Types of Weltschmerz in German Poetry

Types of Weltschmerz in German Poetry

The work which is presented in the following pages is intended to be a modest contribution to the natural history of Weltschmerz. The writer has endeavored first of all to define carefully the distinction between pessimism and Weltschmerz; then to classify the latter, both as to its origin and its forms of expression, and to indicate briefly its relation to mental pathology and to contemporary social and political conditions. The three poets selected for discussion, were chosen because they represent distinct types, under which probably all other poets of Weltschmerz may be classified, or to which they will at least be found analogous; and to the extent to which such is the case, the treatise may be regarded as exhaustive. In the case of each author treated, the development of the peculiar phase of Weltschmerz characteristic of him has been traced, and analyzed with reference to its various modes of expression. Hlderlin is the idealist, Lenau exhibits the profoundly pathetic side of Weltschmerz, while Heine is its satirist. They have been considered in this order, because they represent three progressive stages of Weltschmerz viewed as a psychological process: Hlderlin nave, Lenau self-conscious, Heine endeavoring to conceal his melancholy beneath the disguise of self-irony. It is a pleasure to tender my grateful acknowledgments to my former Professors, Calvin Thomas and William H. Carpenter of Columbia University, and Camillo von Klenze and Starr Willard Cutting of the University of Chicago, under whose stimulating direction and never-failing assistance my graduate studies were carried on. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 17364
Author: Braun, Wilhelm Alfred
Release Date: Dec 21, 2005
Format: eBook
Language: English