Near and far

William Herschel's 7 foot telescope
William Herschel's 7 foot telescope

Sterne, durch die Ferne / Stars, across the distance

Ernst Schulz’s entry for 28th April 1814 in his ‘Poetic Diary’ (Poetisches Tagebuch) explores a familiar paradox: what is inaccessibly distant is at the same time emotionally close. As his boat rocks on the water, the stars are both way beyond his grasp and (as reflected in the water) tantalisingly close.


Ihr Sternlein, still in der Höhe,
Ihr Sternlein, spielend im Meer,
Wenn ich von ferne daher
So freundlich euch leuchten sehe,
So wird mir von Wohl und Wehe
Der Busen so bang und so schwer.

Es zittert von Frühlingswinden
Der Himmel im flüssigen Grün;
Manch Sternlein sah ich entblühn,
Manch Sternlein sah ich entschwinden;
Doch kann ich das schönste nicht finden,
Das früher dem Liebenden schien.

Nicht kann ich zum Himmel mich schwingen,
Zu suchen den freundlichen Stern,
Stets hält ihn die Wolke mir fern.
Tief unten, da möcht es gelingen,
Das friedliche Ziel zu erringen,
Tief unten da ruht' ich so gern.

Was wiegt ihr im laulichen Spiele,
Ihr Lüftchen, den wogenden Kahn?
O treibt ihn auf rauerer Bahn,
Hernieder in's Wogengewühle!
Lasst tief in der wallenden Kühle
Dem lieblichen Sterne mich nahn!


You little stars, quiet up there in the heights,
You little stars, playing in the sea, 
When I look at you there from such a distance,
When I see you shining in such a friendly way,
Then I become both well and ill,
This breast is so anxious and so heavy.

There is a trembling from the spring winds
In the sky, turning the greenery into liquid;
I have seen many a little star blossom,
I have seen many a little star disappear;
But I cannot find the most beautiful one,
The one which earlier shone on this person in love.

I cannot launch myself into the sky
To look for that friendly star;
The cloud is always holding it too far away from me!
Deep down there I might be able to manage it,
To reach the peaceful goal!
Deep down there is where I could so happily rest!

What is this rocking as you play gently,
You breezes, why are you rocking the swaying boat?
Oh, drive it on a rougher course
Down there into the whirlpool!
Let me go down deep into the swirling coolness
And let me approach that lovable star!

Schulze, Der liebliche Stern D 861

This text captures something of the inner turmoil produced by an attempt to reach for the stars. The poet experiences ‘Wohl und Wehe’, he is both well and ill; his heart is anxious and heavy. In the final stanza the weight of pain drives him to a seemingly suicidal frenzy as he decides that he is now in a position to bridge the gap. Plunging into the vortex will allow him to ‘come close’ to that lovable star.

Lasst tief in der wallenden Kühle
Dem lieblichen Sterne mich nahn!

Let me go down deep into the swirling coolness
And let me approach that lovable star!

The final word of the text, the verb ‘nahen’ (to approach, to come close), rhyming as it does with Kahn (boat) and Bahn (course or trajectory), emphasises the closure of the gulf. Distance has been conquered.

Leitner uses similar imagery but to different effect in Des Fischers Liebesglück (D 933). Here again the poetic ‘I’ is on a boat (Kahn) looking up at the stars and seeing them reflected in the water. However, this time the speaker is not alone. The stars do not represent a distant love object or goal since the fisherman is here cuddled up in the boat with his beloved. It is the stars that are observing THEM from a distance (poets often see stars as eyes) and their reflection in the water allows the speaker to imagine himself rising up beyond them. Distance becomes ecstasy in this case.


Nur Sterne
Belauschen
Uns ferne
Und baden
Tief unter
Den Pfaden
Des gleitenden Kahns.
 
So schweben
Wir selig,
Umgeben
Vom Dunkel,
Hoch überm
Gefunkel
Der Sterne einher.
 
Und weinen
Und lächeln,
Und meinen,
Enthoben
Der Erde,
Schon oben,
Schon drüben zu sein.

Only the stars
Observe
Us from afar,
And they bathe
Deep underneath
The pathway
Of the floating boat.

Thus we hover
In bliss,
Surrounded 
By darkness,
High above
The sparkling
Of the stars.

And we cry
And smile
And imagine ourselves
Lifted up above
The earth,
Already high up,
Already in the beyond.

Leitner, Des Fischers Liebesglück  D 933

Whether we are looking at the stars or they are looking at us, our awareness of the distance between us makes us think. Different poets at different times learn different lessons, or at least consider different viewpoints. Schulze in An mein Herz tells himself that his heart should stop over-interpreting all the messages from the surrounding environment. Perhaps the flowers and birdsong of spring are not primarily a reminder of the love and hope that he has lost. Although the distant twinkling stars seem friendly and reassuring, perhaps they have nothing whatsoever to do with us. Perhaps he can use them to get some emotional distance from his obsession.


