The misanthrope | First he sits for a while

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Der Misanthrop

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

A
 Erst sitzt er eine Weile, 
 Die Stirn von Wolken frei;
 Auf einmal [kömmt]¹ in Eile
 Sein ganz Gesicht der Eule
 Verzerrtem Ernste bei.

B
 [Sie fragen]² was das sei,
 Lieb' oder Langeweile?

C
 Ach! sie sind's alle Zwei!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• K. Zelter

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Zelter: "kommt"
² Zelter: "Ihr fraget"

Text Authorship:

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Der Misanthrop" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Der Misanthrop", 2012 [high voice and piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]
by Bernhard Theodor Breitkopf (1749 - 1820), "Der Misanthrop", published 1770 [ sung text checked 1 time]
by Karl Friedrich Zelter (1758 - 1832), "Der Misanthrop", 1812? [ sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The misanthrope", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 11
Word count: 41

The misanthrope

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

A
 First he sits for a while,
 His forehead unclouded;
 Suddenly in great haste
 His whole face assumes
 The ghastly seriousness of an owl.

B
 You ask what that might be,
 Love or boredom?

C
 Ah! it is both of them!

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2013 by Sharon Krebs, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Der Misanthrop"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2013-10-31
Line count: 11
Word count: 41