Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net
If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Laura, über diese Welt zu flüchten Wähn ich - mich in Himmelmaienglanz zu lichten Wenn dein Blik in meine Blike flimmt, Aetherlüfte träum' ich einzusaugen, Wenn mein Bild in deiner sanften Augen Himmelblauem Spiegel schwimmt; - Leyerklang aus Paradises Fernen, Harfenschwung aus angenehmern Sternen Ras' ich in mein trunken Ohr zu ziehn. Meine Muse fühlt die Schäferstunde, Wenn von deinem wollustheißem Munde Silbertöne ungern fliehn; - Amoretten seh ich Flügel schwingen, Hinter dir die trunknen Fichten springen Wie von Orpheus Saitenruf belebt, Rascher rollen um mich her die Pole, Wenn im Wirbeltanze deine Sole Flüchtig wie die Welle schwebt; - Deine Blike - wenn sie Liebe lächeln, Könnten Leben durch den Marmor fächeln, Felsenadern Pulse leihn, Träume werden um mich her zu Wesen, Kann ich nur in deinen Augen lesen: Laura, Laura mein! - Wenn dann, wie gehoben aus den Achsen Zwei Gestirn, in Körper Körper wachsen, Mund an Mund gewurzelt brennt, Wollustfunken aus den Augen regnen, Seelen wie entbunden sich begegnen In des Athems Flammenwind, - - - Qualentzüken - - Paradisesschmerzen! - - Wilder flutet zum beklommnen Herzen, Wie Gewapnete zur Schlacht, das Blut, Die Natur, der Endlichkeit vergessen, Wagts mit höhern Wesen sich zu messen, Schwindelt ob der acherontschen Flut. Eine Pause drohet hier den Sinnen Schwarzes Dunkel jagt den Tag von hinnen, Nacht verschlingt den Quell des Lichts - Leises .. Murmeln ... dumpfer .. hin .. verloren .. Stirbt ... allmälig .. in den trunknen ... Ohren ... Und die Welt ist .... Nichts .... Ach vielleicht verpraßte tausend Monde Laura, die Elisiumssekunde, All begraben in dem schmalen Raum; Weggewirbelt von der Todeswonne, Landen wir an einer andern Sonne, Laura! und es war ein Traum. O daß doch der Flügel Chronos harrte, Hingebannt ob dieser Gruppe starrte Wie ein Marmorbild - - die Zeit! Aber ach! ins Meer des Todes jagen Wellen Wellen - über dieser Wonne schlagen Schon die Strudel der Vergessenheit.
Confirmed with Anthologie auf das Jahr 1782, anonymously edited by Schiller with the fake publishing information "Gedrukt in der Buchdrukerei zu Tobolsko", actually published by Johann Benedict Metzler in Stuttgart, pages 38-41.
This is the original version of Schiller's Die Entzückung an Laura, published with the title Die seeligen Augenblike an Laura and "Y." as the author's name. In this original version the poem consists of nine stanzas. In the version which was published in September 1781 in Stäudlin's Schwäbischer Musenalmanach Auf das Jahr 1782 the editor changed the title to Die Entzükung an Laura, modified several verses, and suppressed stanzas 6 and 8 (see below). Schiller's final version, which he included in his collected poems, keeps only the first four stanzas (see below).
Authorship:
- by Friedrich von Schiller (1759 - 1805), "Die seeligen Augenblike an Laura", written 1781, first published 1782 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Set in a modified version by Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg.
Set in a modified version by Siegfried Langgaard, Johann Friedrich Reichardt, Franz Peter Schubert.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 54
Word count: 318
Laura, it is as if I am escaping out of this world, That is what I imagine, in order to immerse myself in the heavenly glow of May, When our eyes meet and your gaze shimmers in mine, I dream that I am absorbing ethereal breezes, When in your gentle eyes my image Swims in your sky-blue mirror; The sound of lyres in distant Paradise, The sway of harps from more attractive stars, Those are the sounds I am passionate my ears should be turned towards, My muse can sense the 'heure du berger', When, from your passionately warm mouth Silver notes reluctantly escape; I watch cupids flapping their wings, Behind you the drunken spruce trees are dancing As if brought to life by the call of Orpheus's strings, The poles swirl around me more rapidly When your feet, in their whirling dance, Swirl around as fleeting as a wave; Your glances, when they smile with love, Could stir marble into life And provide a pulse for the veins in rocks, Dreams will become true around me If only I can read in your eyes: Laura, Laura is mine! Then, when, like, spinning out of their axes, Two stars grow together, body merging with body, Burning rooted mouth to mouth, With sparks of delight streaming from their eyes, Souls encounter each other as if in alliance In the flaming wind of breath, The rapture of agony - the pains of paradise! It flows more wildly towards the apprehensive heart, That blood, like an armed soldier going into battle, Nature, forgetting finitude, Dares to take on higher realities And fades on account of the waters of Acheron. Meaning is here threatened with a pause, Black darkness pursues the day from behind, Night devours the source of light - Gently . . a murmuring . . . softer . . gone . . . lost . . . It dies . . . gradually . . . in the drunken . . . ears . . . And the world is . . . nothing . . . Oh, perhaps a thousand months passed by, Laura, in that Elysian second, All buried within such a narrow space (of time); Whirled away from the delight of death, We land on another sun, Laura! and it was a dream. Oh, if only Chronos's wings would wait, Oh that time might be bewitched by this grouping and freeze Like a marble statue. Time! But oh! Waves are chasing waves into the sea of death, Wave upon wave - Over this delight you can already hear the sounds Of the whirlpool of oblivion.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of title(s):
"Die seligen Augenblicke" = "The blessed moments"
"Die Entzückung an Laura" = "Enchantment with Laura"
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 by Malcolm Wren, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich von Schiller (1759 - 1805), "Die seeligen Augenblike an Laura", written 1781, first published 1782
This text was added to the website: 2017-07-16
Line count: 54
Word count: 437