Horses

Stubbs, Whistlejacket, c. 1762
Stubbs, Whistlejacket, c. 1762

We like to tell ourselves that there is no essential difference between us and the original readers of the poems that Schubert set to music. We respond in similar ways to hope and distress, yet in one crucial respect we can never read that poetry in the same way. The pace has changed. Since the expansion of the railways our relationship to the world has been different. After steam power replaced horse power, and people began to travel in horseless carriages, humans’ relationships with their environment changed fundamentally. Riding and driving changed their meanings.

Even fundamental metaphors were transformed. Life is a journey. We set off, we get lost, we may or may not have a definite destination. So much remains in common. Yet, when the journey involved horses (whether the traveller was on horseback or in a carriage), the very concept of a journey was rather different. Christian Ludwig Reissig was unable to conceive of the metaphor of life as a journey without it involving a horse:

Denn auf der Lebensreise
Ist Wein das beste Pferd.

For on the journey of life
Wine is the best horse.

Christian Ludwig von Reissig, Der Zufriedene	 	D 320

Schubert set a number of Goethe texts centred on the ‘life is a journey’ metaphor, and they invariably involve horses. Willkommen und Abschied, a product of the poet’s youth (written while he was a student in Alsace) opens with a vivid image of a young man mounting a horse and riding off into the night in order to meet his beloved, and ends with him turning round the next morning to watch the girl crying as he rides back to town.

Es schlug mein Herz; geschwind zu Pferde,
Es war getan fast eh' gedacht; 
Der Abend wiegte schon die Erde,
Und an den Bergen hing die Nacht: 

. . . .

Ich ging, du standst und sahst zur Erden
Und sahst mir nach mit nassem Blick,
Und doch, welch Glück geliebt zu werden,
Und lieben, Götter, welch ein Glück.


My heart was pounding; quick, onto the horse!
It was done almost before the thought struck;
The evening was lulling the earth
And night was hanging on the hills:

. . . 

I left, you were standing there looking down at the ground,
And you cried as you watched me go:
And yet, what happiness to be loved!
And being in love, gods, what happiness!

Goethe, Willkommen und Abschied     D 767

The strong iambic rhythm captures both the speeding horse and the urgent passion of the young rider.

There is a similar impulse in Erlkönig (a text from 1782), but this nocturnal journey on horseback is leading towards death rather than love. A father arrives in the courtyard of a staging post, ready to change horses, but it is too late. His child is already dead.

In An Schwager Kronos (which Goethe wrote in 1774, at the height of his new-found fame), the narrator is in a carriage giving instructions to the coachman Kronos (but also Chronos, time itself). He is desperate to be on his way, to take full advantage of all that the journey of life has to offer. There will be ups and downs and there is a lot to pack in before nightfall and the inevitable closure of the inn gates.

Spude dich Kronos!
Fort den rasselnden Trott!
Bergab gleitet der Weg!
Ekles Schwindeln zögert
Mir vor die Stirne dein Zaudern.
Frisch, holpert es gleich,
Über Stock und Steine den Trott
Rasch ins Leben hinein!

Nun schon wieder
Den eratmenden Schritt,
Mühsam Berg hinauf!
Auf denn, nicht träge denn,
Strebend und hoffend hinan!

Weit, hoch, herrlich der Blick
Rings ins Leben hinein,
Vom Gebirg zum Gebirg
Schwebet der ewige Geist,
Ewigen Lebens ahndevoll.

Seitwärts des Überdachs Schatten
Zieht dich an,
Und ein Frischung verheißender Blick
Auf der Schwelle des Mädchens da.
Labe dich! Mir auch, Mädchen,
Diesen schäumenden Trank,
Diesen frischen Gesundheitsblick!

Ab denn, rascher hinab!
Sieh, die Sonne sinkt!
Eh sie sinkt, eh mich Greisen
Ergreift im Moore Nebelduft,
Entzahnte Kiefer schnattern
Und das schlotternde Gebein.

Trunknen vom letzten Strahl
Reiß mich, ein Feuermeer
Mir im schäumenden Aug,
Mich geblendeten Taumelnden
In der Hölle nächtliches Tor!

Töne, Schwager, ins Horn,
Rassle den schallenden Trab,
Dass der Orkus vernehme: wir kommen,
Dass gleich an der Tür
Der Wirt uns freundlich empfange.

Get a move on, Chronos!
Get a rattling trot going!
The path leads downhill;
I feel a nauseous dizziness
Around my forehead caused by you holding back.
Gee up! Let's jolt along whatever we encounter,
Trotting along over logs and stones,
Quickly, headlong into life!

Now, yet again,
We go at a pace that takes the breath away
As we painstakingly go uphill.
Up then, there's no need to hang about,
Struggling and hoping as we go forward!

Wide, high, majestic is the view
All around taking us into life,
From mountain range to mountain range
The eternal spirit hovers,
Full of intimations of eternal life.

Looking sideways the shade of the canopy
Draws you towards it
Along with refreshment, the warming look
Of the girl standing there in the doorway.
Take a break! - For me too, lass,
That foaming drink,
That fresh health-giving gaze!

