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From the lyrics of the song Die Gedanken sind frei

Ich denke was ich will und was mich beglücket

doch alles in der Still', und wie es sich schicket

Are "beglücket" and "schicket" in Konjunktiv I just because the song is old? Would someone still say those sentences today?

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This isn't Konjunktiv I. Konjunktiv 1 is used for indirect speech (and other stuff) as in:

Direct: Ich gehe heute zur Schule.
Indirect: Er sagte, er gehe heute zur Schule.

"beglücket" and "schicket" are just old forms of "beglückt" and "schickt". I would use these new forms instead of the old ones.

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Both "beglücket" and "schicket" are not Konjuntiv. They are inflected forms of "beglücken" and "schicken" - in the most cases it would be "beglückt" and "schickt"

They are old forms. But I would rather say literary forms, as you can find them also today in poems or songs.

People speaking with them are rare - and when they do it is because they want to express something like sounding old fashioned...

Also using the Konjunktive isn't as unimaginable as you might think, though it is in the most cases not done wilfully.

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  • These forms are used today either as deliberate archaic usage (e.g. to imitate the language of traditional German bibles, or classical writers), or to make words better fit a particular meter. The latter usage is generally not a recipe for high quality poetry and songs ;-)
    – microtherion
    May 24, 2014 at 13:38
  • Yes youre right, but in the English language the Subjunctive is nearly dead i think. I am a German and I do use it sometimes when it fits. And in scientific textes it is used. And sometimes also in the spoken language... It is not directly "old fashioned".
    – synthax
    May 24, 2014 at 13:43
  • Ich habe keine Ahnung, was Du mit dem letzten Satz der Antwort ausdrücken möchtest.
    – Carsten S
    May 24, 2014 at 16:25

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