It may all fall
It may be that everything falls is a poem by Rudolf Alexander Schröder . It is sung as a hymn with different melodies. In the Evangelical Hymnal (No. 378) it is with the way of Paul Geilsdorf , in the Swiss Reformed Hymnal (No. 697) and in the Mennonite Hymn (No. 432) with that of Samuel Rothenberg .
shape
The poem consists of five trochaic six-line lines . Lines 1–5 are four-lettered , the last only three-lettered. The rhyme scheme is[aabccb], where a and c are male and b is female .
content
The poem addresses, in the form of a self-addressing of the lyrical self , which at the same time is addressing the reader, the experience of the collapse of all certainties and the questioning of all certainties. Lies and crime often seem stronger than truth and law - but only "for a while" (verse 2). Who in God's "promise" believing holds (verse 1) and his providence familiar (verse 5), "new forces get" (verse 3) and "wear the crown" (verse 4).
interpretation
Schröder wrote It may be that everything falls in 1936. Three years later, in the year the war broke out, the song appeared in print for the first time. Against this background, it can be understood as a prophetic text that exposes the ostensible resurgence of Germany in the time of National Socialism as a rule of injustice and anticipates the catastrophic end.
Melodies
The melody that Paul Geilsdorf composed for the poem in 1940 emphasizes the reassuring aspect of the song with its E minor tonality and the even four-quarter rhythm that progresses in quarters and halves. Samuel Rothenberg's melody in the same key has a livelier character thanks to dots and eighth melisms . It is also included in the mouth organ . An alternative melody by Günter Kärner (1969) with irregular rhythms and harsh deviations from the basic key of G minor could not prevail.
literature
Rudolf Alexander Schröder . In: Heinz Ludwig Arnold (Hrsg.): Kindlers Literatur Lexikon . 3rd, completely revised edition. 18 vols. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2009, ISBN 978-3-476-04000-8 , vol. 14, pp. 620–621 (biogram and work article Das lyrische Werk von Walter Schmitz)
Individual evidence
- ^ Heinrich Bedford-Strohm : Commemoration of Rudolf Alexander Schröder 1878–1962 (2012)
- ↑ EKG , Appendix Rhineland-Westphalia-Lippe, No. 532