The Poems of Schiller

by Friedrich Schiller

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805) was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and dramatist. Schiller wrote many philosophical papers on ethics and aesthetics. He developed the concept of the Schöne Seele (beautiful soul), a human being whose emotions have been educated by his reason, so that Pflicht und Neigung (duty and inclination) are no longer in conflict with one another; thus "beauty," for Schiller, is not merely a sensual experience, but a moral one as the Good is the Beautiful. His philosophical work was also particularly concerned with the question of human freedom, a preoccupation which also guided his historical researches. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. Critics have noted his innovative use of dramatic structure and his creation of new forms, such as the melodrama and the bourgeois tragedy. Amongst his famous works are Love and Intrigue (1784), Don Carlos (1787), The Minister (1796), The Death of Wallenstein (1799), The Piccolomini (1800) and Mary Stuart (1800).

Genres: Poetry, Classics, German Literature, Literature, Germany, Romanticism, School

364 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1804

About the author

People best know long didactic poems and historical plays, such as Don Carlos (1787) and William Tell (1804), of leading romanticist German poet, dramatist, and historian Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller.

This philosopher and dramatist struck up a productive if complicated friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe during the last eighteen years of his life and encouraged Goethe to finish works that he left merely as sketches; they greatly discussed issues concerning aesthetics and thus gave way to a period, now referred to as classicism of Weimar. They also worked together on Die Xenien ( The Xenies ), a collection of short but harsh satires that verbally attacked perceived enemies of their aesthetic agenda.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedri...

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

Review of the Hardpress Publishing 2014 Kindle Edition

Well and for me personally, the absolutely only part of Hardpress Publishing’s 2014 Kindle edition Schiller’s Poems that is in any way even remotely a potential positive is that Schiller’s Poems is basically almost free of charge to download, that it has cost me less than a dollar to obtain Schiller’s Poems for my Kindle for iPad (but indeed and certainly, this is not at all sufficient for me for more than a one star ranking, and that therefore Schiller’s Poems has been a total and utter disappointment and I very much and actively do regret even considering it).

For one, and first and foremost, the general set-up of Hardpress Publishing’s Schiller’s Poems for the Kindle is majorly, is totally uncomfortable and patently impossible to easily read, with such a tiny font size that I basically have to zoom in and much expand every single poem. And indeed, this (in my not so humble opinion) truly and annoyingly is massively tedious and painfully frustrating, considering that there are well over three hundred of them (of Friedrich Schiller’s verses), and not to mention that you also cannot just click on specific poems to read, that you basically have to peruse Schiller’s Poems from the first to the last entry, which is really ridiculous and inconvenient, as often, a reader might want to focus on a specific piece of Friedrich Schiller’s verses and not on ALL of his lyrical work. And indeed and furthermore, even with zooming in and me trying to render the featured electronically rendered words larger for my aging eyes (and also using reading glasses), the English language translations contained in Schiller’s Poems still ALWAYS do manage to retain an annoying and frustrating blurriness and are also really and truly only very marginally larger and more easily read.

And for two, aside from the oh so academically aggravating lack of ANY information whatsoever in Schiller’s Poems regarding WHO SPECIFICALLY has rendered Friedrich Schiller’s poems into English (who is the actual translator), that there is no supplemental information at all provided in Schiller’s Poems on Schiller’s life and work, this to and for me definitely is a very problematic and massive shortcoming and oversight. For yes indeed, I do in fact think that a small biographical sketch is essential for ALL anthologies of Friedrich Schiller’s lyrical output, since his poems often do mirror his life and also his politics and philosophy, and this complete lack in Schiller’s Poems is yet another major reason for my annoyance and for me to also consider actively staying away from Hardpress Publishing in the future.

Now with regard to the actual translated into English Friedrich Schiller poems, while there have been a very select few examples which do for me seem to mirror Friedrich Schiller’s original German texts successfully enough and also retain Schiller’s spirit and lyricism (such as for example the rendering into English of An die Freude), sorry, but most of the English renderings of Friedrich Schiller’s verses in Schiller’s Poems have definitely read disappointingly and generally like rather typical and frustrating poetry translations, feeling awkward and as such not really mirroring Friedrich Schiller’s poetry all that well. And thus, even when considering the actual and anonymous English language translations, I would personally NOT AT ALL recommend Schiller’s Poems (but please, do not now ask me for another alternative recommendation, as Schiller’s Poems is the only book of Schiller’s verses I have read in English translation, and indeed, I am so annoyed and disappointed that I definitely am going to go back to reading Friedrich Schiller in German and in particular so with regard to his poetry, with regard to Schiller's lyrical output).

