Critical Analysis of Selige Sehnsucht
Critical Analysis of Selige Sehnsucht
Although it is virtually impossible to determine the exact intended meaning behind Johann Wolfgang von Goethe words in Selige Sehnsucht, published in 1806, attempting to interpret them provides an avenue for critical thinking as well as opens up a vast number of possibilities for interpretation, a number only as finite as the number of readers and their dispositions as they read this poem. Like many classic poems, Goethe’s Selige Sehnsucht is rich with symbolism and imagery, both of which contribute to the central metaphor and meaning of the poem.
The structure of the poem is not drastically different from many others. In terms of mechanics, Selige Sehnsucht is a poem containing five stanzas, each of which has four verses. The syllabification per line is eight syllables and the rhyming scheme is 'ABAB', where the first and third lines as well as the second and fourth lines of each stanza rhyme.
The content of the poem is related in separate phases. The first stanza acts as an introduction. The poem begins: 'Sagt es niemand nur den Weisen/ Weil die Menge gleich verhöhet'. This gives the impression that the following observation is not of conventional thinking, since the masses, especially and most likely the elders and respected members of society of the contemporary time will mock it. He goes on to say that he praises the creature that yearns for fiery death, the moth.
In the second, third and fourth stanzas, Goethe describes the moth’s instinctive yearning to procreate, as well as its uncontrollable attraction to light especially to the flame of the candle. Whether the moth knows it or not, it is captivated by light and heat, and has a need to procreate, both of which are out of its control. This captivation, however attractive it may seem will eventually overcome it and will lead it to its death.
‘In der Liebesnächte Kühlung/ Die dich zeugte, wo du zeugtest/ Überfällt dich fremde Fühlung’. These verses can be interpreted as follows: As long as the moth has existed and exists this innate desire for it to 'beget' will exist, along with its attraction to the flame. Not only will that desire exist during this particular moth's life, but also it existed before the moth, namely, its ancestors, and it will exist in its descendants. Finally, the moth...