To psyche

To Psyche is a poem by Christoph Martin Wieland . It appeared in January 1776 in the magazine Der Teutsche Merkur published by Wieland as well as in his most recent poems from 1777. The dream of a trip to a fairy castle described therein represents a real journey of Wieland in encrypted form.

shape

The poem consists of nine stanzas of different lengths with a total of 170 rhyming and (apart from V.1-8) four-part verses. There is no fixed meter or rhyme scheme.

content

The lyrical I first describes his disappointment at having awakened from a beautiful dream, then the dream itself: In a "shell chariot" (v. 9) pulled by pigeons, it floats through the air and lands at a "fairy castle" (v. 19). There he meets Psyche , to which "[e] in a small hybrid of Cupid and Faun " (v. 31) hugs. He is also greeted by a "noble knight" (v. 36), a "fräulein tender" (v. 40) and the "fairy of the place" (v. 48). The enthusiasm and bliss of the lyric self is evident in his description of the place and the characters.

A powerful magician appears out of nowhere, who through his "creative power" (v. 121) can create characters that cast a spell on everyone and with whom everyone feels like real people.

The lyrical self complains that happy times pass so quickly. The return journey takes place, in stark contrast to the outward journey, "[I] in an old rumbling wagon" (v. 151) through deep snow. The magician sits in the car, but cannot accelerate the journey either, and asks the lyrical self to tell him fairy tales.

Biographical context

Together with Goethe , Wieland visited the poet and salonière Julie von Bechtolsheim on New Year's Day 1776 , with whom both had been friends since their time as court maids at the ducal court in Weimar . Now she lived with her family on the Stedten estate near Erfurt. Goethe read scenes from the still unfinished Faust . This visit is represented in the poem in a fairytale-like code. Psyche stands for the hostess, the faun for her little son. The knight, the young lady and the fairy represent Julie von Bechtolsheim's husband, sister and mother. Goethe is portrayed as a magician - Wieland praises him for the liveliness of his poetry.

source

Wieland's works in four volumes. Third volume. Selected and introduced by Hans Böhm. Aufbau-Verlag Berlin and Weinar 1967, pp. 95-101.