German Classic Love Poems: ‘Nearness of the Beloved’
Verses translated by Julia Kalman
4 min readMar 23, 2024
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And Now… The Story Behind the Poems:
“You Long To Love” by Thekla Lingen was later set to music by Carl Friedrich Zelter. When Goethe listened to the composition, he transformed it into “Nearness of the Beloved.” Was Goethe in love with Thekla or solely enchanted by her verses?
Read the following poems… to find out…
You Long To Love by Thekla Lingen
I.
You long to love, you say to me,
Oh, just once would you desire
To feel the bliss, the ecstasy,
Mixed with torment’s…
