Wonder-Work: Selected Sonnets of Catharina Regina von Greiffenberg

A Poetry Review by:

Donne, Herbert, and other Metaphysical poets of the seventeenth century are known for their wit, sonnets, and conceits that juxtapose the sacred and profane, physical and metaphysical realms. Their contemporary, Catharina Regina von Greiffenberg, exhibits many of these traits in her sonnets, which are influenced by Roman Catholic and Lutheran traditions, and ably translated from the original German by Joanne Epp, Sally Ito, and Sarah Klassen. Her wordplay and “sound-painting” are evident in these sonnets of Wonder-Work.

Consider her compact epigraph, “Uber die Nachtigel,” where she gives voice to her pastoral nightingale:

“Hear the noble nightingale’s

sweet song

echo through the woods.

With lyric verses

she fulfills

her duty to her Maker.”

Strong alliteration accounts for the echo, as does assonance of noble/echo and through/woods, while the liquid l’s in noble and nightingale flow to “lyric” and “fulfills” in the second half. The duet between bird and poet leads to the final “Maker” who has created these sounds.

The “Prologue,” titled “Christian Plan and Purpose,” is divided formally into octave and sestet in the English translation whereas the original German sonnet remains undivided in its 14 lines. The strict rhyme scheme in the original gets lost in translation, which relies more on alliteration for sound effects. From plan and purpose, the sonnet alliterates game and goal, loves and lauds and live, flame and fearless and fire. The octave opens with a sonic opening: “O all, to whom in all things I submit / in everything I am, begin, think, write!” Iambic pentameter rhythms flow through the initial enjambment to be arrested by the caesuras of verbs. In addition, the interplay between long and short vowels intensifies the relationship between poet and God in a stamping procession: “I direct my game and goal to your high honour, / Ah, let me strive toward your praise, the angel’s purpose.” After the initial enjambment the lines that follow stop emphatically. The poet situates herself within the Great Chain of Being, identifying with “the angel’s purpose” in striving toward God.

Imperatives take over this devotional teleology:

“Let only that which loves and lauds you, live in me.

Ah, give me fire and wit to carry out my duty.

Deny me not the Spirit-Surge, the wingéd flame.

Turn fearlessness to fire so I may actually uplift you.”

The combination of heart and mind within “fire and wit” points to passion and thought within the conceits of Metaphysical wit. This duality inheres in the hyphenated and alliterated “Spirit-Surge” and “Wonder-Work.” The winged flame approaches a singed flame, as liquid l’s give way to flickering f’s of sound and motion.

Most of the poems revolve around Christmas, New Year, Lent, Ascension, Eucharist, and Pentecost. Poems in the final series are devoted to the seasons. In “The Long Winter of Affliction” the poet identifies with the season and concludes: “We must strive long in faith and prayer / till, conquered, Heaven steps freely to our side.” The poet then rejoices in several sonnets devoted to spring, “Spring Delight in Praise of God.” The first poem ends with elongated, embracing lines: “Let lavish love and praise turn your very selves to burning coals. / Upon them lay your offerings of gratitude: let sweet aromas fill the earth.” We turn the pages and seasons of Wonder-Work from “Lovely Summer-Time” to “Faithful Autumn.”

“Epilogue” completes the sonnets with “The Unquenchable Noble Art of Poetry.” This final sonnet highlights wit, wonder, and delight – qualities that recur throughout the collection. Sally Ito’s “Afterword” examines von Greiffenberg’s compounded words and her connection to Gerard Manley Hopkins. Translations by Epp, Ito, and Klassen capture the ecstasy and rapture of Wonder-Work.

Catharina Regina von Greiffenberg (1633-1694), considered one of the most noteworthy German-language poets of the seventeenth century, was born into a family of the Protestant nobility in Austria midway through the Thirty Years’ War. Unusually well-educated for a woman of her time, she read widely and learned several languages. After experiencing a spiritual awakening as a young adult, she resolved to glorify God through her writing. Her works include a volume of poetry and three volumes of meditations on the life, suffering, and death of Christ.

POETRY / LITERATURE IN TRANSLATION / 17th CENTURY STUDIES
November 2023 | 168 pages | 5½ x 8 paper | $30.00
ISBN 978-1-987986-14-3 https://www.cmu.ca/cmu-press

Michael Greenstein

Poetry Editor

Michael Greenstein is a retired professor of English at the Université de Sherbrooke. He is the author of Third Solitudes: Tradition and Discontinuity in Jewish-Canadian Literature and has published widely on Victorian, Canadian, and American-Jewish literature.