1 - The Early Poetry

Summary

Nietzsche's poetry contained in his literary estate (Nachlass) spans primarily the years 1854 to 1864, that is, from the time he lived in Naumburg through the time he graduated from the Schulpforta Gymnasium.1 I also examine several poems and musical compositions he wrote in Bonn, Leipzig, and Basel.

Nietzsche's search for self-understanding is manifest in his poetry, prose, and drama. A short poem written in 1858 captures Nietzsche's search for self:

Ein Spiegel ist das Leben.

Wonach wir nun auch streben.

Als erstes möcht’ ich nennen:

In ihm sich zu erkennen.

Life is a mirror.

Toward which we do strive.

I wish to be the first to aspire

To perceive in it my Self.

(NA I/1, 212).

Nietzsche wrote a number of poems to himself. For example, “Zum Geburtstag” (For My Birthday, 1859), which he wrote at the age of fifteen, illuminates some positive experiences in Pobles, the home of his maternal grandfather (NA I/2, 93–95):

Im Pfarrhaus zu Pobles

Ist lustiges Leben;

Bald nahen Verwandte

Bald liebe Bekannte

Von nah und von ferne

Und alle umgeben

Mit Freude u. Wonne

Wie blitzende Sterne

Des Hauses Sonne.

In the parsonage in Pobles

In the parsonage in Pobles

Joyous Life

Relatives soon visit

Then dear acquaintances

From near and far

And all surrounded

By joy and bliss

Like shining stars

The house's illumination [sun].

(NA I/2, 93)

The feeling of being truly at home is expressed in many of early Nietzsche's depictions of nature. Limbs of an oak tree spread out vibrantly, and birds sing (NA I/2, 94). Colorful images and the music of nature evoke a plenitude of emotions:

O hätte ich Lieder

Und frohe Gesänge

Daß es mir gelänge

In farbigen Bildern

Die Milde zu schildern

Die's Pfarrhaus v. Pobles

Beständig umhüllet

Und alle mit Frieden

Und Ruhe erfüllet.

O, if I had songs

And gladsome chants

That I should succeed

In colorful images

To depict the calm

That the Pobles parsonage

Continually surrounds

And all are filled

With peace and serenity.

(NA I/2, 94)

Divine, domestic locations also fill the poet with burning aspirations (“Mit feurigem Streben”) that rekindle the gleam that was lost when being away from home. In Pobles, Nietzsche found traces of his childhood that calmed his yearning for home, kindled images of youth, and cultivated truth and virtue. The poet also felt the enlivening and uplifting breath of the Lord.