Und siehst du die Blüten erscheinen,
Und singen die Vögel umher,
So magst du wohl heimlich weinen,
Doch klagen sollst du nicht mehr.

Gehn doch die ewigen Sterne
Dort oben mit goldenem Licht
Und lächeln so freundlich von ferne,
Und denken doch unser nicht.

And if you see the blossoms appearing,
And if the birds sing around you,
You can still weep in secret
But you should no longer lament.

Despite everything the eternal stars are moving
Up there with their golden light,
And they smile down from afar in such a friendly way,
Yet they are not thinking about us.

Schulze, An mein Herz  D 860

Johann Mayrhofer uses his reflection on the same theme to convince himself that the pain of humans on earth will fade into insignificance given sufficient distance.


In monderhellten Nächten, 
Mit dem Geschick zu rechten, 
Hat diese Brust verlernt. 
Der Himmel, reich gestirnt, 
Umwoget mich mit Frieden, 
Da denk ich, auch hienieden 
Gedeihet manche Blume.
Und frischer schaut der stumme, 
Sonst trübe Blick hinauf 
Zum ew'gen Sternenlauf.  

Auf ihnen bluten Herzen,
Auf ihnen quälen Schmerzen,
Sie aber strahlen heiter. 
So schließ ich selig weiter,
Auch unsre kleine Erde, 
Voll Misston und Gefährde, 
Sich als ein heiter Licht 
In's Diadem verflicht,
So werden Sterne 
Durch die Ferne.

On moonlit nights
Trying to challenge fate
Is something that my breast has given up.
The sky, richly star spangled,
Swirls around me in peace.
Then I think: Even down here
Many flowers flourish;
And, more cheerfully I turn my silent
(Though imprecise) gaze upwards
Towards the course of the eternal stars.

On them hearts bleed,
On them pain is suffered -
But they shine cheerfully.
Thus, contented I go on to conclude:
Our small earth, too,
Full of discord and danger,
Appears as a cheerful light
Woven into the diadem.
That is what stars become
Across a distance!

Mayrhofer, Die Sternennächte  D 670

In Collin’s Licht und Liebe the mutual attraction of the stars and planets is a symbol of the human inclination to love:


Liebe ist ein süßes Licht.
Wie die Erde strebt zur Sonne
Und zu jenen hellen Sternen
In den weiten blauen Fernen,
Strebt das Herz nach Liebeswonne;
Denn sie ist ein süßes Licht.

Love is a sweet light.
Just as the Earth makes its way towards the Sun
And towards those bright stars
In the wide blue distance,
So the heart pushes itself towards the bliss of love;
For it is a sweet light.

Collin, Licht und Liebe  D 352

However, Körner concludes at the end of Der Morgenstern that these forces of attraction are not strong enough, and happiness is out of reach.


Fasst mich, fasst mich, heil'ge Strahlen,
Schlingt um mich das goldne Band,
Dass ich aus den Erdenqualen
Fliehe in ein glücklich Land.

Doch ich kann dich nicht erfassen,
Nicht erreichen, stehst so fern! -
Kann ich von der Sehnsucht lassen,
Darf ich's, heil'ger Himmelsstern?

Hold me, hold me, holy beams,
Throw the golden band around me,
So that I can leave the agonies of Earth
And escape to a happy land.

But I cannot grasp you,
I cannot reach you; you remain so distant!
Can I be released from longing?
May I, holy star of heaven?

Körner, Der Morgenstern  D 172, D 203

A few of Schubert’s poets seemed to accept the more conventional Christian view that there is a qualitative, not just a quantitive, distinction between the fallen earth and the celestial realm.


Kommen und Scheiden, 
Suchen und Meiden, 
Fürchten und Sehnen, 
Zweifeln und Wähnen, 
Armut und Fülle, Verödung und Pracht 
Wechseln auf Erden wie Dämmrung und Nacht. 

Fruchtlos hienieden 
Ringst du nach Frieden! 
Täuschende Schimmer 
Winken dir immer; 
Doch, wie die Furchen des gleitenden Kahns, 
Schwinden die Zaubergebilde des Wahns!  

Auf zu der Sterne 
Leuchtender Ferne 
Blicke vom Staube 
Mutig der Glaube: 
Dort nur verknüpft ein unsterbliches Band 
Wahrheit und Frieden, Verein und Bestand!  

Coming together and splitting up,
Searching and avoiding,
Worrying and longing,
Doubting and imagining things,
Poverty and plenty, barrenness and splendour,
They alternate on earth like twilight and night!

Down here it is pointless
For you to struggle for peace!
Will o' the wisps
Will always try to attract your attention;
But, like the furrows cut by the gliding boat,
The magical images of delusion disappear!

