The Silesian Weavers
By Heinrich Heine
In sad eyes there sheds no tear,
They sit at the loom and grind their teeth:
Germany, we weave your shroud;
And into it we weave a threefold curse–
–We weave; we weave.One curse upon the God to whom we prayed
In Winter’s chill and hunger’s despair;
In vain did we hope and persevere,
He mocked, hoaxed and ridiculed us–
–We weave; we weave.A curse upon the king, the rich man’s king
Who did naught to soften our misery,
Who pried the last penny from our hands
And had us shot like dogs–
–We weave; we weave.A curse upon the false fatherland,
Where nothing thrives but disgrace and shame,
Where every flower buckles before its day,
Where rot and mold hasten the worm’s work–
–We weave; we weave.The shuttle flies, the loom creaks,
Assiduously we weave day and night–
Old Germany, we weave your shroud,
We weave into it a three-fold curse,
–We weave; we weave!
Summary of The Silesian Weavers
- Popularity of “The Silesian Weavers”: “The Silesian Weavers” by Heinrich Heine, a popular German poet and critic, is a beautiful piece of poetry. The poem appeared first in 1844 in one of his books. Later, it was translated into several languages for its thematic strand of weavers. The poem was first rendered into English by none other than Friedrich Engels, the communist legend. The unique quality of the poem, however, lies in the music that the weavers create like that of their shuttle’s movements.
- “The Silesian Weavers” As a Representative of Laborers and Exploitation: This beautiful lyric starts with the situation of the weavers who do not shed tears and just sit on their looms, grinding tears at the death of their real Germany where they used to earn their bread. In the second stanza they berate even God for neglecting them and for Whom they always kneel in prayers. Yet, they stay hopeful and continue weaving. Then they curse their king who has not taken their misery into account who have taken out every penny from their pockets in terms of taxes. In the final stanza, they curse their fatherland for do not taking care of its sons for doing hard work, the reason that they are weaving its shroud. Therefore, they are weaving a three-fold curse. In the midst of these curses and chants, they continue weaving.
- Major Themes in “The Silesian Weavers”: Persistence, hard work and misery are three major themes of the poem. The poem shows the use of the refrain “we weave” at the end of every stanza with “where…” and “who…” as anaphoric words. These techniques stress upon his theme of persistence and hard work. However, the curses that the weavers evoke in the beginning of every stanza shows their misery. It means that they are not getting the price of their hard work, the reason that they are claiming that they are weaving the shroud of their fatherland. The poem shows the thematic strand of communism and its origin in Germany as well.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “The Silesian Weavers”
literary devices are essential for poetic or prose writing. The analysis of these devices in the poem as given below shows this fact.
- Anaphora: It means to use a group of words or a phrase in the beginning of every clause or verse such as the use of “who…” and “where…”
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /o/ in “Germany, we weave your shroud”, /o/ in “One curse upon the God to whom we prayed” and the sound of /e/ in “Who did naught to soften our misery.”
- Alliteration: It is the use of successive consonant sounds in the initials of the successive words such as /b/ in “buckles before”, the sound of /w/ in “we weave” and /f/ in “false fatherland.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /w/ and /r/ in “And into it we weave a threefold curse”, /k/ and /d/ in “He mocked, hoaxed and ridicules us,” and the sound of /n/ and /f/ in “A curse upon the false fatherland.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
Who pried the last penny from our hands
And had us shot like dogs–
–We weave; we weave.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as “A curse upon the king, the rich man’s king”, “The shuttle flies” and “the loom creaks.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows the use of the metaphor of weaving for hard work.
- Personification: The poet has shown the use of personifications of flower and work as having life and emotions of their own.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of religious symbols such as looms, shuttles, and shrouds for the misery of the hard workers.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “The Silesian Weavers”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction and Tone: The poem shows repetitive diction with a serious and tragic tone.
- Free Verse: The poem shows the use of free verse that means no restriction of rhyme scheme or metrical pattern.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are five stanzas with each having five verses.
- Refrain: The poem shows the use of a refrain or a verse repetition at the end of each stanza such as “We weave; we weave.”
- Repetition: The poem shows the use of repetition such as “where”, “who”, and “we weave.”
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “The Silesian Weavers” are relevant to use when discussing the old politics and response of the people toward their kings/queens.
A curse upon the king, the rich man’s king
Who did naught to soften our misery,
Who pried the last penny from our hands
And had us shot like dogs–
–We weave; we weave.
