''Der Untergang der Titanic'', or, in English, ''The Sinking of the Titanic'', is an epic and allegorical poem by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

poet Hans Magnus Enzensberger, first published by

Suhrkamp Verlag Suhrkamp Verlag is a German publishing house, established in 1950 and generally acknowledged as one of the leading European publishers of fine literature. Its roots go back to the "arianized" part of the S. Fischer Verlag. In January 2010 the ...

in 1978. The poem is primarily about the failure of Western civilization as an enterprise, a point which Enzensberger makes explicitly in the passage about

Icelanders Icelanders ( is, Íslendingar) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nation who are native to the island country of Iceland and speak Icelandic. Icelanders established the country of Iceland in mid 930 AD when the Althing (Parliament) met for ...

, who, when their properties are threatened by volcanic lava flows, endeavour to stem the inexorable tide with hoses: :''pointing more and more hoses at the advancing fiery lava'' :'' .and thus postponing,'' :''not forever perhaps, but for the time being at least,'' :''the Decline of Western Civilisation'' Similarities and parallels have been frequently drawn between this poem and

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biogr ...

's ''

The Waste Land ''The Waste Land'' is a poem by T. S. Eliot, widely regarded as one of the most important poems of the 20th century and a central work of modernist poetry. Published in 1922, the 434-line poem first appeared in the United Kingdom in the Octob ...

'', not only in terms of the subject matter but also in the way in which shifts in mood, perspective, time and voice conspire to move the reader to a single overwhelming point. The poem was adapted into an opera by Wilhelm Dieter Siebert.

References

1978 poems German poems Works originally published in German magazines Works about RMS Titanic {{1970s-poem-stub