Literary Analysis Of Walther Von Der Vogelweide

Walther von der Vogelweide (ca. 1170 - ca. 1230) was a German Minnesinger and is considered the most versatile and most significant poet of his time. In his early Lieder, he wrote mainly about courtly love, whereas his later Sprüche deal with political topics. “Unter der Linden” is one of his most known poems and belongs to the genre Mädchenlied. Unlike lieder of hohe Minne (high Minne), in which the poet sings about spiritual courtly love to an unattainable lady, Mädchenlieder are about the reciprocated love for a girl of lower rank and contain playful elements.
The poem was originally written in Middle High German and later translated into modern German by several authors, including Karl Simrock, whose translation in Lieder der Minnesinger from 1857 was set, among others, by Grieg as “Die verschwiegene Nachtigall”, Op. 48 No. 4. Pfitzner based his setting on a slightly different translation by Karl Pannier from 1876. Berg set the first verse of yet another translation as the third of his Jugendlieder.
The difference

Her lover made a bed of flowers for her (vv. 19-21) and many passers-by still laugh at the view (vv. 22-24), probably because it is evident what the place was used for and because of the abundance of flowers. The passers-by might guess the placement of her head from the roses (vv. 25-27). The poem reveals little about the girl, though she gets characterised through the way she speaks about her experiences. Even less is told about the man. The girl never addresses him directly; she just talks about him as her beloved (v. 12) in third person. He seems to be apt at preparing their bed and his choice of roses, a symbol of love, for her head could be interpreted as a display of affection. It is possible that he is of higher standing and that their relationship is forbidden for this reason. Another reason for their secret meeting outdoors might be their unmarried