1 [A Young Man Loves a Maiden]

Heine’s lines, “It is so old a story,/ Yet somehow always new” (9-10) echo this observation. Similar stories share elements as they embody one archetypical path of a sort of love-story hero

cycle. Heine’s poem is romantic in that instead of focusing on the universal concept of love unfulfilled

in humanity as a whole, it centers its plight back to an individual, the young man first in love. The poem acknowledges how for the young man, the story and experience is new, and to “[have]

just lived it,/ It breaks his heart in two” (11-12). Yes, affection is often one-sided and that is the way of the world, but Romantic concepts put weight on the unfortunate, devastated young man. The emphasis on the plight of the individual in the poem highlights how each ubiquitous story of

love unattained leaves heartbreak with the individuals involved.

In the first 8 lines of the poem, Heine quickly and deliberately sets up a complicated story, with “A young man loves a maiden /Who chooses another instead /This other loves still another /And these two haply wed” (1-4). With a chain of one young person loving another and with no

reciprocation of those affections, Heine introduces two men and two women, but only one of the young men apparently satisfied. The next four lines have the first maiden quickly wedding yet

another young man. The complexity of this love polygon could represent another Romantic idea, that the human world is too complex and people should return to a simpler time and live with Nature.

2 [A Young Man Loves a Maiden]

The repetitiveness of the ages emerges from Heine’s lines. In complete adherence to emotion

over reason, the maiden of the poem does not consider logical recourse to an unrequited love. In the version I found, the maiden, in a blind emotional outbreak, weds the first man who presented himself, thus causing the heartbreak of the original man. Heine’s poem recounts the folly of

simultaneous heart breaks, and the human nature that forces the same occurrence to repeat itself in “an old, old story, / Yet still forever new” (9-10). In this tale, one successful love results in

two “breaks [of] the heart” (12). Heine uses “From spite, the maiden marries / the first who comes along” (5-6) to indicate that the maiden does not care about the primary boy’s affections. Insecure and made cruel by a recent

heart break, the maiden, spurned by the one she loved, in turn spurns another. With no hope for herself, Heine implies that the maiden adopts a “if I cannot marry the one I love, neither can he”

mentality. The maiden’s attitude of impatience and spite creates a situation that “the youth must rue” (8). Romantic qualities of this poem have the girl give in to her emotion instead of catching a second wind and reasoning through to a new solution.

Feeling slightly less than joyous after reading this poem, sorrowful by most standards, I wondered at the thoughtlessness of youth that drives these reactions, the spontaneous outbursts

of pure emotion that would cause such pain.

Heine begins and ends the poem describing the depressing scene of these two tress, influenced by the subjective feeling he place in his words. The loneliness, the bare plateau, the ice, and the sunburnt rock all contribute to picturing an uneventful, unhappy, and unsatisfactory place for

life. He personifies nature, giving the trees the ability to dream, to hope, to mourn, and to suffer, which are the main qualities, both good and bad, that make up us humans or the feelings that

deeply effect humans in their thinking. By personifying the two trees, Heine is going beyond the appearance of nature, as well as the moods of Nature, and focusing more on the deeper feelings

that can drive or ruin one's life. Including the lines, "a bright white blanket / enshrouds him in ice and snow" (3-4) and "on a

sunburnt rock strand, (8) Heine is showing his interest in Nature and scenery. Here, in this poem, there is a distinct contrast between the two habitats of the trees, yet both are lonely and mourn

for something new to satisfy them. This brings up the idea or topic that one may not be satisfied through one's surroundings, but through one's personal thoughts. This poem has shown that feelings can be much stronger and much more important than the objects around oneself,

emphasizing the importance of the power of the imagination and personal expression, for the pine tree dreams of such a place that the palm tree resides in. Yet both trees are in the same state

of being, possibly expressing that individuals with similarities can find solace or consolation in one another, something that is present in the behavior of humans.

In Heinrich Heine’s “[A Pine Is Standing Lonely],” there is distinct separation between reality and fantasy. The poem’s message is one of escaping and of living a different life outside of one’s

actual constrictions. This idea of emancipation and freedom directly coincides with the mentalities of romanticism, of imagination and liberation. This is conveyed through the using of

a natural symbol, the tree in its environment, which here is wishing to escape his blanket of cold and situation of “standing lonely” and reach a state of warmth and paradise. The contrast in temperatures, natural settings, and physical beings makes clear that the poem is a form of

romanticism and is also key to allowing the reader to feel the emotions portrayed by the author. While, upon reading the poem, the sudden contrast from such a sorrowful environment to such a

pleasant one may at first spark a sense of joy, the poem is ultimately depressing, as the reader realizes that the cold blanket of ice is reality, and the sunny beach weather is but a flight of the mind's eye.

--Alec Herskowitz

3 [A Young Man Loves a Maiden]

What is so remarkable about this poem is that fact that poet Heinrick Heine isn't talking about

anything new. Many people have said the same things about human relationships, but Heine manages to enlighten the subject of emotional confusion and love with a kind simplicity. He passes little judgement on his subjects, nor does he write their memoirs. The poem tells the truth,

and it is plain and short and beautiful. One is reminded of "Casablanca" and the song "As Time Goes By" with the closing "It is an old, old story,/ Yet still forever new" (9-10).

It is not blantantly Romantic, for it lacks that intense microscope on the individual, and its connection of nature is tenuous. It's focus is rather on the nature of humans, and the interconnection of many individuals.

Perhaps the simplicity of the poem is what makes it feel so universal. Though marriages may not have sprung out of it as described in the poem, most have found themselves in at least one of the

positions described: being an object of jealousy, being loved without returning the affection, or

vice versa. In any case, the poem strikes a chord as it, in only twelve lines, manages to infuse well-worn

subject matter with new vitality via Heine's careful work as wordsmith.

4 [Ein Jüngling liebt ein Mädchen]

This poet writes of a man's one-side love of a women, even though she "has chosen another" (2). However, it avoids the focus on the individual which is a key concept of Romanticism. Rather,

the poet focuses on the natural tendencies of all humans, which is a different take then most poet use when focusing on Nature. The poet writes that "It's an old story,/ but it always stays new" (9-10). There are no names or places given, making the poem a generalization and warning for

whoever reads it.

//Max Timkovich

5 "A Young Man Loves A Maiden"

This poem is Romantic because it puts an emphasis on the emotion of the five individuals involved, and of how their actions are common to all people. Their emotions, love and spite, aren't emotions that necessarily benefit anyone, so to make those the defining points of the

characters is different from previous poetry. But the universality of those emotions is what makes the poem so successful because most people have felt those emotions to some degree, and

to have them as the main focus makes the poem a much more general case, and one that would reach many more people.

The simplistic aspect of the poem is especially unique, as Heine as detailed a common dilemma for many in just a few lines, even managing to add an epilogue of sorts at the end. Adding to the

simplicity is the commonness of the story itself. Heine writes that "it is an old, old story" (9), yet the perspective and enlightenment makes this poem "forever new" (10).

6 A Young Man Loves a Maiden by Heinrich Heine

This poem tells the classic tale of a girl marrying in spite of another male loving her. The first, I did not see how it had any emotional tie, and sounded like it should be read in a monotone. After

a second reading, however, It picture a sad man reading this poem as though he had just gone through a painful event such as this. He has had this encounter more than once, for he knows

how the story will end each time, even though he doesn’t realize it until the end. This man displays many romantic aspects, as he himself has gone through these events, or seen

them first hand. He explores his thoughts as he realizes his mistakes, and hers, and is able to get in touch with his true feelings.