Analysis of “Gesang des Abgeschiedenen” by Trakl
Gesang des Abgeschiedenen
An Karl Borromaeus Heinrich
1 Voll Harmonien ist der Flug der Vögel. Es haben die grünen Wälder
2 Am Abend sich zu stilleren Hütten versammelt;
3 Die kristallenen Weiden des Rehs.
4 Dunkles besänftigt das Plätschern des Bachs, die feuchten Schatten
5 Und die Blumen des Sommers, die schön im Winde läuten.
6 Schon dämmert die Stirne dem sinnenden Menschen.
7 Und es leuchtet ein Lämpchen, das Gute, in seinem Herzen
8 Und der Frieden des Mahls; denn geheiligt ist Brot und Wein
9 Von Gottes Händen, und es schaut aus nächtigen Augen
10 Stille dich der Bruder an, daß er ruhe von dorniger Wanderschaft.
11 O das Wohnen in der beseelten Bläue der Nacht.
12 Liebend auch umfängt das Schweigen im Zimmer die Schatten der Alten,
13 Die purpurnen Martern, Klage eines großen Geschlechts,
14 Das fromm nun hingeht im einsamen Enkel.
15 Denn strahlender immer erwacht aus schwarzen Minuten des Wahnsinns
16 Der Duldende an versteinerter Schwelle
17 Und es umfängt ihn gewaltig die kühle Bläue und die leuchtende Neige des Herbstes,
18 Das stille Haus und die Sagen des Waldes,
19 Maß und Gesetz und die mondenen Pfade der Abgeschiedenen.
First analysis: the structure of the poem
This is an example how you can decode difficult poetry. There are a lot of analyses of Trakls poems, but I want to keep it simple (so that in the end we can draw more meaning out of it).
Usually people quickly turn to the content, but first you might look at the structure. The fact that people quickly look at content is basically some kind of impatience: you have to observe, before you jump to conclusions, similar to children, who, in the train for a daytrip to Amsterdam, are busy in their mind “what will we do when we arrive” “what’s for lunch, french frites?”, instead of enjoying and observing the landscape from the train windows.
So first I want to observe/look at the structure. There is a simple way how to start this: divide the poem in parts. Good luck for me: this is easy, because his poems have a solid structure (and exactly because the poems have such a solid structure, they can “carry” lot of meaning).
Underneath I tried it. The division is somewhat at random, it is not 100% waterproof, but it is a little help in further detracting meaning out of the poem:
Part 1
1 Voll Harmonien ist der Flug der Vögel. Es haben die grünen Wälder
2 Am Abend sich zu stilleren Hütten versammelt;
3 Die kristallenen Weiden des Rehs.
Part 2
4 Dunkles besänftigt das Plätschern des Bachs, die feuchten Schatten
5 Und die Blumen des Sommers, die schön im Winde läuten.
6 Schon dämmert die Stirne dem sinnenden Menschen.
Part 3
7 Und es leuchtet ein Lämpchen, das Gute, in seinem Herzen
8 Und der Frieden des Mahls; denn geheiligt ist Brot und Wein
9 Von Gottes Händen, und es schaut aus nächtigen Augen
10 Stille dich der Bruder an, daß er ruhe von dorniger Wanderschaft.
11 O das Wohnen in der beseelten Bläue der Nacht.
Part 4
12 Liebend auch umfängt das Schweigen im Zimmer die Schatten der Alten,
13 Die purpurnen Martern, Klage eines großen Geschlechts,
14 Das fromm nun hingeht im einsamen Enkel.
Part 5
15 Denn strahlender immer erwacht aus schwarzen Minuten des Wahnsinns
16 Der Duldende an versteinerter Schwelle
17 Und es umfängt ihn gewaltig die kühle Bläue und die leuchtende Neige des Herbstes,
18 Das stille Haus und die Sagen des Waldes,
19 Maß und Gesetz und die mondenen Pfade der Abgeschiedenen.
This can help. For example, it seems that there is a connection between part 2 and part 4. They are somewhat similar. Compare verse 4 with verse 12, they have the same format:
[1] besänftigt [2a] das [2b] Plätschern [3a] des [3b] Bachs [4] die [5a] feuchten [5b] Schatten
[1] umfängt [2a] das [2b] Schweigen [3a] im [3b] Zimmer [4] die [5b] Schatten [5a] der Alten
Or compare verse 5 and 13, they also have the same format:
Und [1] die [2] Blumen des [3] Sommers, [4a] die [4b] schön [4c] im Winde [5] läuten.
