ISBN:
9781469656793
,
1469656795
,
9781469656786
,
1469656787
Language:
English
Pages:
1 Online-Ressource (xi, 121 pages)
Series Statement:
University of North Carolina studies in the Germanic languages and literatures no. 112
Parallel Title:
Erscheint auch als Roche, Mark William Gottfried Benn's static poetry
Keywords:
Benn, Gottfried Criticism and interpretation
;
Benn, Gottfried - 1886-1956
;
Benn, Gottfried - 1886-1956
;
Benn, Gottfried
;
LITERARY CRITICISM - European - German
;
Lyrik
;
Criticism, interpretation, etc
Abstract:
This book consists of close readings of four poems illustrating Gottfried Benn's developing conception of stillness or stasis: "Trunkene Flut" (1927), "Wer allein ist—" (1936), "Statische Gedichte" (1944), and "Reisen" (1950). Mark Roche pays particular attention to the interrelation of form and content, and he uncovers previously overlooked allusions to thinkers such as Aristotle, Seneca, and Meister Eckhart. Benn's supposedly pure poetry of stasis is in reality an expression of opposition to nazi ideology, Roche argues, and should be viewed in the context of inner emigration. Nevertheless, Benn's opposition to nazism unwittingly rests on the same decisionistic foundation as the power positivism he deplores. Benn's well-intentioned critique of nazism is ultimately unsuccessful. The book concludes with a theoretical postscript that suggest ways in which intellectual history could be made productive for literary interpretation and provides arguments in favor of an "aesthetic" analysis attentive to both formal structures and philosophical coherence
Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 107-117) and index
Permalink
