Hope | What more do you hope for yourself, maiden?!

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by Richard Engländer (1859 - 1919), as Peter Altenberg

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Was erhoffst Du Dir, Mädchen, noch?!

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE NOR

Was erhoffst Du Dir, Mädchen, noch?!
Da Du, geschlossene Blüte, alles Lebendige in Dir birgst?!
Bleibe verschlossenes Blüh’n, o Mädchen -- --
Denn die „gewöhnliche That“ des Seins
mordet dein „göttliches Ungeschehnis“!“

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with „Ein Wiener“ in Was der Tag mir zuträgt. Fünfundsechzig neue Studien von Peter Altenberg, dritte vermehrte und veränderte Auflage, Berlin: S. Fischer, Verlag, 1906, page 294.

Note: [sic] for the last word.

Text Authorship:

by Richard Engländer (1859 - 1919), as Peter Altenberg, no title [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 Alban Maria Johannes Berg (1885 - 1935), "Hoffnung", 1906 [ voice and piano ], from Jugendlieder, Vol. II (1904-08), no. 55 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Manuel Capdevila i Font) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Hope", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Espoir", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , "Håp", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Virginia Knight , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 5
Word count: 30

Hope

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

What more do you hope for yourself, maiden?!
When you, closed blossom, harbour every living thing within yourself?!
Remain a closed blossoming, oh maiden -- --
For the “ordinary act” of being
Would murder your “divine state of nothing-happening!”

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2014 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 Richard Engländer (1859 - 1919), as Peter Altenberg, no title
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2014-12-10
Line count: 5
Word count: 37