Introduction to German Poetry: A Dual-Language Book

This book has good German poems in it with their English translation close at hand. It is a great introduction to German poetry and poets, not to mention a great vocabulary builder. It is a helpful tool on the road to learning a new language.

This is a good book just for the nice german poems in it. It is also great for building german vocabulary

"Introduction to German Poetry: A Dual-Language Book," edited by Gustave Mathieu and Guy Stern, is a wonderful anthology. It contains the work of thirty-four poets, mainly ranging from the 18th to 20th centuries. For the most part each poet is represented by a single short poem or excerpt, although some are represented by two or three pieces. The poems are presented in bilingual format, with the German and English versions on facing pages; this makes the book especially useful for those who are learning, or brushing up on, German. A note on the copyright page indicates that this book "is an unabridged and updated republication of the work originally published under the title _Invitation to German Poetry_" in 1959. This is a diverse and enjoyable collection which shows how, in the hands of a skilled craftsman, the German language can be an instrument of great power and amazing beauty. The poems cover many topics and are varied in tone. Some of the poets whose work is represented include Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller, Rainer Maria Rilke, Hermann Hesse, and Bertolt Brecht. For each poet there is a picture and a short biographical note; I found this supplemental material to be very informative. Some of my favorite pieces in this collection are as follows. Heinrich Heine's "Ich wollte, meine Lieder" ("I Wish That All My Songs"): a delightfully witty and funny variation on the love poem. Viktor von Scheffel's "Altassyrish" ("Old Assyrian"): a humorous story-poem about a drunkard in an ancient tavern; it has the delicious flavor of a drinking song. Detlev von Liliencron's "Die Musik kommt" ("The Music's Coming"): uses wonderfully rich language to evoke the sights and sounds of a military marching band. Christian Morgenstern's "Der Werwolf" ("The Werewolf"): a funny and clever satire of German grammar. Erich Kastner's "Die Entwicklung der Menschheit" ("The Development of Mankind"): a witty satire of humankind, full of funny lines and written with a remarkable, scientific-sounding vocabulary. Also worthy of note is Franz Werfel's Whitmanesque "An den Leser" ("To the Reader"), with its sweeping embrace of humanity. But my favorite of all is Stefan George's "Du schlank und rein wie eine flamme" ("You Slim and Pure Just Like a Flame"): a passionate, exquisitely constructed, and hauntingly beautiful love poem. For the best experience of this book, I recommend reading the poems out loud, and sharing them with a friend.