Literary Analysis Essay on Heinrich Heine's Loreley & Its Influence

Introduction

The Romantic period is a phrase applied to the literature of about the first third of the 19th century. The Romantic era was influenced by a multitude of political, social and economic transformations. One of the most prominent authors in the Romantic era was Heinrich Heine who was best known for his lyric poems, particularly, "Loreley". The poem grew out of Heine's interest in German folktale. Heine's Romantic conviction in the aesthetic independence of poetry conflicted with his Romantic belief that poetry ought to express the soul of the common people. In this sonnet, the author utilized precise perspectives of nature to convert to his own viewpoint about love. It is easy for the reader to interpret that Heine was attempting to tell the audience to be more conscious of love. This poem tells the tale of the Lorelei. She is an attractive woman who is gifted with an enchanting singing voice. The woman's voice and appearance are so charming that she bewitches the men that see and hear her. As she sits on a huge rock by the Rhine, she causes ships to crash and men to drown.

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In his attempt to depict the concept of love, the poet depicts a witch who would never let boatmen sail in peace. When individuals falling in love with a person by the way that individual looks before knowing that person's personalities, it can result in their downfall. For instance, Heine notes, "I do not know what haunts me/What saddened my mind all day." (Line 1-2) When a person falls for this kind of love, it will be like a spirit that will haunt them for a long time. In the first stanza, the boatman recalls the memory about an occurrence that happened to his crew and himself when they were on the sea. This stanza explains the memories of a boatman that have been haunting him for a long time. The concept of imagination in the Romantic era is clearly illustrated in this stanza. Also present are the concepts of individualism, idealization and the past. This makes the reader observe the elements of romanticism from the first stanza (Heine 828). The first stanza sets the stage for the theme of individualism and the past, which are crucial in understanding the poem.

In the second stanza, the poet describes the image of the Rhine with a positive perspective of nature. The concept of nature from the Romantic era is clearly presented. During Romanticism, nature was viewed as the source of beauty and aesthetic experience (Stafford 32). Heine explicitly connects nature with art by discovering influential natural metaphors with which to articulate his notions about love and the eventual impact of aesthetic expression. Heine notes, "The peak of the mountain in highlight/Reflects the evening glow." (line 7-8) This second stanza establishes the theme of nature which was imminent during the romanticism period. In the third stanza, Heine describes how attractive woman dresses. She wore shining jewels, had golden have and sat on a lovely maiden. The author introduces the value of individualism in a way that the reader can easily understand. Individualism is used to explain the beauty of the woman. The poet uses words like, 'lovely', 'wondrous' and 'shining' to show the attractiveness of the woman. In the Romantic period, beauty was a key element in poems.

In the fourth stanza, the author describes the image of how the woman used her magical song and beauty to mesmerize the boatman. The aspect of love is slowly created through the description of the woman. The poet explains that when the voice of the woman is heard, it comes out with a mysterious power that bewitches the boatman. Heine invokes the voice magically, illustrating its power and role as a destroyer. In the fifth stanza, Heine depicts the image of ho the boatman is captivated by the woman's love. He is incapable of marking the area to the cliff and focuses on the mountain above. The concept of love is completely blended in this stanza. Heine shows how the boatman is completely swept by out of his torpor state of mind. It appears that the author use of "turbulent love" is a metaphor for "insanity" of human consciousness, liberty, and imagination (Heine 828).

In the sixth stanza, Heine describes the downfall of the boatman as they fall in love with the woman. The illustration attempts to explain that falling in love was against the negative perspective of nature. This last stanza has the personification of the reefs in relation to the metaphoric spirit of the author. It also has a first-person perspective in which the author is directly writing about himself within the poem.

The form of the poem fits the content in every way. The arrangement format of the poem is easy for the reader. Additionally, the poet does not use figurative language that can make it difficult for the audience to understand. It is also interesting to note that the poet uses four lines in each stanza to ensure that the reader easily grasps the message. Additionally, each stanza represents an element of the Romantic period. Therefore, Heine ensured that the lines and words are arranged in a simple way.

The whole passage illuminates the passage as a whole through the depiction of nature and love. Through the analysis of the poem, it is clear that Heine wanted to deliver the subjects of love and nature which were widely regarded during the Romantic era. Heinrich Heine was a German author who was famous during the Romantic period. Heine ensures that the audience of this poem easily understands the message he intends to get across. Nevertheless, his main focus is mostly clear in the last stanza. This means that the reader has to read the whole poem to understand the point Heine intended for his readers. Heine appears to have selected love and nature to compare individuals because they have similarities in their applicability. During the Romantic period, authors likened love to nature because it was the simplest way to do so.

This poem by Heine clearly illustrates the values of the Romantic era. Some of the values in the era include imagination, individualism, nature, love, families, idealization of childhood and the past. Romantic poem habitually endowed the landscape with human life and affection as well as expressiveness. The ubiquity of nature poetry in the era can be connected to the idealization of the natural scene as a location when a person could find liberty from social laws (Stafford 34). "Loreley" presents values like nature and love from the Romanticism era. The perspective of nature in "Loreley" is illustrated to depict the shallow and deeper meaning of the poem. Nature is one of the most prominent subjects in this poem. After reading this poem more closely and the comparison of various aspects, nature played a huge role in the flow of the poem. The poem depicts air that is cool and river Rhine where dark waters flow. The poem also explains that the top of a mountain where the evening light reflects. The use of the view of nature is drawn from the romantic period and enables the reader to place himself or herself in that era.

Conclusion

Conclusively, the analysis of this poem reveals that Heine used the values of nature and love to present the tale between the beautiful woman and the boatman. When nature is intertwined with the subject of love, it becomes easy for the audience to understand. Heine applied elements of air, river Rhine, mountain, reefs, waves, and cliff to explain the value of love. During the Romanticism period, nature was depicted by the elements used by Heine. The value of love is clearly illustrated by elements like a wondrous fair, golden hair, lovely maiden, valley rings, shining jewels, and turbulent affection. The last two stanzas of the poem deliver the most crucial message. They explain how the boatman is seized by unending love and is unable to look where his boat is headed. He ends us drowning due to the captivating love from the woman. Heine delivered the message in such a way that the reader has to analyze line-by-line to get the whole message.

Works Cited

Heine, Heinrich. "Loreley." Trans. Ernst Feise. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. Maynard Mack. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1995. 828-829

Stafford, Fiona J. Reading Romantic Poetry. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. Print.