In April 1844, in St. Goar on the Rhine, the poet Ferdinand Freiligrath wrote a poem called Hamlet. It opens: Deutschland ist Hamlet! Germany is Hamlet. Every night, buried freedom walks at its gates and signals to the men on watch. But the prince does not act.
Er sinnt und träumt und weiß nicht Rat. He ponders and dreams and does not know what to do.
Sein bestes Tun ist eben Denken. His best deed is simply thinking.
Er lag und las zu viel im Bett. He lay and read too much in bed.
Drum fehlt ihm die Entschlossenheit. That is why he lacks resolve.