Christian Morgenstern

Christian Morgenstern Poems

Christian Morgenstern Biography

Christian Otto Josef Wolfgang Morgenstern (May 6, 1871 in Munich– March 31, 1914 in Meran) was a German author and poet from Munich. Morgenstern's poetry, much of which was inspired by English literary nonsense, is immensely popular, even though he enjoyed very little success during his lifetime. He made fun of scholasticism, e.g. literary criticism in "Drei Hasen", grammar in "Der Werwolf", narrow-mindedness in "Der Gaul", and symbolism in "Der Wasseresel". In "Scholastikerprobleme" he discussed how many angels could sit on a needle. Still many Germans know some of his poems and quotations by heart, e.g. the following line from "The Impossible Fact" ("Die unmögliche Tatsache", 1910): Weil, so schließt er messerscharf / Nicht sein kann, was nicht sein darf. "For, he reasons pointedly / That which must not, can not be." In his early years Christian Morgenstern wrote a considerable number of essays and reviews for various German periodicals. They have been collected together and published in Volume 6 (Kritische Schriften, 1987) of the German collected works of Morgenstern. His philosophical and mythical works were largely influenced by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, the Austrian educationalist Rudolf Steiner (the originator of anthroposophy and the Waldorf school movement), and the Russian writers Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Leo Tolstoy. Perhaps Morgenstern's most philosophical volume is a collection of aphorisms published posthumously in 1918 entitled Stufen: Eine Entwickelung in Aphorismen und Tagebuch-Notizen (Stages: A Development in Aphorisms and Diary Notes). It has given rise to a number of celebrated quotations. These include: * "Home isn't where our house is, but wherever we are understood." * "I shall excavate the strata of my soul." * "I’m a man of limits: forever physically, emotionally, morally and artistically on the brink of plunging into the abyss. Yet I manage to keep my balance and possess presence of mind." * "I bear no treasures within me. I only possess the power to transform much of what I touch into something of value. I have no depths, save my incessant desire for the depths." A complete edition of the works of Christian Morgenstern in German in nine volumes is currently being prepared by Verlag Urachhaus (Stuttgart) under the direction of Professor Reinhardt Habel. Volumes 1 and 2 comprise Morgenstern's lyrical writings and poems; volume 3: humoristic writings, including the complete Gallows Songs; volume 4: epic and theatrical writings; volume 5: collected aphorisms; volume 6: critical essays and reviews; volumes 7-9: complete correspondence. The volume titles in German are: * Volume 1: Lyrik 1887–1905, ed. Martin Kiessig, 1988. * Volume 2: Lyrik 1906–1914, ed. Martin Kiessig, 1992. * Volume 3: Humoristische Lyrik, ed. Maurice Cureau, 1990. * Volume 4: Episches und Dramatisches, eds. Reinhardt Habel and Ernst Kretschmer, 2001. * Volume 5: Aphorismen, ed. Reinhardt Habel, 1987. * Volume 6: Kritische Schriften, ed. Helmut Gumtau, 1987. * Volume 7: Briefwechsel 1878–1903, ed. Katharina Breitner, 2005. * Volume 8: Briefwechsel 1905–1908 (in preparation) * Volume 9: Briefwechsel 1909–1914 (in preparation))

The Best Poem Of Christian Morgenstern

Auf Dem Fliegenplaneten

Auf dem Fliegenplaneten,
da geht es dem Menschen nicht gut:
Denn was er hier der Fliege,
die Fliege dort ihm tut.
An Bändern voll Honig kleben
die Menschen dort allesamt,
und andere sind zum Verleben
in süßliches Bier verdammt.
In einem nur scheinen die Fliegen
dem Menschen vorauszustehn:
Man bäckt uns nicht in Semmeln,
noch trinkt man uns aus Versehn.

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