Ermutigung

Encouragement is a poem and song by the German singer-songwriter and poet Wolf Biermann. It first appeared in 1968 in the collection of poems with Marx and Engel Verlag Klaus Wagenbach in tongues, which also published the version set to music on the single 4 new songs in the same year. Biermann took the song on his LP aah - yeah!, Which appeared on CBS in 1974.

Encouragement warns a counterpart, not to be harden and embitter despite the ruling states. The last verse ends with the optimistic picture of the coming spring. Biermann dedicated the poem to his friend Peter Huchel, which was monitored for the emergence of time by the Ministry of State Security and isolated. It also reflects his own impending resignation as in the GDR banned from performing artists occupied. The song soundtrack became popular both in the GDR than in the Federal Republic and one of the most famous songs of Wolf Biermann.

Content

The first stanza begins with the verse:

"You, do not let harden in these hard times "

Who "all too hard " or "all pointed to " is he who threatens to break.

In the following three stanzas the addressed you will be asked in the same form, not bitter, frightening and to allow them to consume. Otherwise it would fulfill the intent of the " ruling class ", namely giving up before it come to great controversy, before they trembled secretly.

The fourth stanza ends with the lines:

"You can not submerge You need us and we need Degree of your joy "

During the first four stanzas are regularly introduced with the anaphoric "you", the fifth and final stanza changes finally on to "we", which has already spoken out in the finale of the third and fourth stanza and now explicitly appeals to spite " this time of silence " together no longer be silent.

The poem ends with the lines:

" The Green breaks from the branches We all wolln the show Then they know "

Background

Wolf Biermann dedicated the poem encouragement to his friend Peter Huchel. This was since its founding in 1949 chief editor of the literary journal Sinn und Form, which enjoyed prestige as the GDR literature platform beyond the borders of the GDR addition. After his non-dogmatic conception repeatedly came into conflict with officials of the GDR, he was forced to resign in 1962. In the following nine years he lived monitored for national security and up to the visit fewer friends from the outside world isolated in his house in Wilhelmshorst by the Ministry. Trips were prohibited, his mail was confiscated; only in 1971 allowed you Huchels leave the GDR. For Andreas M. Reinhard, the poem was a " statement of solidarity of the younger and probably mentally stronger, more Verkraftenden [ ... ] for the disillusioned elders. "

Also Biermann himself had achieved in the GDR after the publication of his book of poetry The wire harp in the West German Wagenbach Verlag in 1965 and the following presentation and publication ban by the 11th Plenum of the Central Committee of the SED in his words, the " status of a state-approved public enemy ". He emphasized to Franz Hohler, he played the song " not only for my friend and highly respected colleague Peter Huchel " written but And in a later interview described Biermann " for me too. ": " This red church song I wrote when I myself was in danger to harden. I had it just not learned in the GDR at the beginning, in spite of everything to conquer under the hammer of the absolute prohibitions One the vital joy in suffering me. "

Form and setting

The poem consists of five stanzas, which are ABAAB with the exception of the first verse in the rhyme scheme. The rhythmic structure is reminiscent Birgit Lermen and Matthias Loewen at the early Bertolt Brecht as well as the shape of a folk song, with the catchiness of the form fancy a contrast to the topic of intellectual resignation. The simple style is partly held in the vernacular, sometimes shortened epigrammhaft. , " Scare " A pun is derived respectively from the opening lines of the first four stanzas with the verbs " harden ", " bitter ", " consume " the descriptions of the time in the following lines above, which are formed from the same stem. The last verse breaks the uniform structure of the first four stanzas, and the diction of the text is encouraging.

Biermann's setting of encouragement alternates between four-four time, and two-four time. The quarter notes remind Georg Friedrich Kühn in their equivalence to a chorale. Lermen Loewen and take in the presentation of the first four stanzas true little emphasis by stretching or ironic reinforcements, only in the last stanza the rhythm going exhilarating. According to Thomas Rothschild, the key is continuous aeolian, but a similar church the minor key, the final chord changes to the subdominant relative major. The rhythm is urgent and will assist impatient by the inserted two quarter bars. The descending sequence of tones of the melody call forth a feeling of sadness. The last verse sing Biermann higher by a fourth, leading to a pressed voice, the metaphor of the verdant branches will literally herausgeschrien. The talk so lets feel the discrepancy between the clichéd image and the desperate desire for its fulfillment.

Interpretation

Peter Rühmkorf summarizes the contents in " Reviewer prose " together: " he who does not get her down, not sour, harden, can consume will eventually penetrate the horror circle of Pression and blackmail and a new co-operative or community mental partakers ". He emphasizes the allusion to Pentecost, which was typical of the many religious allegories Biermann, and thus called the poem a "good news ".

