Sabrina Walker AMD 3

For this AMD I decided to research German poetry. I very much enjoy reading and writing poems so I decided to explore the differences between American and German poetry. I found many poems I liked, and I apparently really like JOHANN  WOLFGANG VON GOETHE poetry. My two favorite peoms by him I will post here. In the German poems I found, even others that were not by Johann, all had a great start but the ending lines were sad. I thought the poem was going to end just like it began but it was the total opposite. I like this because most American poems are either very happy or very sad, noting in between. The German poems have a mixture of both, which is something I've never really encountered before. I like the twist at the end of these poems, they really make the reader think about the poet's thoughts.

OLD KING’S LOVE BY JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE

Es war ein alter König,

Sein Herz war schwer, sein Haupt war grau;

Der arme alte König,

Er nahm eine junge Frau.

Es war ein schöner Page,                                           

Blond war sein Haupt, leicht war sein Sinn;

Er trug die seidne Schleppe

Der jungen Königin.

Kennst du das alte Liedchen?

Es klingt so süß, es klingt so trüb’!                              

Sie mußten beide sterben,

Sie hatten sich viel zu lieb.

Lovely Water Lily

Im Wasser wogt die Lilie, die blanke, hin und her,

Doch irrst du, Freund, sobald du sagst, sie schwanke hin und her:

Es wurzelt ja so fest ihr Fuß im tiefen Meeresgrund,

Ihr Haupt nur wiegt ein lieblicher Gedanke hin und her!