Paul Celan, Todesfuge [Death Fugue]

Adrian Del Caro (University of Tennessee, Knoxville)

Ed. by Jennifer Marston William, Purdue University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1948

Places

Germany (Publication/ performance)
Romania (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poem

Resources

“Death Fugue”

Black milk of dawn we drink it evening
we drink it noon and morning we drink it night
we drink and drink
we shovel a grave in the breezes there we lie far apart
A man lives in the house he plays with the snakes he writes
he writes when it gets dark to Germany your golden hair Margarete
he writes it and steps in front of the house and the stars sparkle he whistles his mastiffs to him
he whistles his Jews to assemble has them shovel a grave in the earth
he commands us to start playing for the dancing

Black milk of dawn we drink you night
we drink you morning and noon we drink you evening

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1874 words

Citation: Del Caro, Adrian . "Todesfuge". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 June 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35010, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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