The Impatient Muse: Germany and the Sturm und Drang
Alan C. Leidner
May 2020 · University of North Carolina Studies in Germanic Languages and Literature Book 115 · UNC Press Books
Ebook
168
Pages
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
About this ebook
Far from being a forerunner of Weimar Classicism or an addendum to the Enlightenment, the Sturm und Drang is best seen as part of an autonomous culture of impatience — as literature in which Germans, frustrated with their fragmented land, simulated a sense of power and effectiveness that political realities did not afford. This impatience drove not only authors and the characters they created; it also drew in German audiences and readers ready to partake vicariously in national sentiments that they otherwise could not have experienced.
Alan Leidner sees Lavater’s work as a model for dealing with a limiting culture, Goethe’s Werther as a subtly arrogant figure, the drama of the Kraftmensch as a literature legitimizing the violence of its protagonists, the famous split in the Urfaust as the result of Goethe’s resistance to the impatience that led many writers to fabricate a German nation that did not exist, and Schiller’s Die Räuber as a liberating ritual that allowed German audiences to enjoy temporary feelings of national community. He concludes his study with an analysis of J. M. R. Lenz, whose texts recoil unequivocally in the face of the impatient muse.
Alan Leidner sees Lavater’s work as a model for dealing with a limiting culture, Goethe’s Werther as a subtly arrogant figure, the drama of the Kraftmensch as a literature legitimizing the violence of its protagonists, the famous split in the Urfaust as the result of Goethe’s resistance to the impatience that led many writers to fabricate a German nation that did not exist, and Schiller’s Die Räuber as a liberating ritual that allowed German audiences to enjoy temporary feelings of national community. He concludes his study with an analysis of J. M. R. Lenz, whose texts recoil unequivocally in the face of the impatient muse.
About the author
Alan C. Leidner is associate professor of modern languages at the University of Louisville.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
