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Translation of "Ein Fichtenbaum steht einsam" by Heinrich Heine
A spruce-tree stands forlorn
A spruce-tree stands forlorn,
In the high north on a desolate height;
He sleeps, in a white blanket
Bedecked in ice and snow.
He dreams of a palm tree,
Who, far in the orient land,
Stands alone quietly grieving
on a burning cliff of rock and sand.
Heinrich Heine
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Ein Fichtenbaum steht einsam
Ein Fichtenbaum steht einsam
Im hohen Norden auf kahler Höh'.
Ihn schläfert, mit weisser Decke
Umhüllen ihn Eis und Schnee.
Er träumt von eine Palme,
Die, fern im Morgenland,
Einsam und schweigend trauert
Auf brennender Felsenwand.
Heinrich Heine
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Very nice! I couldn't resist checking out this as a translation. Seems we have that in common. Hanns Heinz Ewers speaks very highly of Heine and I have never read any of his work.
This poem is very beautiful both in Deutch and English. Thanks |
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| Shame that literature gets neglected in a way in school. I wonder if we changed to making it less of a priority now since my school years have come to its end many many years ago, too. I believe that if we taught more about great literature and introduced the magic a story can have when being enjoyed in form of a book rather than a movie or a computer game, we would generally be able to increase interest in reading altogether. |
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Danafahren,
Thanks for your kind comments on the tranlation. To answer your question, some of Heine's work is available in translation, but as usual with my favorite poems, I felt there was something missing in the other translations I read. Also, I believe that very very little (if any) world literature is taught in American schools, unfortunately. My high school had little or no world literature taught. Shakespeare and other English lit was, unfortunately, as adventurous as it got. It wasn't until I got to college and elected German lit classes that I was exposed to these beautiful works. I don't know if things have changed much in American high schools since then, but somehow I doubt it when it comes to World Lit =(. Just wanted to share this so non-German speakers could be exposed to some beautiful German poetry (albeit in translation). |
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| You have translated very well and yes, it is a beautiful piece like most of Heine's work. Is his work not translated into english or rather is his work not mentioned in your school classes? We had plenty of him, Theodor Storm, Berthold Brecht and many other contemporary authors of that time. |
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PJ,
Thanks for the nice comment on my translations, but I feel it is not the translations that deserve compliments, but the original poems. Some of the German poems from this literary period are so beautiful that I thought it a shame only Germans generally get to read them and I wanted to share with speakers of English. If the beauty of the original poem translates into English & you appreciate, then I must have done a decent job with the translation, which makes me happy. It is, of course, still much more powerful in the original language. There are always some nuances that just don't translate, no matter how good the translation. |
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