German Literature

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  Satire and Society in Wilhelmine Germany: Kladderadatsch and Simplicissimus, 1890–1914

  The reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II was a transitional period in German history when the traditions of the nineteenth century were coming into conflict with the emerging cultural, social, and political patterns of the twentieth century. The resulting tensions were clearly reflected in the period's leading satirical journals, Kladderadatsch and Simplicissimus.

  Both journals appealed to a diverse middle-class readership and attracted widespread attention through their flamboyant and sometimes scurrilous attacks on authority. Their satire, expressed through cartoons, anecdotes, verse, and fiction, ranged across nearly every aspect of German life and employed the talents of some of the period's most important ...Read More

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  Perspectives on Max Frisch

  Max Frisch, with his countryman Friederich Diirrenmatt, shares the place of eminence in contemporary Swiss literature. Indeed, he ranks high among the recent leading writers in the German language. But, although several of his works— novels and plays—have been translated into English, he remains little known in America. In this collection of essays an international group of scholars provides a fresh introduction to this noted author.

  The three leading essays review Frisch's work in the forms he has used most extensively—drama, narrative fiction, and the personal diary. The remaining nine essays focus on specific works or topics. Among the works ...Read More

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  A Mythic Journey: Gunter Grass's Tin Drum

  Although The Tin Drum has often been called one of the great novels of the 20th century, most critics have been baffled in attempting to draw its apparent chaos into a single literary framework. Here is the full-length study to penetrate the brilliance of Gunter Grass’s style and uncover the novel’s mythopoetic core. In A Mythic Journey: Gunter Grass's Tin Drum, author Edward Diller convincingly demonstrates the still valid relationship between modern and classical literary criticism. By reading The Tin Drum as both modern myth and historical epic, he provides a profound and sensitive interpretation of one of the masterpieces ...Read More

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  Goethe and Rousseau: Resonances of the Mind

  The profound impact of Jean-Jacques Rousseau on Western thought has been frequently examined, yet the extent of Goethe’s relationship to Rousseau has never before received thorough study. Carl Hammer Jr. here analyzes Goethe’s works, paying particular attention to his mature production, to reveal the profound affinities of thought between these two European giants.

  Scholars have long recognized the direct influence of Rousseau on Goethe’s first novel, Werther, but have believed that Goethe’s enthusiasm waned thereafter. Hammer, in contrast, finds the affinity revealed even more strongly in Goethe’s later works.

  Carl Hammer Jr. is Horn Professor of German at Texas Tech ...Read More