An hour past midnight

Hermann Hesse (1925)

An hour after midnight , a volume with nine sketchy “ prose studies” by Hermann Hesse was published by Eugen Diederichs in the summer of 1899 . In his second book, Hesse tells from his “artist dream realm”.

content

The island dream

The dream island, on which the poet ends up exhausted after days of exhausting rowing boat trips across the “hostile sea”, is an island overgrown with “wild wood”, through whose “overhanging trees a brown-green light” sinks. The newcomer leaves the jungle behind and meets in a garden under “noble groups of old trees” a “high woman” who speaks to him in a “princely high tone”. The Queen is amazed that the faint-hearted poet “found the arduous path”. In the course of time, many of the faces of the ladies in the Queen's entourage appeared familiar to the poet. Mrs. Gertrud is among them. It accompanies the reader through the entire book. There are quite a few delights on the island. Except for the above The poet enjoys the “songs of chosen forest birds” and delights in the work of Pericles , Socrates , Phidias , Homer and Ariostus . The “sweet bite” in “the ripe fruit” refreshes the brave rower “to the core”.

Album sheet for Elise

The fairy Elise glides “over the stretched carpet” of the poet's “most youthful happy dreams” “like gently moving music”.

The feast of the king

The young prince asked his friend, the Neapolitan singer, about the most beautiful thing in the world. The singer knows the answer: "A woman of the highest birth and noble heart". The queen is meant, the mother of the prince, about whom there is ultimately murder and manslaughter. Whatever - "an artist needs women".

Conversation with the mute

A jealous violinist murders his friend, the other violinist and his song. When the murderer appears with the dead song, the victim, still "the knife in the chest", plays along. The confused crowd does not see the dead man, but hears "two violins".

To Mrs. Gertrud

In the sketch that Rilke so valued, Hesse speaks “carefully and richly”. We are talking about a deceased who is present like the shining of a lost star. For Hesse, stars are “the supreme symbols of eternity”. The poet conducts the “conversations without words” “with stars and women” because both are the most mysterious beings. This poet's skills have become unheard of. Without it, the stars can no longer rise and set.

words and phrases

• they let en [tired, dull] verse bars
• the great laughter

Testimonials

• Hesse called his prose debut in 1926 "impersonal and meaningless".
• In 1941 the poet turned back to his first prose and placed him on a par with Hermann Lauscher and Peter Camenzind .

reception

• Wilhelm von Scholz wrote around 1899 that the text was written under the influence of Maurice Maeterlinck and Stefan George .
• On August 7, 1899, Rainer Maria Rilke wrote to Georg Heinrich Meyer : Hesse finds "broad and calm images for what is never said and surprising forms for what is often repeated".
• In the book, according to Peter Sprengel, Hesse proves to be an “admirer of the romantics ”.

History of origin

Hesse had been in correspondence with the North German poet Helene Voigt since November 1897 . The bride and future wife of the publisher Diederichs probably put in a good word for Hesse. The texts were written in Tübingen in the winter of 1898/99. Hesse took the title from a poem of the same name from his first work, the volume of poetry Romantische Lieder , published in autumn 1898 .

Book editions

The first edition was printed in a one-time edition of 600 copies. It was not until 1941 that a second edition appeared, with a preface by the author himself. In 1986 Diederichs published a facsimile print of the first edition in 999 numbered copies. In 2002 a bibliophile new edition was published with an afterword by Klaus Schuhmann , printed using two-tone monotype - lead type.

• An hour past midnight. Nine prose studies . Diederichs, Leipzig 1899
• An hour past midnight . Fretz & Wasmuth, Zurich 1941; Reprint ibid. 1942
• An hour past midnight . Diederichs, Cologne undated (= 1986), ISBN 3-424-00902-4
• An hour past midnight. Early prose . Schumacher-Gebler, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-920856-31-7
• An hour past midnight. Diederichs, Munich 2019, ISBN 978-3-424-35097-5

literature

• Volker Michels (ed.): Hermann Hesse: Complete works in 20 volumes. (Volume 1: Youth Writings). Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 2001, ISBN 3-518-41101-2 .
• Peter Sprengel : History of German-Language Literature 1900–1918. Beck, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-406-52178-9 .
• Siegfried Unseld : Hermann Hesse. Work and impact history. Insel, Frankfurt am Main 1987, ISBN 3-458-32812-2 .
• Gero von Wilpert : Lexicon of world literature. German Authors A-Z . Kröner, Stuttgart 4. A. 2004, ISBN 3-520-83704-8 , p. 271.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Michels: Hermann Hesse. All works in 20 volumes. 2001, p. 668.
2. ↑ So Hesse himself in the preface to the 1941 edition, see http://www.hhesse.de/werk.php?load=mitternacht
3. ↑ ^{a b} Michels: Hermann Hesse. All works in 20 volumes. 2001, p. 669 f.
4. ↑ Michels: Hermann Hesse. All works in 20 volumes. 2001, p. 191.
5. ↑ Michels: Hermann Hesse. All works in 20 volumes. 2001, p. 196.
6. ↑ ^{a b} Michels: Hermann Hesse. All works in 20 volumes. 2001, p. 170 f.
7. ↑ Sprengel: History of German-Language Literature 1900–1918. 2004, p. 387.
8. ↑ Unseld: Hermann Hesse. Work and impact history. 1987, p. 27.
9. ↑ http://www.hhesse.de/werk.php?load=mitternacht
10. ↑ http://www.bibliothek-sg.de/index.php?page=bd27