Blogging Nietzsche—Nietzsche's Poetry: "My Happiness"
It is not commonly known that Nietzsche was not only a philosopher and a philologist but also a poet, a songwriter, and a composer. How could it be otherwise, given his view that humans at their best are artistically creative subjects, which is at the heart of Nietzsche’s concept of the übermensch and of a “future philosopher”—someone who is able to transcend our weak, herd-like natures and the need for objectivity, in favor of individual strength of character and artistic self-expression?
Nietzsche’s poetry can be thought of as a microcosm of his overall philosophy—an artistically expressed performance of the concepts and values he praises elsewhere in his philosophical writing, a living version of them even.
Because the connection between Nietzsche’s poetry and his overall philosophy may not be clear at first glance, I thought it would be helpful to look at Nietzsche’s poetry, beginning here and in subsequent posts, through the lens of his overall philosophy. In each post I will look at a single poem by Nietzsche and attempt to interpret that poem in terms of the philosophical themes and insights from Nietzsche that strike me as most salient.
The first poem that I want to examine is “My Happiness” (Nietzsche, The Gay Science, ‘Joke, Cunning, and Revenge’ Prelude in German Rhymes, No. 2):
2. My Happiness
Since I grew weary of the search
I taught myself to find instead
Since cross winds caused my ship to lurch
I sail with all winds straight ahead
In these four lines you can see Nietzsche’s existentialism coming through loud and clear. While ordinary people easily grow weary of the search—not merely for happiness, but for authenticity, fulfillment, and accomplishment as well, which are different for everyone—dragged down by the storms and challenges and disappointments of life—the strong individual teaches himself or herself to overcome those adversities by turning inward and finding one’s own hidden strengths.
How many of us lean on excuses as to why we aren’t fulfilled or happy or able to accomplish what we want in life, rather than buckling down and pushing forward with determination to build a future for ourselves out of our own willpower? No matter the crosswinds that knock us off course, we can always right our ship and sails and set a course—either our original course or a new course as our priorities and our selves change over time.
But the crosswinds Nietzsche mentions don’t refer only to life’s hardships; they refer equally to the contentment and safety of staying on the shoreline, never setting off on the journey in the first place, instead of boldly setting sail into your own future. Some people don’t even get far enough to face the dangers of life—they remain timid and afraid of the unknowns, safe and secure perhaps, but afraid even to get on the ship, much less to face the adversity of life.
Likewise, it is not enough merely to set a course. You must set your own course as master of your own life—the course that is most authentic for you. Sometimes the crosswinds are other people’s visions for your life—those of your family, your culture, your religion, your teachers, your peers, your countrymen—even sometimes those of your own former self. At every moment you must be willing to leave the safety of the present shoreline, to take a bold left turn into the headwinds of life, to chart your own path and break with other people’s expectations for your life, with only your own sense and knowledge of self to guide you and to keep you on course.
For Further Reading:
The Gay Science by Friedrich Nietzsche