Up to the stars
Which light up the far distance,
We look up from the dust
With courageous faith:
Only there is an immortal connection made,
Truth and peace, union and continuity!

Matthisson, Lebenslied	D 508, D Anh. I, 23

Kosegarten too suspects that the distant stars might represent a calmer world in contrast to this one, but his tone seems less dogmatic than Matthisson’s.


Blaue Ferne, 
Hoch über mich erhöht!
Heil'ge Sterne, 
In hehrer Majestät!
Sagt mir, ist es stiller, 
Ihr Funkelnden, bei euch, 
Als in der Eitelkeiten
Aufruhrvollem Reich?

Blue distance, 
Raised high above me!
Holy stars, 
In noble majesty!
Tell me, is it quieter
Where you are, you sparkling ones,
Than in the vanities
Of this tormented Empire?

Kosegarten, Nachtgesang   D 314

Drang in die Ferne / Urge to go far away

Although looking at the stars is the most common way for humans to become aware of distance, there are elements of the nearby environment that might arouse poetic reflections on the theme. We do not need to travel long distances to know how far away we are from where we ought to be, to be acutely aware of emotional and spiritual distance. Poets in central Europe regularly looked at rivers and realised that they were flowing towards a distant ocean that they would never see. Poets high in the mountains observed passing clouds and birds rushing off to distant lands.


Vater, du glaubst es nicht, 
Wie's mir zum Herzen spricht, 
Wenn ich die Wolken seh
Oder am Strome steh!
. . .

Zögern und rasten nie, 
Eilen als wüssten sie 
Ferne und ungekannt 
Irgend ein schön'res Land.  

Father, you will not believe
How much it speaks to my heart
When I see the clouds
Or I stand by the river,
. . . 

They never hesitate or rest,
They hurry on as if they were aware of
A distant and unexplored
Land somewhere else, a more beautiful land.

Leitner, Drang in die Ferne    D 770

Ist mir's doch, als sei mein Leben 
An den schönen Strom gebunden. 
Hab ich Frohes nicht an seinem Ufer, 
Und Betrübtes hier empfunden!

Ja du gleichest meiner Seele; 
Manchmahl grün und glatt gestaltet; 
Und zu Zeiten, herrschen Stürme,
Schäumend, unruhvoll, gefaltet.  

Fließest zu dem fernen Meere, 
Darfst allda nicht heimisch werden;
Mich drängt's auch in mildre Lande,
Finde nicht das Glück auf Erden.

But it appears to me as if my life
Is bound up with this beautiful river.
Is it not the case that on its banks I have known something of joy
And I have experienced distress here?

Yes, you are similar to my soul;
Sometimes green and with a smooth surface,
And at other times, when storms dominate,
Foaming, disturbed, furrowed.

You are flowing towards the distant sea,
Unable to feel that you belong anywhere.
I too am being driven to a more gentle land - 
I cannot find happiness on earth.

Mayrhofer, Am Strome    D 539

An die ferne Geliebte / To the distant beloved

There is no essential difference between distance, absence and loss. A great deal of love poetry laments the pain of such separation. Even in arcadia.


Es stehet ein Regenbogen
Wohl über jenem Haus!
Sie aber ist fortgezogen,
Und weit in das Land hinaus.

Hinaus in das Land und weiter,
Vielleicht gar über die See.
Vorüber, ihr Schafe, nur vorüber,
Dem Schäfer ist gar so weh.

There is a rainbow
No doubt about it, over that house!
But now she has moved away
And gone far off into the countryside.

Out into the countryside, and further, 
Perhaps even over the sea.
Move on, you sheep, just pass over.
This shepherd is really in pain.

Goethe, Schäfers Klagelied   D 121

In one of Goethe’s rare examples of a love sonnet, he gives voice to a woman who is unable to utter her feelings of longing from afar. She is not just distant (fern); she has been distanced (entfernt).


Entfernt von dir, entfremdet von den Meinen,
Führ ich stets die Gedanken in die Runde,
Und immer treffen sie auf jene Stunde,
Die einzige; da fang ich an zu weinen.

Far away from you, alienated from my own people,
I let my thoughts keep going round and round,
And they always converge on that hour,
That single moment: then I begin to cry.

Goethe, Die Liebende schreibt   D 673

Yet Goethe was aware that these feelings of distance were evidence of emotional proximity. He summarised the central paradox in Nähe des Geliebten (Close to the beloved):


Ich bin bei dir, du seist auch noch so ferne,
Du bist mir nah;
Die Sonne sinkt, es leuchten mir die Sterne,
O, wärst du da!

I am with you, however far away you are.
You are close to me!
The sun is sinking, the stars are offering me their light.
Oh, if only you were here!

Goethe, Nähe des Geliebten   D 162

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Descendant of: 

SPACE (location)   REALITY AND UNREALITY  


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