Images of the Fire and Light in the Wilhelm Müller’s Cycle of Verses “Winterreise”

Abstract

In the paper motives of the fire and light are researched in the last cycle of the poet of the late German Romanticism, Wilhelm Müller “Winter Road”. Images of their sources are considered, among which sky luminaries (sun and moon), folklore images (will-o'-the-wisp). These motives are central in the cycle by Müller and the construct the plot of many poems, contact with lyrical hero and form space and temporal structure. Primarily, they “frame” the base plot of the cycle: departure of the young men from beautiful sweetheart and his chaotic wanderings on the world. It forms a dichotomy of light past and dark, hopeless present. Contradistinction of darkness and light is divided into close opposition motive systems: spring-winter, fire-cold, sun-darkness, life-death. It causes the final of cycle, in which the hero gives up life and leave in himself dark world and go in continue winter road with a blind organ grinder. The article examines the connections of the cycle with German folklore, Romanticism and Pre-romanticism (J.W. Goethe, C. Brentano) and other famous cycle of Müller “Beautiful miller’s lady”.