[J.E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This rating is solely for the poetry. I absolutely loved Schiller's imagery, because there is somehow very little of it, yet it is some of the most effective. With less of it, he takes those few images further. (One of my favorites, "The Artists", particularly took me places I never expected.)

However, as a slight warning about this edition: The book does give some good endnotes about the translation, but the rest of it is sloppy. the page numbers are out of order (it skips from 65 to 100, then from 337 to 306). And the translation itself seems to have many mistakes in the punctuation, capitalization, etc.

I found Schiller's work to be phenomenal, but I would suggest finding another edition.

[Anni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly not a big fan of his poems...

[Andrii Litvynchuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Двоякі відчуття: то якісь слабкі вірші з дивним ритмом, то прекрасні меланхолійні перлини (серед яких "Дітогубка", "Елегія на смерть юнака", "Покора", "Дума про дзвін" та епіграми). Відчай Шіллера-романтика, якому не вдалося змінити світ, найбільше відчув у цих рядках:
"Линь у серця тайники святії, Щоб забуть життя гнітючий жах, Бо свобода є лиш в царстві мрії, А краса цвіте лише в піснях"

[Mariano Cascio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nadie encarnó el ideal humanista de humanidad, nadie unió más eficazmente la concepción de la libertad republicana con un principio de belleza poética que Schiller.
El gran poeta republicano de la libertad, que supo adornar el ideal de una humanidad más noble, mas bella, en un lenguaje tan poderoso que verdaderamente encontró una llave infalible para los accesos más secretos del alma humana. Admirado y siendo fruto de inspiración para una gran camada de escritores como lo fueron John Quincy Adams, Poe, James Cooper y Friedrich Nietzsche, entre muchos otros mas.
Para terminar la reseña me gustaría citar una nota al pie de página de Goethe: "Durante veinte años, el público ha estado discutiendo sobre quién es más grande, si Schiller o yo, y deberían [más bien] alegrarse de tener dos hombres como nosotros para discutir "(Conversaciones con Goethe, 1825).

[Sydne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful collection of some of the finest poems ever written. The famous ones like "Die Glocke" (The Bell) or "Die B_rgschaft" (The Hostage) shine as bright as the less known ones. This book is real value for money- and shouldn't be missed on any decent bookshelf.

[Jane Peskara / Audrey Valentine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe I am just not the right person to rate this but since i do like certain poems from various people, i rate it anyway.
I didn't like it and it is like with many other "famous" authors, I don`t see why they are hyped.....

[?0?0?0 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Schiller moves the reader more with less. It would be pleasant if more people appreciate such things.

[Hadrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10

[Nathanael Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wunderbare Gedichte!

[Janie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Na cestu se vydat dlouhou
přes průliv mu žhavou touhou
láska smělost dodává

[Jacob Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly excellent. I aspire to read it in German.

[Elis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non so bene da doeve partire. Forse è bene farlo da una premessa: ho cercato su internet recensioni sull'edizione che ho letto io (perché qualcosa non mi tornava) e ho visto che anche online dicono che la traduzione sia fallace qua e là e che come edizione non sia proprio ben curata. Avevo avuto quest'impressione pure io e proprio per questo avevo voluto cercare opinioni altrui, credendo che magari potesse essere un problema mio dovuto alla lettura in una lingua che non è la mia principale.

Al di là di questo ho trovato le poesie molto musicali, il che ha molto senso sapendo che l'autore è stato anche un compositore. Le sue opere sono lunghe e articolate, i toni generalmente lugubri e tristi ma con delle eccezioni qua e là. Molti componimenti sono dedicati a persone specifiche (molto spesso ad una certa Laura). Il linguaggio è aulico e lo stile vetusto, quindi non sempre facilissimo da leggere e comprendere. Bisogna dedicargli il giusto tempo e la dovuta concentrazione.

Una cosa che mi è piaciuta molto è stato il suo continuo accennare alla mitologia, alle leggende, alla religione. Questa cosa da un senso di aulico ed elevato, un classicismo che non mi aspettavo di trovare in questo libro sinceramente.

Come argomento spesso si affronta quello della guerra, anche. Ci sono inni e invocazioni, crude realtà tradotte in poesia, l'interpretazione persona di una situazione generale, che coinvolge le moltitudini.


Alla fine del libro sono presenti brevi massime su vari argomenti e su diverse figure.

Credo che, se i componimenti fossero stati un po' meno lunghi e non avessi avuto problemi con la traduzione dei testi, lo avrei sicuramente saputo apprezzare di più. I toni lugubri sono il mio pane quotidiano, in fondo.

[Inga Rowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

the poems are very bright