Paul Celan's "Todesfuge," or "Deathfugue," is one of the most striking poems to come out of
World War II. The text below is presented with an
interlineal translation by Celan scholar
John Felstiner. I've selected the Felstiner translation because it not only captures the
singsong rhythms of the original, but because it, unlike other translations, converges on the original German at the end of the poem. The fragments of German that emerge during the
recapitulations of the original
theme are uniquely effective.
Sonics
There are two conflicting sonic patters at work in
"Todesfuge": the (largely)
dactyllic singsong of the lines themselves, and the repetition of the fugue theme. German, like English, is a language of
stress, so the singsong jumps right out if you
scan the lines. Take the beginning, for example:
/ ~ / ~ / ~ ~ / ~ ~ / ~
Schwarze Milch der Frühe wir trinken sie abends
~ / ~ ~ / ~ ~ / ~ ~ / ~ ~ /
wir trinken sie mittags und morgens wir trinken sie nachts
The singsong, combined with the lilting feeling we get from the trisyllabic
foot, gives the poem the light rhythmic feel of a dance. This, as we'll see in a bit, is horrifically appropriate.
Set against this dance feel is the fugue aspect of Celan's piece. I say "set against" because the fugue is not a musical form one traditionally dances to. I also say "set against" because the stereotypical fugue is set in
common time, with four
beats per
measure and the
quarter note getting the beat. This is not a hard and fast rule for fugues, but most of them follow it. The feeling of four is in tension with the trisyllabic foot, which, on its own, implies a rhythm in three rather than in four. This tension would be ameliorated somewhat if the lines contained four feet, but the line lengths are irregular. No matter how much we might want to say, "This poem is a splendid example of
dactyllic hexameter," we can't.
The fugue aspect of this poem comes into play with the repetition at the beginning of each stanza. In fugues, a central theme is repeated throughout the piece, each time with slight
alterations, and often in
counterpoint. Our theme here is the first three lines (mouse over for a translation):
Schwarze Milch der Frühe wir trinken sie abends
wir trinken sie mittags und morgens wir trinken sie nachts
wir trinken und trinken
which becomes
Schwarze Milch der Frühe wir trinken dich nachts
wir trinken dich morgens und mittags wir trinken dich abends
wir trinken und trinken
and continues to shift from there. Other phrases are similarly taken up and repeated throughout the poem.
Why does this matter?
Well, following the narrative may help explain. The poem tells the story of a German overseer, who takes "his Jews" out one day and has some of them play some music while the others dig their own grave.
This story is true, many times true, in many forms. By setting the vulgar singsong of the line agains the classical form of the fugue, which, it should be noted, reached its
apotheosis under the great German composer
Bach, Celan highlights the surreality that characterized the European Jewish experience during World War II. The world of
"Todesfuge" is one of radical
juxtaposition: fugue against singsong, master of death against meister of music.
"Meister" is an important term here. Felstiner notes that the word "can
designate God,
Christ,
rabbi,
teacher,
champion,
captain,
owner,
guildsman,
master of arts or
theology,
labor-camp overseer,
musical maestro,
"master" race, not to mention
Goethe's Wilhelm Meister and
Wagner's Meistersinger von Nurnberg, which carries overtones of the
1935 Nuremberg racial laws. . . . "
Marguerite? Shulamith?
Marguerite is the female hero in Goethe's
Faust, and the reason Faust sells his soul. She represents the German
Romantic ideal of the
feminine. In German, the final vowel in her name is pronounced as a
schwa.
Shulamith is the princess from the
Song of Solomon:
Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?
I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished and the pomegranates budded.
Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib.
Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.
(KJV, Song of Solomon 6.10-13)
Shulamith's name recalls the
Hebrew word for peace (
shalom) and the word for
Jerusalem (
Yerushalayim). She is an emblematic figure for the Jews.
