Min Magten var, Kløgt og Berøm, by Unknown — Analysis & Translation

Original Poem

Min Magten var, Kløgt og Berøm, og jeg var ung og sund. Jeg drak af Bægrets gyldne Strøm og kyssed Skjønheds Mundi. I Skjønheds Øines Straalepragt min Barm blev ømhedsfuld. Mit blev ved Hjælp af Kongens Magt, hvad Jorden har for Guld. Dog, mønstrer Mindtar Rækken af de Timer, o, hvori mig Jorden al sin Glæde gav, alt Livets Trylleri: saa gled ei Stund, saa Dag ei randt med uforbittret Lyst; og i min Herligheds Gevandt tit zittrede mit Bryst. Ved Kunst og mægtig Trylleord bli'er vilde Slange from; men væk ei trylles kan den Gjord, som knuger Hjertet om. Den lettes ei ved Toners Magt, ved Ord, af Viisdom talt. Men Sjælen, som i den er lagt, bli'er deraf stedse qvalt.

Translation (English)

My strength was intelligence and fame, and I was young and healthy. I drank from the goblet's golden flow and kissed beauty's lips. In the radiant splendor of beauty's eyes my heart became full of tenderness. With the king's power, I gained what the earth treasures as gold. Yet, when I recall the hours, oh, when all the earth gave me its joy, all of life's magic: no moment passed, no day went by without some bitterness; and in my glorious attire my heart often trembled. Through art and powerful magic words the wild snake becomes tame; but the belt that squeezes the heart cannot be charmed away. It is not eased by music's power, nor by words of wisdom. But the soul, trapped within, is always suffocated by it.

About the Poet

Unknown (Possibly 19th century)

The poet of this piece is unknown. Danish poetry has a rich history, with significant contributions during the Romantic era and the Modern Breakthrough in the 19th century.

Historical Context

Literary Form: Lyric poetry
When Written: Possibly 19th century
Background: The poem reflects themes of power, beauty, and the transient nature of life, common in Romantic and existentialist Danish literature.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_literature

Detailed Explanation

This Danish poem explores themes of power, beauty, and the fleeting nature of joy and life. The speaker reflects on a time when they were young, powerful, and indulged in the pleasures of life, symbolized by drinking from a golden goblet and kissing beauty. Despite their power and the joys granted by the earth, there is an underlying sense of dissatisfaction and the inevitability of life's constraints. The poem uses imagery of enchantment and magic to express the idea that some burdens, like the metaphorical belt squeezing the heart, cannot be alleviated by art or wisdom. The soul remains trapped, highlighting a sense of existential struggle and the limitations of human experience. The poem's structure and language evoke a sense of nostalgia and introspection, typical of Romantic and existentialist themes in Danish literature.

Themes

Literary Devices

Word Dictionary

Word	Meaning	Translation	Transliteration
Min	min	my	min
Magten	styrke	power	mag-ten
var	var	was	var
Kløgt	visdom	wisdom	kløgt
og	og	and	og
Berøm	berømmelse	fame	be-røm
jeg	jeg	I	jeg
ung	yngre	young	ung
sund	sund	healthy	sund
drak	drak	drank	drak
af	af	of	af
Bægrets	bægerets	goblet's	bæg-rets
gyldne	gyldne	golden	gyld-ne
Strøm	strøm	stream	strøm
kyssed	kyssede	kissed	kys-sed
Skjønheds	skønheds	beauty's	skjøn-heds
Mundi	mund	mouth	mun-di
Øines	øjne	eyes	øi-nes
Straalepragt	strålepragt	radiant splendor	straa-le-pragt
Barm	bryst	bosom	barm
ømhedsfuld	fuld af ømhed	full of tenderness	øm-heds-fuld
Mit	mit	mine	mit
ved	ved	by	ved
Hjælp	hjælp	help	hjælp
Kongens	kongens	king's	kon-gens
Magt	styrke	power	magt
Jorden	jorden	earth	jor-den
har	har	has	har
Guld	guld	gold	guld
Dog	dog	yet	dog
mønstrer	gennemgår	muster	møn-strer
Mindtar	minder	mind's	mind-tar
Rækken	rækken	row	ræk-ken
Timer	timer	hours	ti-mer
o	oh	oh	o
hvori	i hvilken	wherein	hvo-ri
mig	mig	me	mig
al	al	all	al
sin	sin	its	sin
Glæde	glæde	joy	glæ-de
gav	gav	gave	gav
alt	alt	all	alt
Livets	livets	life's	li-vets
Trylleri	magi	enchantment	tryl-le-ri
saa	så	so	saa
gled	gled	passed	gled
ei	ikke	not	ei
Stund	øjeblik	moment	stund
Dag	dag	day	dag
randt	løb	ran	randt
med	med	with	med
uforbittret	uden bitterhed	unembittered	u-for-bit-tret
Lyst	glæde	delight	lyst
Herligheds	herligheds	glory's	her-lig-heds
Gevandt	klædning	garment	ge-vandt
tit	ofte	often	tit
zittrede	rystede	trembled	zit-tre-de
Bryst	bryst	breast	bryst
Ved	ved	by	ved
Kunst	kunst	art	kunst
mægtig	stærk	mighty	mæg-tig
Trylleord	magisk ord	magic word	tryl-le-ord
bli'er	bliver	becomes	bli-er
vilde	vilde	wild	vil-de
Slange	slange	snake	slan-ge
from	tamme	tame	from
men	men	but	men
væk	væk	away	væk
trylles	fortrylles	charmed	tryl-les
kan	kan	can	kan
den	den	it	den
Gjord	bælte	belt	gjord
som	som	which	som
knuger	klemmer	squeezes	knu-ger
Hjertet	hjertet	heart	hjer-tet
om	om	around	om
lettes	lettet	lightened	let-tes
Toners	tonernes	tones'	to-ners
Ord	ord	words	ord
Viisdom	visdom	wisdom	viis-dom
talt	sagt	spoken	talt
Sjælen	sjælen	soul	sjæ-len
i	i	in	i
er	er	is	er
lagt	placeret	laid	lagt
deraf	deraf	thereby	der-af
stedse	altid	always	sted-se
qvalt	kvæles	choked	qvalt

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