Down then, down at a faster pace!
Look, the sun is setting!
Before it sets, before this grey-haired old man
Is trapped in the mist over the marsh,
Before I hear the gibbering of toothless jawbones
And rattling skeletons.

Drunk from the last ray
Pluck me out, with a sea of fire
In my sparkling eyes,
Blinded by vertigo
As I fall into the nocturnal gate of Hell.

Coachman, blow your horn,
Rattle the resounding trot
So that Orcus will hear: we are coming,
So that promptly, at the door,
The innkeeper will receive us in a friendly way.

Goethe, An Schwager Kronos		D 369

Few of Goethe’s original readers would have failed to make the association with Phoebus / Apollo driving the chariot of the sun. The horses have to make a steep climb every morning but seem to relax in the middle of the day as the whole earth seems to be laid out below them. They then plunge into the burning sea at sunset. Strong charioteers (such as Phoebus himself) manage to keep control at each point, but the story of the inexperienced Phaeton acts as a warning of how uncontrollable those horses can be.

Another of Phoebus’ sons was Amphiaraus, King of Argos. In Theodor Körner’s poem about him he makes a conscious choice to welcome the death which he could foresee awaited him in the battle against Thebes.

Denn er liest in dem ewigen Kreise der Sterne:
Wen die kommenden Stunden feindlich bedrohen.
Des Sonnenlenkers gewaltiger Sohn
Sieht klar in der Zukunft nebelnde Ferne.
Er kennt des Schicksals verderblichen Bund,
Er weiß, wie die Würfel, die eisernen, fallen,
Er sieht die Möira mit blutigen Krallen,
Doch die Helden verschmähen den heiligen Mund.

. . . 

Wild schnauben die Rosse, laut rasselt der Wagen,
Das Stampfen der Hufe zermalmet die Bahn.
Und schneller und schneller noch rast es heran,
Als gält' es die flüchtige Zeit zu erjagen.
Wie wenn er die Leuchte des Himmels geraubt,
Kommt er im Wirbeln der Windsbraut geflogen;
Erschrocken heben die Götter der Wogen
Aus schäumenden Fluten das schilfichte Haupt.

Und plötzlich, als wenn der Himmel erglühte,
Stürzt ein Blitz aus der heitern Luft,
Und die Erde zerreißt sich zur furchtbaren Kluft;
Da rief laut jauchzend der Apolloide:
"Dank dir, Gewaltiger, fest steht mir der Bund,
Dein Blitz ist mir der Unsterblichkeit Siegel;
Ich folge dir, Zeus!" Und er fasste die Zügel
Und jagte die Rosse hinab in den Schlund.


For he can look at the eternal circle of the stars and read
The names of those who are mortally threatened in the coming hours.
The powerful son of Apollo, he who drives the sun,
Sees clearly into the misty distance of the future.
He is familiar with the pernicious covenant of fate,
He knows how the iron dice are going to fall.
He can see Moira with bloody talons;
But the heroes scorn anything that comes from his sacred mouth.

. . . 

The stallions snort wildly, the chariot rattles noisily,
The stamping of hooves crushes the roadway.
Faster and still faster it continues to race on,
As if in pursuit of fleeing time.
As if he had stolen the lights out of the sky,
He comes flying, caught up in a whirlwind;
In astonishment the gods raise the waves
And the head, covered in reeds, emerges from the foaming floods.

And suddenly, as if the sky had caught fire,
Lightning falls out of the agitated air,
And the earth opens up to reveal a terrifying crevasse;
The rejoicing son of Apollo cries out in a loud voice,
"Thank you, mighty one, you have held firm to the covenant.
Your lightning is the seal of eternity for me;
I will follow you, Zeus!", and he held the reins tight
And drove the horses down into the abyss.

Körner, Amphiaraos	D 166

Unlike Amphiaraus, most of the warriors who feature in Schubert’s song texts are riders rather than charioteers. In Der Schäfer und der Reiter by de la Motte Fouqué a shepherd invites a passing man on horseback to rest and share his simple pleasures, but the rider explains that he has taken a vow and cannot rest until he dies in battle. He cannot dismount.

Ein Schäfer saß im Grünen,   
   Sein Liebchen süß im Arm,  
   Durch Buchenwipfel schienen   
   Der Sonne Strahlen warm.   

Sie kosten froh und heiter   
   Von Liebeständelei.   
   Da ritt bewehrt ein Reiter   
   Den Glücklichen vorbei.   

»Sitz ab, und suche Kühle!«  
    Rief ihm der Schäfer zu, 
   »Des Mittags nahe Schwüle   
   Gebietet stille Ruh.   

Noch lacht im Morgenglanze   
   So Strauch als Blume hier,   
   Und Liebchen pflückt zum Kranze   
   Die schönsten Blüten dir.«   

Da sprach der finstre Reiter:   
   »Nie hält mich Wald und Flur.   
   Mich treibt mein Schicksal weiter,   
   Und ach, mein ernster Schwur.

