But Eichendorff's individuality, with its constant
accentuation of the acoustic, soon made itself felt and brought into
German poetry what Tieck had tried for and failed in--an effect of
perfect musical synthesis. The melody of the verse receives a peculiar
lilt by frequent changes in metre between stanzas or in the midst of
the stanza, and is thus saved from monotony. Were its metrical harmony
tiring in any way, it could not have been set to music with such
surprising success. As it is, Eichendorff's poetry has become a
permanent part of the musical life of the nation. _The Broken
Ring_ has passed into a folk-song, and _"O valleys wide!"_ with
Mendelssohn's music is a popular choral of deep religious import.
Yet Eichendorff does not attract either by the variety of his themes
or of his rhymes. It is his very repetitions which so endear him
to the popular heart. His is not passionate poetry, nor does it
subjectively portray the soul-life of its author. In fact, it is saved
from monotony of content at times only by its extreme honesty and
its lovable simplicity. There is none of Goethe's power of suggesting
landscape in a few touches, none of Goethe's logic of description,
none of Goethe's clear inner objectivity, but a certain haze lies over
Eichendorff's landscapes--the haze of a lyric Corot; at the same time,
this landscape has the power of suggestion to the German mind.
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