The text
Todesfuge
Deathfugue
Schwarze Milch der Frühe wir trinken sie abends
Black milk of daybreak we drink it at evening
wir trinken sie mittags und morgens wir trinken sie nachts
we drink it at midday and morning we drink it at night
wir trinken und trinken
we drink and we drink
wir schaufeln ein Grab in den Lüften da liegt man nicht eng
we shovel a grave in the air there you won't lie too cramped
Ein Mann wohnt im Haus der spielt mit den Schlangen der schreibt
A man lives in the house he plays with his vipers he writes
der schreibt wenn es dunkelt nach Deutschland dein goldenes Haar Marguerite
he writes when it grows dark to Deutschland your golden hair Marguerite
er schreibt es und tritt vor das Haus und es blitzen die Sterne
he writes it and steps out of doors and the stars are all sparkling
er pfeift seine Rüden herbei
he whistles his hounds to come close
er pfeift seine Juden hervor läßt schaufeln ein Grab in der Erde
he whistles his Jews into rows has them shovel a grave in the ground
er befiehlt uns spielt auf nun zum Tanz
he orders us strike up and play for the dance
Schwarze Milch der Frühe wir trinken dich nachts
Black milk of daybreak we drink you at night
wir trinken dich morgens und mittags wir trinken dich abends
we drink you at morning and midday we drink you at
evening
wir trinken und trinken
we drink and we drink
Ein Mann wohnt im Haus der spielt mit den Schlangen der schreibt
A man lives in the house he plays with his vipers he writes
der schreibt wenn es dunkelt nach Deutschland dein goldenes Haar Marguerite
he writes when it grows dark to Deutschland your golden hair Marguerite
Dein aschenes Haar Sulamith wir schaufeln ein Grab in den Lüften da liegt man nicht eng
Your ashen hair Shulamith we shovel a grave in the air there you won't lie too cramped
Er ruft stecht tiefer ins Erdreich ihr einen ihr andern singet und spielt
He shouts jab this earth deeper you lot there you others sing up and play
er greift nach dem Eisen im Gurt er schwingts seine Augen sind blau
he grabs for the rod in his belt he swings it his eyes are blue
stecht tiefer die Spaten ihr einen ihr andern spielt weiter zum Tanz auf
jab your spades deeper you lot there you others sing up
and play on for the dancing
Schwarze Milch der Frühe wir trinken dich nachts
Black milk of daybreak we drink you at night
wir trinken dich mittags und morgens wir trinken dich abends
we drink you at midday and morning we drink you at evening
wir trinken und trinken
we drink and we drink
ein Mann wohnt im Haus dein goldenes Haar Marguerite
a man lives in the house your goldenes Haar Marguerite
dein aschenes Haar Sulamith er spielt mit den Schlangen
your aschenes Haar Shulamith he plays with his vipers
Er ruft spielt süßer den Tod der Tod ist ein Meister aus Deutschland
He shouts play death more sweetly this Death is a master from Deutschland
er ruft streicht dunkler die Geigen dann steigt ihr als Rauch in die Luft
he shouts scrape your strings darker you'll rise them as smoke to the sky
dann habt ihr ein Grab in den Wolken da liegt man nicht eng
you'll have a grave then in the clouds there you won't lie too cramped
Schwarze Milch der Frühe wir trinken dich nachts
Black milk of daybreak we drink you at night
wir trinken dich mittags der Tod ist ein Meister aus Deutschland
we drink you at midday Death is a master aus Deutschland
wir trinken dich abends und morgens wir trinken und trinken
we drink you at evening and morning we drink and we drink
der Tod ist ein Meister aus Deutschland sein Auge ist blau
this Death is ein Meister aus Deutschland his eye it is blue
er trifft dich mit bleierner Kugel er trifft dich genau
he shoots you with shot made of lead shoots you level and true
ein Mann wohnt im Haus dein goldenes Haar Marguerite
a man lives in the house your goldenes Haar Marguerite
er hetzt seine Rüden auf uns er schenkt uns ein Grab in der Luft
he looses his hounds on us grants us a grave in the air
er spielt mit den Schlangen und träumet der Tod ist ein Meister aus Deutschland
he plays with his vipers and daydreams der Tod ist ein Meister aus Deutschland
dein goldenes Haar Marguerite
dein aschenes Haar Shulamith
--
Paul Celan, translated by
John Felstiner
Sources:
http://mason.gmu.edu/~lsmithg/deathfugue.html
http://www.hall-of-memory.de/antholo/Todesfuge.htm