The Thousandth Regiment - 18. "Noyon. Puffing halts! The locomotives whistle"

This sonnet did not fit the collection and it forced me to think, digging out knowledge and do some research, because I could not accept the first impression it made. Those two levels Hans brought into the poem, are in equal amount fascinating and saddening to me. Fascinating, because it is so subversive and saddening, because he needed to masque his true thoughts. A masque he puts up in more than one poem and I would prefer, that this poet could have written freely.

Your translation is as always great. And for me your effort and dedication is amazing. I am very greatful to have explored it with you. Your questions have been a motivation to find good answers, to satisfy the both of us. And your ability to bring this poem into English with all its layers and make it understandable is fascinating.

Obvisiously you are easily able to persuade me: I found this sonnet from Louise Otto-Peters a writer, poetess and one of the first female right activist in Germany. She wrote it about the end of the year 1849 in which the Revolution from March 1848 was defeated and the Raktionsära started:

Am Schluß des Jahres 1849
Gedicht von Louise Otto-Peters
Die Glocken hallen dumpf am Jahresende,
In diesen schweren unheilvollen Zeiten
Ins Grab die deutsche Freiheit zu geleiten -
Ach! ohne Hoffnung daß ihr Los sich wende!

Gefängniß, Flucht und Tod - das ist die Spende
Für Alle, die dem Vaterland sich weihten,
Dem Volke Recht und Einheit zu erstreiten,
Daß es zu einem Reiche sich verbände!

Und doch, und doch! - Die Freiheit kann nicht sterben
Ein Volk, das sich so opferfroh gezeigt,
Kann nicht für immer, kann nicht ganz verderben!

Und wenn auch jetzt der Hoffnung Saat verblüht -
Wir säten doch - das Volk wird einst noch erben
Um was wir kämpfen und noch nicht erreicht.

At the end of the year 1849

The bells ring dull at the end of the year,

In these difficult and unholy times.

To escort German freedom to the grave —

Ah! Without hope for a change of its fate!

Prison, flight and death — is the donation

For all consecrated to the homeland,

To fight for right and unity of the people,

That we once would become one realm!

And yet, and yet! — Freedom cannot die

People willing to sacrifice themselves,

Can't forever, can't decay completely!

And although now the seed of hope withers —

We sowed — the people will inherit one day

What we fight for and haven't achieved yet.

I can only speculate, if Hans knew this sonnet. But there are phrases and pictures, that point in the direction. It makes me very sad, that both poets were aware they will not experience democracy in their lifetime. But also both didn`t give up hope for the future.

Something inside of me wished they could know the first article of the Grundgesetzt now: Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar -- Human dignity shall be inviolable.

An amazing poem ... as is the one @Lyssa shared. The work you both put in, in bringing us these is outstanding and huge. I thank each of you for it.

Hans' is sad, pissed off, frustrated ... with his country and their lot. It belongs with the others, yet it stands out from the others we've read so far. It does for the reasons you both point out ... i imagine him sitting, tired, dirty and angry .. yet not foolish enough to come out and say what is truly in his heart .. but brilliantly wrapping his true message in well chosen words.

This poem drips with searing sarcasm in every line. It’s easy to picture Hans in the mind’s eye, unable to voice his rejection of the war directly, yet in this poem telling us exactly how he feels. How difficult it must have been to participate in this war, a war in which grinding brutality and numbness blotted all else out. No wonder many came to realize the futility of the conflict. Thanks to @Lyssa for the additional insight. Some of the survivors of 1849 fled to America, only to be conscripted into the US civil war a decade later. 

On 9/7/2019 at 11:22 PM, Lyssa said:

This sonnet did not fit the collection and it forced me to think, digging out knowledge and do some research, because I could not accept the first impression it made. Those two levels Hans brought into the poem, are in equal amount fascinating and saddening to me. Fascinating, because it is so subversive and saddening, because he needed to masque his true thoughts. A masque he puts up in more than one poem and I would prefer, that this poet could have written freely.

Your translation is as always great. And for me your effort and dedication is amazing. I am very greatful to have explored it with you. Your questions have been a motivation to find good answers, to satisfy the both of us. And your ability to bring this poem into English with all its layers and make it understandable is fascinating.

