Contraries: Studies in German Literature

by Michael Hamburger

" A Craving for Hell" is the pivotal essay in this marvelous conspectus of German literature in its cultural setting from Hölderlin to Gottfried Benn. "Contraries" is not a history of German literature, or even a survey. "It is an examination of certain dominant tensions, and these tensions have to do with the attitudes of writers to society, but also - conversely - with the attitude of society to writers." Particular works of particular writers are carefully examined here. But the understanding of the tensions referred to, the "contraries," adds greatly to the perception and savoring of those works and writers. The main subjects of these essays are probably as unlike one another as any such creators can be who share a common national life. Yet the author has shown how even their most peculiar characteristics can be understood as a kind of solution to common problems. In short, he has made a magnificent part of the modern literary tradition more comprehensible to the contemporary reader.

Genres: Literature, Germany

367 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1970

About the author

German-British academic, author, poet, translator and critic.

Reviews

[مهسا · Rating 5 out of 5]

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