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Yes, everyone knows that knowledge is
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something very important in school. But
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we want to show here that when
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interpreting poems, for example, too
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much knowledge or knowledge applied too
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quickly can also be a trap—in a
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twofold sense—and, of course, we will
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show how to avoid that. In this video,
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therefore, we will explain what happens
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. When school knowledge and research
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say the same thing but still lead you
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astray, what is missing in 16 lines of
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a poem and why that is decisive, and
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why in school the text of the poem is
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more important than the context and
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even what the poet said about it. This
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is, above all, an important tip for
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interpretations and, of course,
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especially for exams. And here we have
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a diagram that we will explain shortly.
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Let’s take a closer look at this
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diagram. Here is the student standing
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in front of a poem that they need to
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interpret. If they were diligent, they
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have preconceptions; the first comes
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from classroom knowledge: in 1914,
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there was great war enthusiasm in
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Germany, and they also covered Schiller
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, who said in a poem: "And if you do
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not stake your life, life will never be
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won by you." And then this is further
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reinforced by a second preconception.
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Naturally not in the exam, but at home,
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for example, one might consult
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NotebookLM. consulted. Maybe we should
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add that here as well. That is what we
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used. And you adopt certain things, for
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example, which is why it is identical
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on the left and right here, that the
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poet signed the "Manifesto of the
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Ninety-Three" shortly after the
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outbreak of World War I. The Germans,
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especially the representatives of
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culture, wanted to show the whole world
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that their culture was something nobler
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and that the others attacking them had
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an inferior culture. And he signed it,
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entirely in the spirit of national
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sentiment and nationalism. He also
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definitely wrote war songs in 1914 and
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argued with a Romain Rolland—you
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don't have to remember him, he was a
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writer who was clearly against the war
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from the very beginning. He had an
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argument with him. And it is also
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stated quite clearly that this poem,
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which is the subject here—namely "
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Come, let us go die"—affirms
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sacrificial death and the farewell to
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wife and child, viewing it as a duty.
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We left that out on the left because it
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is very biographical, but with the
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other things, you feel you are on the
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right track and then arrive at this
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hypothesis. This poem shows a call for
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the final mission with a willingness to
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die. Now, we already pointed out
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earlier that you should be a bit
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cautious here and that the text is more
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important than the biographical context
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, right? Everyone knows that someone
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can occasionally say something
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different from what they said just
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yesterday. And we’re going to take a
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closer look at that in the poem now. So
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, we’ve prepared the poem here a
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little bit so it’s easy to follow
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along. For instance, "Come, let us go
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and die." Hey, please, which superior
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tells their people, when they are about
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to go into battle, that it’s all
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about dying? Everyone hopes to be among
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the survivors, after all. And then
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there is talk of the dead, fists, and
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cramping. That means it’s pointing
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directly to the corpses, the dead, and
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the terrible conditions in which they
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died. Then it’s pointed out that back
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home, the family situation, the
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responsibility as a husband and father,
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cannot simply be utilized. For what? We
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will see that in a moment. At this
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point at the latest, you have to arrive
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at the question: what am I even
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supposed to die for? And then, in the
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third stanza, "Unless I am riddled with
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holes, the campaign cannot succeed."
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Here, for the first time, and the only
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time, you get the feeling: that’s
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what I should die for, so the campaign
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succeeds. Who has an interest in the
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campaign? Well, um, there’s a famous
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case from the First World War where a
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general sent his soldiers into a deadly
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battle for a summit or a hill for the
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sake of his career. There’s also a
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famous film about that; we’ll link it
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in the video info. That’s where it
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becomes very, very questionable. And
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also at the end, "Come my dear comrade,
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may we both, equals, stand in rank and
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file today, tomorrow lie corpse by
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corpse." So, one sees something here.
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This text presents the willingness to
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sacrifice in such a pointed way that it
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becomes questionable, and there is no
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positive goal other than the success of
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the campaign. You just have to imagine,
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as a thought experiment, would an
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editor who is supposed to stir up
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enthusiasm want to print this poem?
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Propaganda shows the greatness of the
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sacrifice and the victory, not the
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dying itself. Yes. Which coach, right,
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would say before a victory, "Guys, you
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have to fight your hearts out today,
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and in the end, we’ll just lose."
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That’s part of it. That, of course,
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is completely out of the question. What
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you can remember here is that level one
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in school is always the text. The
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analysis of the text is the first and
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most important level. No matter what
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else you know about the poet, that can
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be added later. But that is important
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for now. Life and work, building upon
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that, one can classify literature
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historically. In school, as I said,
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level 1 takes priority. Meaning arises
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in the conversation between teacher,
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text, and reader in that exchange. And
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by the way, scholarship also always
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needs level 1. Texts must be read anew
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again and again, otherwise the
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so-called paradigm continues. A
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paradigm is what one currently thinks
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one knows. But that doesn't have to be
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true; this prevailing view should and
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must be verified. We hope we could
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contribute to the idea that, even if
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you have discussed it in class and find
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during your own research at home that
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it points in a certain direction, it
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may not be true in every individual
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case. One can sometimes be smarter than
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the paradigm, one might say, the
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prevailing opinion. There are materials
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here on this page as always, and we
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will add a button up here so everyone
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can quickly get to the page for further
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information to deepen the topic, and we
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wish you success with independent
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thinking and careful examination of the
