Silen: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Willhelm busch silen.png|thumb|279px|[[Colorized]] version of the spanking scene in ''Silen'']] | [[Image:Willhelm busch silen.png|thumb|279px|[[Colorized]] version of the spanking scene in ''Silen'']] | ||
Revision as of 01:29, 1 December 2020
Silen is an illustrated German poem (a picture story) by Wilhelm Busch, originally published in Die Haarbeutel in 1878. Busch was 46 when he drew this.
The story is metaphoric and narrates an encounter of two characters from Greek/Roman mythology: Silen, a corpulent Dionysus-like figure, and Amor (Eros, Cupid), the god of love, a young naked boy with wings. Silen is Busch's take at the classic motif of Punished Cupid.
Meter
The work is set in metric, unrhyming verse. The meter is a elegiac distich; the first line of each pair is a dactylic hexameter and the second line is a dactylic pentameter. Each pair of lines is accompanied by an illustrating drawing in Busch's typical cartoon style.
This form of verse was used in antiquity for the composition of elegies and other tragic and solemn verse, as well as love poetry that was sometimes light and cheerful.
Synopsis
Silen has spent some pleasant time with a nymph (note: Dionysus stereotypically had nymphs in his retinue) and wine. He climbs his donkey, takes his thyrsus (note: the thyrsus was Dionysus's attribute, a giant fennel staff topped with a pine cone, a sacred instrument used at religious rituals and fetes) and rides off. He rides with some difficulty as he is quite drunk. On his way, Amor hides behind a bush to play a trick on him. Amor plays his pan flute, then shoots an arrow at Silen's donkey (note: the word Lausbub is used here, which means rascal, scallywag, prankster. Instead of the usual bow, Amor is using a blowgun, which seems to have been a popular child's toy in Busch's days). The donkey, hit in his rear end, bucks off Silen. Silen tries to catch Amor, but fails because Amor can fly off. Silen then pretends he has gone to sleep. Amor falls for the trick, comes near to tease him, and is caught. Silen punishes the little prankster, with visible pleasure. He spanks Amor, in the head-between-legs position, with his thyrsus. Meanwhile, the donkey has relieved himself of, and onto, Amor's arrow. After the spanking, Silen displumes Amor by plucking the feathers from his wings. He then rides triumphantly off on his donkey, taking Amor's blowgun, pan flute, and feathers with him. Amor, beaten and defeated, is left behind, crying.
The story
Behold, Silen sits in the well-formed nymph.
He likes to empty the jug, what he had already done several times.
(Siehe, da sitzet Silen bei der wohlgebildeten Nymphe
Gern entleert er den Krug, was er schon öfters getan.)
Although this was not entirely without appeal.
Wenn auch dieses nicht ganz ohne Beschwerde geschah.
Would be the same away from him, were it to him terribly fatal. -
Käme derselbe ihm weg, wär’ es ihm schrecklich fatal. -
Soon time he sits so soon again then another.
- Bald mal sitzet er so, bald auch wieder mal so.
But the donkey raises very serious concern the ear.
Aber der Esel erhebt äußerst bedenklich das Ohr.
Blows you back, so what is flying out front lace.
Pustet man hinten, so fliegt vorne was Spitzes heraus.
But the rider also has some stories do not like.
Aber der Reiter hat auch manche Geschichten nicht gern.
Apparently the body is asleep, but the soul is awake.
Scheinbar schlummert der Leib, aber die Seele ist wach.
While the bar handy sounding touches the cheek.
Während der handliche Stab tönend die Backe berührt.
First, she seems beautiful to him, secondly he uses it as well.
Erstens scheint sie ihm schön, zweitens gebraucht er sie auch.
Of course various kinds, but mostly you düdellütt!
Freilich verschiedenerlei, aber doch meistens düdellütt!
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