When the lame weaver dreams

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When the lame weaver dreams is a poem by Clemens Brentano from 1838.

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The poem consists of eighteen verses that form a single stanza and a single sentence structure and begin with the following verses:

When the lame weaver dreams that he is weaving,
the sick lark dreams too, she
floats, the silent nightingale dreams, she sings,
That the heart of the echo bursts,

It remains unclear whether the subordinate clause of the first verse that begins with “if” is to be interpreted temporally or conditionally. Does everything happen whenever the weaver dreams, or does it happen on condition that he dreams?

At the end there are the following verses:

Alas, without sacrifice sweet miracles
perish, poor hearts perish lonely!

There are all "deficient beings" who dream of happiness:

  • The lame weaver weaves.
  • The sick lark flies.
  • The mute nightingale sings
  • The blind hen sees.
  • Who can't count to three counts.
  • The rigid ore is thawing.
  • The iron heart wins trust.
  • Sobriety listens.
  • The shyness intoxicates.

Similar images are known from the Gospel according to Matthew (11,5), where the blind see and the lame walk:

The blind see and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead rise and the poor are preached to the gospel ...

literature

  • Gerhard Kaiser: “Moments of German lyric poetry. Poems from Martin Luther to Paul Celan “Frankfurt am Main: Insel Verlag, 1987. ISBN 3-458-32678-2
  • Rudolf Riedler (ed.): “To whom time is like eternity. Poets, interpreters, interpretations ”. Munich / Zurich: Piper series. ISBN 3-492-10701-X

Web links