The Fox And Huntsman.

Hard 'tis on a fox's traces

To arrive, midst forest-glades;
Hopeless utterly the chase is,

If his flight the huntsman aids.

And so 'tis with many a wonder,


(Why A B make Ab in fact,)
Over which we gape and blunder,

And our head and brains distract.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, poet, playwright, and natural philosopher, born on August 28, 1749, and died on March 22, 1832. He is considered one of the most important literary figures of the modern era. Goethe's best-known work, 'Faust,' is a profound exploration of human ambition, desire, and redemption. His contributions extend beyond literature into various fields, including science and politics. His writings and thoughts have had a lasting influence on Western culture.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The Misanthrope.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Simple Poetry

From Faust. Dedication.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Simple Poetry

The Erl-King.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Simple Poetry

Elegies. - Part II. Alexis And Dora.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Simple Poetry

English

Suggested Poems

Explore a curated selection of verses that share themes, styles, and emotional resonance with the poem you've just read.

Different Emotions On The Same Spot.

THE MAIDEN.

I'VE seen him before me!
What rapture steals o'er me!

Oh heavenly sight!
He's coming to meet me;
Perplex'd, I retreat me,

With shame take to flight.
My mind seems to wander!
Ye rocks and trees yonder,

Conceal ye my rapture.

Conceal my delight!

THE YOUTH.

'Tis here I must find her,
'Twas here she enshrined her,

Here vanish'd from sight.
She came, as to meet me,
Then fearing to greet me,

With shame took to flight.
Is't hope? Do I wander?
Ye rocks and trees yonder,

Disclose ye the loved one,

Disclose my delight!

THE LANGUISHING.

O'er my sad, fate I sorrow,
To each dewy morrow,

Veil'd here from man's sight
By the many mi...

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The Wolf And The Fox.

Whence comes it that there liveth not
A man contented with his lot?
Here's one who would a soldier be,
Whom soldiers all with envy see.

A fox to be a wolf once sigh'd.
With disappointments mortified,
Who knows but that, his wolfship cheap,
The wolf himself would be a sheep?

I marvel that a prince^[1] is able,
At eight, to put the thing in fable;
While I, beneath my seventy snows,
Forge out, with toil and time,
The same in labour'd rhyme,
Less striking than his prose.

The traits which in his work we meet,
A poet, it must be confess'd,
Could not have half so well express'd:
He bears the palm as more complete.
'Tis mine to sing it to the pipe;
But I expect that when the sands
Of Time have made my hero ripe,
He'...

Jean de La Fontaine

The Hare And The Fox (From Synnove Solbakken)

The fox lay still by the birch-tree's root
    In the heather.
The hare was running with nimble foot
    O'er the heather.
Was ever brighter a sunshine-day,
Before, behind me, and every way,
    O'er the heather!

The fox laughed low by the birch-tree's root
    In the heather.
The hare was running with daring foot
    O'er the heather.

I am so happy for everything!
Hallo! Why go you with mighty spring
    O'er the heather?

The fox lay hid by the birch-tree's root
    In the heather.
The hare dashed to him with reckless foot
    O'er the heather.
May God have mercy, but this is queer! -
Good gracious, how dare you dance so here
    O'er the heather?

Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson

The Fox, The Wolf, And The Horse.

^[1]

A fox, though young, by no means raw,
Had seen a horse, the first he ever saw:
'Ho! neighbour wolf,' said he to one quite green,
'A creature in our meadow I have seen, -
Sleek, grand! I seem to see him yet, -
The finest beast I ever met.'
'Is he a stouter one than we?'
The wolf demanded, eagerly;
'Some picture of him let me see.'
'If I could paint,' said fox, 'I should delight
T' anticipate your pleasure at the sight;
But come; who knows? perhaps it is a prey
By fortune offer'd in our way.'
They went. The horse, turn'd loose to graze,
Not liking much their looks or ways,
Was just about to gallop off.
'Sir,' said the fox, 'your humble servants, we
Make bold to ask you what your name may be.'
The horse, an animal with brains e...

Jean de La Fontaine

The Fox, The Flies, And The Hedgehog.

^[1]

A fox, old, subtle, vigilant, and sly, -
By hunters wounded, fallen in the mud, -
Attracted, by the traces of his blood,
That buzzing parasite, the fly.
He blamed the gods, and wonder'd why
The Fates so cruelly should wish
To feast the fly on such a costly dish.
'What! light on me! make me its food!
Me, me, the nimblest of the wood!
How long has fox-meat been so good?
What serves my tail? Is it a useless weight?
Go, - Heaven confound thee, greedy reprobate! -
And suck thy fill from some more vulgar veins!'
A hedgehog, witnessing his pains,
(This fretful personage
Here graces first my page,)
Desired to set him free
From such cupidity.
'My neighbour fox,' said he,
My quills these rascals shall empale,
And ease thy to...

Jean de La Fontaine

The Fox

The shepherd on his journey heard when nigh
His dog among the bushes barking high;
The ploughman ran and gave a hearty shout,
He found a weary fox and beat him out.
The ploughman laughed and would have ploughed him in
But the old shepherd took him for the skin.
He lay upon the furrow stretched for dead,
The old dog lay and licked the wounds that bled,
The ploughman beat him till his ribs would crack,
And then the shepherd slung him at his back;
And when he rested, to his dog's surprise,
The old fox started from his dead disguise;
And while the dog lay panting in the sedge
He up and snapt and bolted through the hedge.

He scampered to the bushes far away;
The shepherd called the ploughman to the fray;
The ploughman wished he had a gun to shoot.
The ol...

John Clare