Kristen McCartney

Death And His Brothers Sleep by Heinrich Heine



There’s a mirror likeness between those two
shining, youthfully-fledged figures, though
one seems paler than the other and more austere,
I might even say more perfect, more distinguished,
than he, who would take me confidingly in his arms –
how soft then and loving his smile, how blessed his glance!
Then, it might well have been that his wreath
of white poppies gently touched my forehead, at times,
and drove the pain from my mind with its strange scent.
But that is transient. I can only, now, be well, 
when the other one, so serious and pale,
the older brother, lowers his dark torch. –
Sleep is so good, Death is better, yet
surely never to have been born is best. 

https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/death-and-his-brother-sleep-morphine/

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Biographical information:

This photo connects to the poem Death and His Brother Sleep by Heinrich Heine by the cemetery symbolizing death, and the beauty within the scenery is symbolizing the peace and serenity captured in the first half of the poem. In the beginning of the poem, stanza 7 made me believe that the beginning of the poem was beautiful and this poem is expressing beauty within life, but the end of the poem in stanza 13 and 14 made me see that this poem took a turn and wanted to show the darker side of life and explaining 
how that even though there are all these beautiful moments in life, some believe that not even being born is best.
     Heinrich Heine was greatly influenced by his uncle Salomon Heine; a millionaire banker, and had a slightly weird infatuation with his uncles daughters who were quite unsuccessful. "When the July Revolution of 1830 occurred in France, Heine did not, like many of his liberal and radical contemporaries", and in 1831 Heine moved to Paris to live the rest of his life, aswell as being quite attracted to the Saint-Simonian religion. There have been many occurrences throughout Heine's life that have shaped his literary work, but these seem to stand out the most.

 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Heinrich-Heine-German-author

Analysis:

     The meaning of this poem can be very complex if examined thoroughly, and I believe that the first half of the poem is talking about how possibly the speaker's brother as heartfelt and "perfect", and referred to his smile as "blessed." The second half of the poem is talking about the second half of how the speaker sees their brother as "serious", and "pale", as well as having a "strange scent", showing the darker side of the speakers brother and also mentioning how "sleep is good, Death is better, yet surely never to have been born is best." In my opinion that phrase could mean many things depending on who you are and what your past is, but this sentence definitely brings a deeper meaning to the poem. I believe the speaker of this poem is the boy's brother since the writer is male himself and is describing his brother in a dark way towards the end of the poem. The figurative language within this poem is subtle, yet make up the poem. Heine uses the phrase "mirror likeness" as comparing the two sides of his brother to each other in saying that they are very similar. By referring to his brothers glace as blessed, Heine gives this poem a peaceful setting, as well as using imagery to let the reader visualize his views. Using the last sentence, and placing it at the end makes the reader think and adds a whole new dimension to the poem and the story it is telling. There is no rhyme scheme within this poem, but the stanza division is very interesting as not every stanza ends with a comma. There does not seem like much rhyme or reason goes into the stanza division of this poem but it gives a certain flow to the poem that makes different words stand out more than others. The tone that Heine gives to this poem really shapes it into what the story line is portraying, and trying to make the reader realize. At the beginning of the poem the tone seems more subtle and relaxed, as well as slightly loving and comforting giving the reader a sense if peace and serenity. The second half of the poem has the complete opposite tone as it did in the beginning of the poem, being more dreary, dreadful, and tense, leaving the reader perplexed and thinking about the overall meaning of the poem. The theme of this poem is that no matter how enticing a person may seem, there may always be a dark side to them.


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