[1] Die [2] purpurnen [3] Martern, [5] Klage [4a] eines [4b] großen [4c] Geschlechts
Perhaps such detailed analysis might seem odd. But you should imagine how huge the “Befindlichkeit”, sensitivity of Trakl was. This means that he might have proceeded very very slowly, using the same kind of words over and over again, just changing a little here and there, to built up his poems.
You can see this because many of his poems look the same, have the same kind of elements, and these elements are constantly re-arranged. And also he wrote the same poem with a “1e Fassung”, “2e Fassung” etc
I also saw this in another text, something totally different, namely the Bible, where the whole of John chapters 1 to 3 is an exact copy of Genesis 1 to 3, but only changing a few minor details, so that it looks totally different, though the underlying format is the same: in John things get a spiritual meaning, where in Genesis are concepts out of nature. You can see this here too in this poem by Trakl: in part 2 there are natural elements (a stream, flowers), and in part 4 there are the same elements, but now with a spiritual meaning (about humans).
Now back to this poem Gesang des Abgeschiedenen. There also seems a connection between part 1 and 4. In the beginning there are “grünen Wälder” and “stilleren Hütten” (verse 1–2), which matches “stille Haus” and “Sagen des Waldes” in the end (vers 18).
Perhaps also this, though this is less clear: “Voll Harmonie” and “Flug der Vögel” (verse 1) seem to match with “Mass und Gesetz” and “mondenen Pfade der Abgeschiedenen” (verse 19). Birds can fly away, just as Abgeschiedenen can walk their pathways; but as the flight of the birds is connected with a sense of harmony, the wanderings of the Abgeschiedenen is connected with a sense of law and order.
Next: some more content
And here we can perhaps finally get to the basic content of the poem. What is quite apparent is that Trakl uses very little syntaxis: this poem as his other poems is a line of “images”, it is very visual, and one image follows the other. It is almost like a slide-show:
17 Und es umfängt ihn gewaltig SLIDE 1 [die kühle Bläue] und SLIDE 2 [die leuchtende Neige des Herbstes],
18 SLIDE 3 [Das stille Haus] und SLIDE 4 [die Sagen des Waldes],
19 SLIDE 5 [Maß und Gesetz] und SLIDE 6 [die mondenen Pfade der Abgeschiedenen].
This is not a coincidence, I think. Because it is know from physics, that if you want to describe reality at a high level, normal syntaxis fails. You need stronger language, and that means: you need visuals. In modern physics, they use not just onedimensional content (text with strong syntaxis), but they use two dimensional “fields”: drawings of fields, diagrams (Feynman diagrams, gauge models, lagranian models). This is the only possible way to describe reality at the highest level. And they also use “color”: they describe quarks with colors, use vectors, use diagrams, all kinds of visual content is used to describe reality at the highest level.
You can see that Trakl also uses strong visual content, cool! It is an indication that here we find a description of reality at the highest level. You can make comparisons.
For example at the last verse 19 “Pfade der Abgeschiedenen” refers to a horizontal pathway, like a road in our world; “mondenen” refers to its representation high above us. And Mass und Gesetz are like “picket posts” along the path. This is a horizontal structure: the pathway. This is a path with picket posts as Mass und Gesetz. And there is an implicit vertical structure: the structure between “Mond” and “Abgeschiedene”.
Possibly you could even put more things in the schedule, perhaps you can construct something with the “other slides” from the last part of the poem, what about how “Sagen” is opposite to “stille” as “Wald” to “Haus”, and “Leuchtend” opposite to “Kuhle” as “Neige” to “blaue”; all linked together and forming one “grid” made up out of tiles.
It shows (implicitly) how everything is part of a scheme, just as outside of your window perhaps: lightblue sky above a darkblue water; or green hills above red earth. Perhaps you can also use a little theology. I think that for example “the moon” can be easily replaced by “the sister”, “die Schwester”, who is flying over the world, or flying between the trees, as in Scripture the Holy Spirit is hovering over the waters.
The spirited sister who appears in more of his poems and who is looking down on Trakl himself. This is quite appealing to me, as a child I also dreamt that I would have a sister (which I do not); or at least a female “double” who would form a match to me.
In religious terms this is the Holy Spirit, your cute “invisible female friend”; which matches the idea of the “Vogel” in the beginning of the poem, flying over the land, whereas the “Abgeschiedene” walks over the land. Though I wished Trakl had more luck in love in real life, than these elaborate constructions between him, his sister, and the poem as connecting particle in between.
