HOME | DD

Description
Lenk (Switzerland), August 2015

Who rides there so late through the night dark and drear ?
The father it is, with his infant so dear ;
He holds the boy tightly clasped in his arm,
He holds him safely, he keeps him warm.

"My son, why do you hide your face in fear ?"
"Look, father, the Erl-King is close by our side !
Do you not see the Erl-King, with crown and with train ?"
"My son, 'tis the mist rising over the plain."

Goethe, "Der Erlkönig" ("The Erl-King")

Not exactly a plain here, of course, since the picture actually shows the foothills of the mountains flanking the valley of the river Simme, in the Swiss canton of Bern. And not even mist besides, but very low hanging clouds. Still... this seemed rather adequate.

(Aiming to prune a number of archaisms, I tried to cautiously mix and match various English translations of these first two stanzas of Goethe's poem -- no doubt disgracefully impairing rhythm and rhyme in doing so. Apologies if I offended any purist !)
.

Description
Lenk (Switzerland), August 2015

Who rides there so late through the night dark and drear ?
The father it is, with his infant so dear ;
He holds the boy tightly clasped in his arm,
He holds him safely, he keeps him warm.

"My son, why do you hide your face in fear ?"
"Look, father, the Erl-King is close by our side !
Do you not see the Erl-King, with crown and with train ?"
"My son, 'tis the mist rising over the plain."

Goethe, "Der Erlkönig" ("The Erl-King")

Not exactly a plain here, of course, since the picture actually shows the foothills of the mountains flanking the valley of the river Simme, in the Swiss canton of Bern. And not even mist besides, but very low hanging clouds. Still... this seemed rather adequate.

(Aiming to prune a number of archaisms, I tried to cautiously mix and match various English translations of these first two stanzas of Goethe's poem -- no doubt disgracefully impairing rhythm and rhyme in doing so. Apologies if I offended any purist !)
.