 34 minutes 1779. Charlotte: the second Gotthard journey Educating your duke. Don't bother. Posted on UTC 2017-09-20 10:18 Words: 15,519; reading time: 1 hour 10 minutes 1797. Barbara: the third Gotthard journey Tell, Faust and a box of rocks. 220 years ago on 16 September Goethe entered Switzerland en route to the Gotthard. How time flies! Posted on UTC 2017-09-20 10:19 Words: 7,743; reading time: 35 minutes Quote and image of the month for August Quotes: Heinrich Heine (1831) and Conrad Ferdinand Meyer (1887). Images: Léopold Robert, L'Arrivée des Moissonneurs dans les marais Pontins (1830) and Friedrich Kallmorgen, Erntezeit (1891). Posted on UTC 2017-08-01 01:02 Words: 951; reading time: 4 minutes Quote and image of the month for July Quote: Georg Heym, Ophelia, 1911. Image: John Everett Millais, Ophelia, 1851-2. Posted on UTC 2017-07-01 01:02 Words: 1,138; reading time: 5 minutes Goethe's Heidenröslein Surviving a little prick. Posted on UTC 2017-06-01 11:05 Words: 11,470; reading time: 52 minutes The French, dontcha luv 'em! No. And neither did Goethe. Posted on UTC 2017-05-19 12:53 Words: 733; reading time: 3 minutes Christian Schubart: the prison years The author of Die Forelle gets taught a lesson. Posted on UTC 2017-05-15 18:40 Words: 849; reading time: 3 minutes Schubart's dungeon cell in Hohenasperg Now you see it, now you don't. Posted on UTC 2017-05-15 18:41 Words: 2,875; reading time: 13 minutes The commander and the clergyman Bad cop and even worse cop with some old scores to settle. Posted on UTC 2017-05-15 18:42 Words: 2,725; reading time: 12 minutes His Serene Radiance Carl Eugen, Duke of Württemberg. Posted on UTC 2017-05-15 18:43 Words: 1,759; reading time: 7 minutes Re-education Improving you until you stink. Posted on UTC 2017-05-15 18:44 Words: 573; reading time: 2 minutes Some relief, 1778 The worst seems to be over. Posted on UTC 2017-05-15 18:45 Words: 1,580; reading time: 7 minutes Fresh air, 1779 A glimpse of a distant, unreachable horizon. The permissibility of pleasure. Posted on UTC 2017-05-15 18:46 Words: 2,117; reading time: 9 minutes The entertainer, 1780 Keeping the commander and his troops cheerful. Posted on UTC 2017-05-15 18:47 Words: 2,231; reading time: 10 minutes Renewal, 1782 Recovering from Rieger. Posted on UTC 2017-05-15 18:48 Words: 1,110; reading time: 5 minutes The Crypt of Princes Insult your captor publicly: that will get you out of prison in no time. Posted on UTC 2017-05-15 18:49 Words: 1,709; reading time: 7 minutes Free at last He might have been better off staying in prison. Posted on UTC 2017-05-15 18:50 Words: 3,221; reading time: 14 minutes Lied auf dem Wasser zu singen D 774. Great poem. Great music. Two geniuses at work. Posted on UTC 2017-04-30 10:01 Words: 5,809; reading time: 26 minutes Who's afraid of Immanuel Kant? 230 years of the Critique of Pure Reason Posted on UTC 2017-04-23 16:38 Words: 648; reading time: 2 minutes Too much understanding Gotthold Lessing's little boy Posted on UTC 2017-03-18 16:11 Words: 463; reading time: 2 minutes Quote and image of the month for January Quote: Wilhelm Busch, [Sahst du das wunderbare Bild von Brouwer?]. Image: Adriaen Brouwer, Die Operation am Rücken. Posted on UTC 2017-01-01 01:02 Words: 281; reading time: 1 minute Trembling above the abyss Goethe conquering one of his demons in Strasbourg Cathedral. Posted on UTC 2017-01-22 13:50 Words: 1,166; reading time: 5 minutes Deutschland, Deutschland über alles 220 years and still going strong – well, some of it at least. Posted on UTC 2017-01-09 08:43 Words: 4,734; reading time: 21 minutes Rustling inspiration More for Schubert fans: a closer look at Wohin? from Die schöne Müllerin. Posted on UTC 2016-09-22 13:56 Words: 1,243; reading time: 5 minutes Channelled speech Decorating the slaughterhouse with geraniums. Posted on UTC 2016-09-19 09:23 Words: 1,575; reading time: 7 minutes Walking with Walser Martin Walser, Heimatkunde and the art of leaving things unsaid. Posted on UTC 2016-09-04 17:00 Words: 1,608; reading time: 7 minutes Quote and image of the month for August Quote: Friedrich Schiller, Wilhelm Tell. Image: Ernst Stückelberg, Wilhelm Tell mit Sohn/William Tell and son. Posted on UTC 2016-08-01 01:02 Words: 537; reading time: 2 minutes Quote and image of the month for May 2016 Quote: Stefan Zweig, Die Welt von Gestern: Erinnerungen eines Europäers. Image: