ABSTRACT
Johann Gottfried Herder's influence is not only detected in Goethe's contribution to the Volkslieder anthologies; his work as a poet also reveals this influence, for many of his lyrics were set to native folk tunes. In examining the original Lieder with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's parodies, we can at once sense the relationship between the two and recognize the value of Goethe's poems. 'Liebhaber in allen Gestalten' is written in the form of a masquerade, and Goethe's language is equally surreptitious. The history of Goethe's poem demonstrates the close relationship between poetry and song in the eighteenth century. The juxtaposition of light with shade and 'Meere' with 'Quellen' is immediately apparent, and Goethe continues the use of comparison throughout the poem. Like Goethe's acquisition, Schubert's setting of 'Nahe des Geliebten' transcends the 'Ich denke dein' tradition of previous artists and mirrors the poet's intense emotional concentration in a song of great musical succinctness.