Obvisiously you are easily able to persuade me: I found this sonnet from Louise Otto-Peters a writer, poetess and one of the first female right activist in Germany. She wrote it about the end of the year 1849 in which the Revolution from March 1848 was defeated and the Raktionsära started:

 

Am Schluß des Jahres 1849
Gedicht von Louise Otto-Peters
 

Die Glocken hallen dumpf am Jahresende,
In diesen schweren unheilvollen Zeiten
Ins Grab die deutsche Freiheit zu geleiten -
Ach! ohne Hoffnung daß ihr Los sich wende!

Gefängniß, Flucht und Tod - das ist die Spende
Für Alle, die dem Vaterland sich weihten,
Dem Volke Recht und Einheit zu erstreiten,
Daß es zu einem Reiche sich verbände!

Und doch, und doch! - Die Freiheit kann nicht sterben
Ein Volk, das sich so opferfroh gezeigt,
Kann nicht für immer, kann nicht ganz verderben!

Und wenn auch jetzt der Hoffnung Saat verblüht -
Wir säten doch - das Volk wird einst noch erben
Um was wir kämpfen und noch nicht erreicht.

 

 

At the end of the year 1849

 

The bells ring dull at the end of the year,

In these difficult and unholy times.

To escort German freedom to the grave —

Ah! Without hope for a change of its fate!

 

Prison, flight and death — is the donation

For all consecrated to the homeland,

To fight for right and unity of the people,

That we once would become one realm!

 

And yet, and yet! — Freedom cannot die

People willing to sacrifice themselves,

Can't forever, can't decay completely!

 

And although now the seed of hope withers —

We sowed — the people will inherit one day

What we fight for and haven't achieved yet.

 

I can only speculate, if Hans knew this sonnet. But there are phrases and pictures, that point in the direction. It makes me very sad, that both poets were aware they will not experience democracy in their lifetime. But also both didn`t give up hope for the future.

Something inside of me wished they could know the first article of the Grundgesetzt now: Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar -- Human dignity shall be inviolable.

 

Thank you, Lyssa! Louise Otto-Peters' poem is an amazing find because it is so relevant to Hans' work. Several of the themes and images of "1849" are used by Hans as well. These two poets clearly belong to the same school of citizens aspiring to an open and free society. 

As always, thank you for your help with these sometimes-very-difficult texts. As you know, I am constantly striving to understand why Hans chooses to group the images he does; sometimes the analogies escape me, sometimes they click in place. It would have never clicked into place for me without your information on the deutschen Farben, so thank you a million times  

On 9/8/2019 at 3:20 AM, Mikiesboy said:

An amazing poem ... as is the one @Lyssa shared. The work you both put in, in bringing us these is outstanding and huge. I thank each of you for it.

Hans' is sad, pissed off, frustrated ... with his country and their lot. It belongs with the others, yet it stands out from the others we've read so far. It does for the reasons you both point out ... i imagine him sitting, tired, dirty and angry .. yet not foolish enough to come out and say what is truly in his heart .. but brilliantly wrapping his true message in well chosen words.

Thank you, Tim. This poet's concept of the Expressionist Artistic movement included double meanings in his words. Some of his civilian poems seem merely sensual when first reading them, but when read again and apply the 'second' meaning of the terms used, they can be downright erotic. In some poems, like No. 16, he brings the erotic subtext to private moments while in the military. I find this fascinating poetry, and I don't know of any English language equivalent from before the close of WW1. It seems poets like Hans and his German peers influenced the post-war generation of British and North American poets a great deal.

Thanks again for all your support! Muah  

On 9/8/2019 at 5:48 AM, Parker Owens said:

This poem drips with searing sarcasm in every line. It’s easy to picture Hans in the mind’s eye, unable to voice his rejection of the war directly, yet in this poem telling us exactly how he feels. How difficult it must have been to participate in this war, a war in which grinding brutality and numbness blotted all else out. No wonder many came to realize the futility of the conflict. Thanks to @Lyssa for the additional insight. Some of the survivors of 1849 fled to America, only to be conscripted into the US civil war a decade later. 

Yes, the revolutions that swept Europe in 1848 had broad impact on American growth. Many Catholic Germans for the Würtzburg area settled in the region of the country I'm from. They sought out similar farmland to what they were used to, and formed communities that could grow in peace and prosperity. A large part of San Francisco's heritage belongs to the French who escaped the turmoil to settle here. They were in the vanguard of the '49ers' who went up river to prospect for gold, and still today, a small enclave next to Chinatown is the original "French Town" with the parish church and some excellent cafes

As always, Parker, thank you for reading and commenting