Der Jüngling und der Tod is a dialogue between a youth and Death. Written in March 1817, Schubert later revised the song by altering the final transition and coda. The second version bears a striking similarity to Der Tod und das Mädchen, composed one month earlier. Upon examination of both versions of the lied, it is clear Schubert intentionally revised Der Jüngling to refer to the earlier work.
Although both songs feature a similar narrative, the youth and the maiden exhibit very different reactions to the foreboding character, Death. Der Tod und das Mädchen depicts a young maiden’s struggle to escape death. The maiden’s text features short exclamations. Terrified, she begs, “Pass me by! Go, fierce man of bones! I am still young!”
A young boy begs for death in Der Jüngling und der Tod; Death takes pity on the youth and grants a gentle passing. The youth’s unsettling text begins as a lament; he sings “The sun is sinking; would that I could depart with it.” Throughout, his text is poetic yet pleading; he welcomes death in the second…show more content… While the maiden adamantly rejects Death’s advances, the youth, however, welcomes death. Significantly, the youth’s emotional condition greatly differs from the maiden’s terror. He is melancholic and seeks relief from the cruelties of life; he longs for the escape death provides. The youth’s text typify the exaggerated, overly-emotional reaction of the Romantic young poet/artist persona during the 19th century.
Throughout both songs, Schubert employs tactile imagery. For example, “And do not touch me” in Mädchen and “O come and touch me, come!” in Jüngling illustrate the notion of “touching death.” Such similar imagery suggests a connection between the two songs. Additionally, both songs refer to “Death’s arms” and promise comfort. The evocative image of the character, Death, holding or surrounding someone is described and the word “sanft” (gentle or softly)