Going to Sleep
Now that the day wearies me,
My yearning desire,
will receive more kindly,
like a tired child, the starry night
Hence, leave off your deeds
mind, forget all thoughts;
All of my forces
yearn only to sink into sleep.
And my soul, unguarded,
would soar on widespread wings,
to live in a night's magical sphere
More profoundly, more variously.
Commentary
Siddhartha is what made Mr. Hesse famous, but this poem is what endears him to me!! I believe the original was in “Deutsch” and this is a translated version, so there might be slightly different versions floating around.
Hesse’s depiction of the drained condition (in the 1st two stanzas) is very vivid. I usually work late, & going home at late hours; my only desire is to get into my bed & continue the glorious things I do in my dreams…
Biography links:
1. http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/hhesse.htm
2. http://www.levity.com/corduroy/hesse.htm
3. http://www.nobel.se/literature/laureates/1946/hesse-autobio.html
Best Regards,
— Vaibhav Puranik
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From the Wondering Minstrels mailing list, 1999–2008.
Erik Barnes · 3 September 2004
In its original German, this poem is titled “Beim Schlafengehen”. It’s a great poem in its own right, but set to orchestral song by the late Romantic composer Richard Strauss (the third of his “Four Last Songs”), it becomes a masterpiece. If you should ever want to hear a perfect example of how music can augment and illuminate the meaning of a poem, listen to this song! I first heard it many years ago in the film, “The Year of Living Dangerously.” I waited through interminable credits to find out what it was, then I went right out and bought it. You should too. You won’t regret it, I promise you. I particularly recommend the version with Klaus Tennstedt and Lucia Popp. By the way, this is not a great translation: for one thing, it’s “HANDS, leave off your deeds,” not “hence.” The poem is really about death, not sleep, which makes it’s inclusion in Strauss’ last work of a long lifetime all the more poignant and personal.