Friderike und Stefan Zweig auf einem Bahnhof/The Zweigs on a station platform. Posted on UTC 2016-05-01 01:02 Words: 393; reading time: 1 minute Do not sleep… …while the stewards of the world are busy. Posted on UTC 2016-04-13 15:31 Words: 1,044; reading time: 4 minutes The real Lili Marleen Certainly not hanging around lamposts. Posted on UTC 2016-04-03 07:18 Words: 882; reading time: 4 minutes Heinrich Heine, 17 February 1856 A tardy commemoration of the 160th anniversary of the death of Heinrich Heine. Posted on UTC 2016-03-17 09:31 Words: 1,215; reading time: 5 minutes Die Forelle Fishy tales, speculations, a decade in a dungeon, oblivion and immortality. You can't beat a good song. Posted on UTC 2016-02-07 16:50 Words: 194; reading time: 1 minute Franz Schubert – The Trout Quintet The young genius playing for his supper in provincial Austria. Posted on UTC 2016-02-07 16:51 Words: 1,418; reading time: 6 minutes Franz Schubert – The Trout A taste of immortality for a forgotten poet from an unknown composer. Posted on UTC 2016-02-07 16:52 Words: 430; reading time: 1 minute Christian Schubart – The road to doom How to make enemies and the fine art of annoying nearly everyone at the same time. Posted on UTC 2016-02-07 16:53 Words: 7,717; reading time: 35 minutes Christian Schubart – Taking the bait Muddying the waters and choosing the perfect bait for the victim: a masterpiece! Posted on UTC 2016-02-07 16:54 Words: 6,835; reading time: 31 minutes Christian Schubart – The Trout The bright, romantic allegory of deception and kidnap on the autopsy slab. Posted on UTC 2016-02-07 16:55 Words: 1,953; reading time: 8 minutes Nathan's rings Lessing's Nathan, not called 'the Wise' for nothing. Posted on UTC 2016-01-18 16:14 Words: 925; reading time: 4 minutes Die Winterreise Schubert yet again, but no cheerful bits at all this time, just loss, betrayal, rejection, alienation and wandering. Posted on UTC 2015-12-31 16:10 Words: 496; reading time: 2 minutes Chapter 1 – The birth of the text of Die Winterreise. The 'Urania' text, the 'Waldhornist' text and Schubert's synthesis. Posted on UTC 2015-12-31 16:11 Words: 1,210; reading time: 5 minutes Chapter 2 – Poems 1-12 A narrative of loss, rejection and wandering: the first twelve poems of the Die Winterreise and the narrative thread. Posted on UTC 2015-12-31 16:12 Words: 1,768; reading time: 8 minutes Chapter 3 – Poems 13-24 Themes of despair, alienation and wandering: the last twelve poems of the Die Winterreise; thematic structure and the death paradox. Posted on UTC 2015-12-31 16:13 Words: 2,061; reading time: 9 minutes Chapter 4 – Wilhelm Müller The biographical background to Wilhelm Müller's poem collection Die Winterreise. Posted on UTC 2015-12-31 16:14 Words: 1,917; reading time: 8 minutes Chapter 5 – Franz Schubert The biographical background to Franz Schubert's setting of the song-cycle Winterreise. Posted on UTC 2015-12-31 16:15 Words: 2,329; reading time: 10 minutes Die schöne Müllerin Schubert again. Two blondes making out. A talking stream looks on as the hunter gets the girl. Many trigger alerts here. Posted on UTC 2015-12-03 16:10 Words: 323; reading time: 1 minute Chapter 1 – The song-cycle and its prologue The genesis of the idea of a song-cycle from Wilhem Müller's prologue to Die schöne Müllerin. Posted on UTC 2015-12-03 16:11 Words: 2,021; reading time: 9 minutes Chapter 2 – Poems 1-12 Love and joy: a structural analysis of the first twelve poems of the Die schöne Müllerin. Posted on UTC 2015-12-03 16:12 Words: 2,360; reading time: 10 minutes Chapter 3 – Poems 13-23 Despair and death: a structural analysis of the last eleven poems of the Die schöne Müllerin. Posted on UTC 2015-12-03 16:13 Words: 2,558; reading time: 11 minutes Chapter 4 – The context of the work The problem of the narrative song-cycle; the biographical component. Posted on UTC 2015-12-03 16:14 Words: 2,242; reading time: 10 minutes All Souls' Day, 2 November Some thoughts for All Souls' Day, 2 November on the Litany for All Souls' Day of Johann Georg Jacobi, set to music by Franz Schubert. Posted on UTC 2015-11-02 10:12 Words: 1,727; reading time: 7 minutes Nietzsche's birthday Friedrich Nietzsche would have been 171 today, so let's dig out one or two of his undeservedly neglected poems to celebrate the occasion. Posted on UTC 2015-10-15 09:03 Words: 415; reading time: 1 minute
