Venetian Epigrams XXVII
Venetian Epigrams XXVII - meaning Summary
Love Displaces Poetic Inspiration
Goethe presents a compact reflection on how love and boredom alternately summon creativity. When a lover occupies him, the Muses withdraw; after the relationship ends, despair drives him toward self-harm and the Muses still remain absent. Unexpectedly, boredom — not romantic passion — restores poetic impulse, framed as the "mother of the Muse." The epigram wryly links emotional states with the presence or absence of artistic inspiration.
Read Complete AnalysesAll Nine often used to come to me, I mean the Muses: But I ignored them: my girl was in my arms. Now I’ve left my sweetheart: and they’ve left me, And I roll my eyes, seeking a knife or rope. But Heaven is full of gods: You came to aid me: Greetings, Boredom, mother of the Muse.
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