Ich gab mein junges Leben   
   Dahin um schnöden Sold;   
   Glück kann ich nicht erstreben,   
   Nur höchstens Ruhm und Gold.   

Drum schnell, mein Ross, und trabe   
   Vorbei, wo Blumen blühn,  
   Einst lohnt wohl Ruh im Grabe   
   Des Kämpfenden Bemühn.«

A shepherd was sitting in the greenery
With his sweet darling in his arms;
Shining through the top of the beech trees
Were the warm rays of the sun.

They were merry and cheerful as they petted each other
And indulged in love's dalliance.
Then along came an armed man on horseback
Who rode past the lucky couple.

"Sit down and find yourself somewhere cool!"
The shepherd called out to him.
"The approaching sweltering heat of midday
Calls for quiet rest.

Still laughing in the glow of morning are
These bushes and flowers here,
And my love will make a garland by plucking
The most beautiful blossoms for you."

At this the gloomy horseman said,
"Forests and meadows will never detain me.
I am driven further onwards by my fate,
And oh, by my solemn oath!

I gave my young life
Away in exchange for base payment;
I can never aspire to happiness,
I can only hope for the highest renown and gold.

So quick, my horse, and trot
On, where the flowers are in bloom.
One day the real reward of rest in a grave will be paid 
To the warrior in exchange for his troubles."

Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, Der Schäfer und der Reiter 	D 517

In a couple of cases the appearance of a riderless horse is what tells us that the warrrior is dead (Don Gayseros, D 93; Minona, D 152) and in Mirjams Siegesgesang (D 942) it is the inability of the Egyptian riders to remain mounted that is a sign that the army is heading to destruction in the Red Sea:

Doch der Horizont erdunkelt,
Ross und Reiter löst sich los,
Hörner lärmen, Eisen funkelt,
Es ist Pharao und sein Tross.
Herr, von der Gefahr umdunkelt,
Hilflos wir, dort Mann und Ross.

Und die Feinde mordentglommen,
Drängen nach auf sich'rem Pfad,
Jetzt und jetzt - da horch, welch Säuseln!
Wehen, Murmeln, Dröhnen, horch, Sturm!
'S ist der Herr in seinem Grimme,
Einstürzt rings der Wasser Turm.

Mann und Pferd,
Ross und Reiter
Eingewickelt, umsponnen,
Im Netze der Gefahr,
Zerbrochen die Speichen ihrer Wagen,
Tot der Lenker, tot das Gespann.

But the horizon darkens,
Horse and rider come apart,
Horns blare, iron sparks:
It is Pharaoh and his baggage train.
Lord, as danger envelops us in darkness,
We are helpless, with men and horses there.

But the horizon darkens,
Horse and rider come apart,
Horns blare, iron sparks:
It is Pharaoh and his baggage train.
Lord, as danger envelops us in darkness,
We are helpless, with men and horses there.

And the enemy, burning with murder,
Press onwards on a secure path;
Now, now, listen to that, what rumbling,
Groaning, murmuring, booming, listen to the storm!
It is the Lord in his wrath,
The tower of water all around collapses.

Man and beast,
Horse and rider,
Are overwhelmed, swirled around
In a dangerous net.
The spokes of their chariots are shattered,
The driver is dead, the horses are dead.

Franz Grillparzer, Mirjams Siegesgesang 	D 942

Drivers and riders, all dead. The horses, all dead. This is where the journey of life is heading. Yet Miriam was celebrating an astonishing survival. Life has an amazing capacity to outwit death, and hope frequently overcomes despair. These truths are often embodied in evocations of the onward tread of the horse we are riding.

Frisch trabe sonder Ruh und Rast,
Mein gutes Ross, durch Nacht und Regen!
Was scheust du dich vor Busch und Ast
Und strauchelst auf den wilden Wegen.
Dehnt auch der Wald sich tief und dicht,
Doch muss er endlich sich erschließen,
Und freundlich wird ein fernes Licht
Uns aus dem dunkeln Tale grüßen.

. . . 

Weit sehn wir über Land und See
Zur wärmern Flur den Vogel fliegen,
Wie sollte denn die Liebe je
In ihrem Pfade sich betrügen?
Drum trabe mutig durch die Nacht,
Und schwinden auch die dunklen Bahnen,
Der Sehnsucht helles Auge wacht,
Und sicher führt mich süßes Ahnen.

Trot along merrily without stopping or resting
My good horse, through the night and rain!
What is making you afraid of bushes and branches
And why do you stumble on the wild pathways?
Although the wood stretches on deep and thick,
It will have to come to an end at some point,
And a distant light will make a friendly appearance
And greet us from out of the dark valley.
. . . 

Up there over the land and sea we can see 
The birds flying towards warmer ground;
So how could love ever allow
Itself to be led astray if it is following that path?
Therefore trot on courageously through the night!
And even if the dark tracks disappear
Longing's bright eye is still on the lookout,
And sweet presentiment leads me on securely.

Ernst Schulze, Auf der Bruck		D 853

☙

Descendant of: 

Animals   AGRICULTURE AND FARMING   HUNTING AND MINING   MOVEMENT  


Texts with this theme: