Op 48 Analysis

The text of the second song of op. 48 is taken from an earlier volume of poetry than that of the previous song. The poetry collection “Abschied” (Farewell) from 1930 is one of two books by Haringer that were published by Paul Zsolnay Verlag. Zsolnay’s co-manager, Felix Kostia-Costa, did originally not want to publish the volume, but was probably swayed by Alma Mahler-Werfel .
The poem’s title is the adjective “tot” (dead) which must not be confused with the noun “Tod” (death) that is pronounced the same. The adjective implies a connection to the speaker of the poem that an abstract noun does not. The speaker is emotionally dead and does not care about anything. “Glück” (good luck) and “Wahn” (delusions) become interchangeable facets of fate.
The third verse appears again, modified, in the seventh verse. Thus, most of the rhymes in the poem are identical, with the exception of the fourth verse of each quatrain that rhymes with the second verse of the same quatrain, either in an imperfect rhyme (“daran” – Wahn”) or in a perfect rhyme (“eins” – “keins”). The artful interlinking rhyme scheme (ABCb BACa) with the second and fourth verse of each quatrain rhyming with the first verse of the other quatrain and the third verses rhyming with each other divides the poem into two stanzas while simultaneously uniting it as a whole. At the same time, the distressing simplicity that is achieved through the many repetitions, the simple metre and the accumulation of main clauses makes the speaker’s feelings appear more real. It seems he or she can hardly muster the will and energy to utter these few, short words, and, as there is nothing artificial about them, they seem to come straight from the
In general, the punctuation is striking, as it appears to be meant as a set of instructions for the reader to read each line with a certain underlying subtext. This implies the poem should not just be read silently , and instead be recited aloud. Thus, the speaker’s emotions become even more tangible. The punctuation primarily increases emphasis in the repeated phrases. Despite being complete, the first clause ends, like the last verse, without a full stop or a comma. This lets the verse stand alone and makes it appear the central statement of the poem, almost like a second title. The second verse is a rhetoric question, but ends with a comma that leads on to the third and fourth verse. The second time it appears in verse five, it ends with an exclamation mark, as if to ask the reader to recite it more emphatically to bring out the speaker’s bitterness. In the repetition of the first verse in verse six, “Alles” is capitalized, emphasising the statement. This time, the verse ends with a comma implying a causal connection to the next verses. The exclamation mark in the seventh verse underlines the repeated statement that others are luckier than the speaker. At the same time, it creates a small pause between the two last verses, giving the eighth verse an atmosphere of