Jürgen main examined in particular the nature of poetry in Biermann's poem, the winter metaphor of the "hard time" and the Spring metaphor of verdant branches with which Biermann would encourage a Wintering in the resistance. He warn them to freeze to strong individuality, which stand in danger and break in front of perspective Wi subjectivism as well as an isolated resignation. The poem conjure the "you" of friendship as the " redeeming us" of solidarity in the community. The defiantly hopeful spring metaphor is to be understood as a counter-proposal to the nature poetry of the addressed Peter Huchel which predominantly spread a somber elegiac mood.

Beate Pinkerneil sees in the poem a celebration of the "art of life and survival ." It is reminiscent of Friedrich Hölderlin and bring its intent, " gaiety into suffering " to. The appeal not to set up in their own misfortune, but the creeping bitterness and hardening to resist with a " cheerful optimism and serenity right in the prescribed graveyard peace " was, presented with the soft voice of subversive art and a " witness resolute solidarity."

For Birgit Lermen and Matthias Loewen, the contrast between the solidification of the resignation and the departure of changing the theme of the poem forms. "Use your time ": The ideals of freedom, truth, openness, desire, and love the people falling out of nature out to be, but they have to be won in the historical situation, when it says in the penultimate stanza. The poem show the one hand, the disappointment of the Socialists Biermann on the realization of his ideals in their own country, on the other hand, hoping to lead the people by his singing to a humane and free form of socialism.

Reference to other poems

Wolf Biermann stated himself that his encouragement to Brecht's poem against seduction of Bertolt Brecht Hauspostille go back: "I would certainly can not write it if it had not been for Master Brecht. " Biermann follows its predecessor in both the rhyme scheme and the meter. Brecht's poem begins with the lines:

"Do not Let seduce you! There is no return. "

The prompt is - as in Biermann's poem - repeated several times varies: " Do not be deceived: [ ... ] Let us not deceive you! [ ... ] Do not be put off! " From the warnings Brecht an abstract group is at Biermann direct speech of others, of " you. " And while Brecht's poem for Beate Pinkerneil ends consoling and hopeless, Biermann have its variation a hopeful and confident final verse added.

In Biermann's work - both in the book of poems later on the LP - is the encouragement between two other poems which are variations on the same theme of courage and of exhortation, encouragement and named Small Large encouragement. The Little Encouragement is a short, rhyming timeless song in three verses, beginning with the salutation " Oh despondent not friends" and closing with the image of a shrub, which would wither in luck, there would be no cloudburst of grief. The Great encouragement reported in the I - form of a large fatigue caused by hardness, cold, politics and battles. The questions of when the suffering finally have an end, answered the chorus:

"If the new sufferings come have an end "

The conclusion of the first borne of apparent self-pity Great encouragement is thus according to Andreas M. Reinhard, that this is overcome and the suffering must be endured in order to achieve progress towards a better society.

Reception

According to Stefan Wolle, the song was encouragement in the GDR " almost to the folk song", according to some voices her the " secret national anthem of the GDR." Wolf Biermann said himself that encouragement was the " most popular song in the prisons of the GDR" and was sung by the prisoners as a kind of " soul bread ", often without them would have been known to the author. According to Ulrich Morgenstern Encouragement is also in the West "so much popular song Wolf Biermann ." It was sung about by young church day visitors and pacifists, and in comparison to more radical protest movements. Heinz Rölleke took Biermann's song in 1993 his collection The Volksliederbuch on, Marcel Reich- Ranicki, 2005 in his canon of German literature.

For Peter Rühmkorf was the " famous" poem " a term and with it a strong taste of what so effective is to Biermann's comfort and Trutzliedern as gripping as contagious intoxicating. " " One of the finest consolation poems " for a friend, of this encouragement have been necessary verily, called Peter Wapnewski Biermann's poem. Peter Schneider described: " There are beautiful verses. Biermann has reached such a tone hardly more later. " Encouragement did not stay for Beate Pinkerneil in 1993 " a day topical song " since it clearly make the situation " the silenced convicted oppositionists ", " how much moral and artistic power (besides political instinct ) were necessary [ ... ] to walk upright to unlearn. "

The song found its way into the Gesangsgut church circles. In 1980, the singing of the song still resulted in confirmation classes to a controversy, in which the Schleswig-Holstein Prime Minister Gerhard Stoltenberg intervened, protested in writing to the State Church. Although the song " no aggressive political statements containing ," Biermann loud Stoltenberg will " thus even more dangerous ." In Sweden, the song has since been canonized by inclusion in the Protestant church hymnal. Unlike other of his songs to Biermann specifically asked encouragement should be sung in the group.

2012 Bobo Stenson Trio released the song encouragement in the occupation of piano, bass and drums on his CD indicum.

Expenditure

• Wolf Biermann: With Marx and tongues of angels. Wagenbach, Berlin 1968, p 61
• Wolf Biermann: 4 new songs. Wagenbach Quart plate 3, Berlin 1968.
• Wolf Biermann: aah yes! CBS 1974, No. 80118th