Herzliebster Jesu

Heart Dearest Jesus, what have you done wrong is the title of one of the most famous spiritual poetry of the Baroque period. It comes from Johann Heermann and was published in 1630.

Form

The poem has fourteen stanzas to three elfsilbigen and a fünfsilbigen line after the often-copied in German Humanism and Baroque model of the Sapphic stanza.

Content

The poem deals with the Passion of Christ. It occurs on a lyrical ego, which turns directly to Christ. The first stanza has with rhetorical questions point to the innocence of Christ, who was sentenced in defiance of it. In the third stanza the lyric I ask for the Ursach such plagues, and finds them at their own sins. In this self-accusation is followed by a discussion of the miracle of divine forgiveness of sins through the death of Christ. In the eleventh verse of the lyric I summarizes the decision to risk everything for God. The final fourteenth verse contains a vision of the afterlife and has implicitly points to the resurrection of Christ and the believer to eternal life.

In the poem a great emotion and emotion of the lyric ego in the face of the Passion of Christ is clear, which is exacerbated by his humble attitude. In verse 9, it differentiates itself from the Apostle Peter, who had broken his promise to follow Christ.

Reception

The poem was set to music in 1640 by Johann Crüger and was in this form to one of the most famous German hymns. The verses 1, 2, 4 and 6 used Johann Sebastian Bach in the St Matthew Passion ( BWV 244 ), whereby the poem is known to a wider audience music today. Instead of Crügerschen Allabreve rhythm with alternation of half and quarter notes Bach's melodic version is compensated for four- quarter time and supplemented by passing tones. There are several English translations, including one by Catherine Winkworth in the year 1863.