David E. Wellbery, Judith Ryan, Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht, Anton Kaes, Joseph Leo Koerner, Dorothea von MÖ¼cke, eds. A New History of German Literature. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004. xxv + 1004 pp. $45.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-674-01503-6.
Reviewed by Edward T. Potter (Department of Foreign Languages, Mississippi State University)
Published on H-German (August, 2006)
Snapshots of German Literary and Cultural History
Skeptics who believe that there are already a great number of serviceable histories of German literature will reconsider their opinions once they get their hands on this book. This hefty, thousand-page volume offers an innovative reinterpretation of the traditional genre of the literary history. You might ask: what could be new about German literary history? David E. Wellbery, the volume's editor-in-chief, believes the genre of literary history needs to be revamped, as he maintains in his introduction to the collection: "[w]ith few exceptions, the genre of literary history looks very much today as it did at the end of the 19th century. Its basic form--an overriding narrative divided according to periods or movements; the treatment of individual texts as exemplifying large-scale historical tendencies--has remained intact regardless of changes in methodology and ideology" (p. xxi). This volume takes a revolutionary approach to this problem. Rather than offering a grand narrative by a single author or a collection of brief encyclopedia entries, as many other literary histories do, it offers a broad range of essays on a multitude of topics, yet it differentiates itself considerably from the more typical collections of essays. As Wellbery points out in his introduction, each essay is meant to describe and explain an "encounter" in German literary and cultural history (p. xvii); each contribution depicts and elucidates a moment in literary history as a moment in and of itself, not as a typical (and interchangeable) exemplar of an overarching movement or idea, but as an authentic experience of a point in time which is at once typical and unique--an entry ticket into the period in question. Wellbery explains the rationale behind the volume: "[t]he strategy, in short, is to shun summary and cataloguing and to exploit, rather, the communicative potential of the anecdotal and the discontinuous for generating sudden illumination" (p. xviii).
The volume comprises 188 brief yet remarkably substantial essays on a wide array of topics. Each essay averages around five pages, so that each individual essay can be consumed without rising to replenish one's cup of coffee, and reading a contribution to this volume is indeed a bit like having a cup of coffee with your favorite scholar, as she tells you about her favorite topic in German literary and cultural history. The volume brings together 152 of the foremost scholars in the field of German studies, representing such diverse disciplines as literature, history, philosophy, art history, musicology, theology and theater and film studies. Contributors hail from all parts of the globe, from the United States and Canada to Germany, Austria and Switzerland to Great Britain, Italy, Israel, Brazil, South Africa and New Zealand. The essays are arranged chronologically and each contribution starts with a specific date chronicling a significant event in German literary and cultural history. Each essay bears a title and, following the essay, the reader is referred to other essays in the volume which are similar in subject matter and which therefore might be of interest to the reader. Following each essay is a brief bibliography.
The collection begins in 744, with Bishop Boniface's founding of the monastery at Fulda, which sets the stage for Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht's discussion of the Merseburg Charms (Merseburger Zaubersprüche). It ends on December 15, 2001 with the death of W. G. Sebald and a discussion by Andreas Huyssen of Sebald's novel Austerlitz and its construction of memory. If reading a single contribution is like having a Kaffeeklatsch with a renowned scholar chatting about German culture, then reading a variety of these essays is similar to looking at a photo album, for each entry, like a snapshot, is a self-contained, structured representation of a past event, and each, under analysis, reveals the relationships, interests and styles of representation current at the time the event took place. In between 744 and 2001, the collection brings together a broad range of contributors who share their expertise on a wide variety of topics, so that the reader gains an appreciation for the literary production of the German lands throughout the centuries.
The volume provides excellent encyclopedic coverage of German literary history, handling both the more traditional canonical topics that readers expect to encounter in literary histories as well as refreshing new figures and topics that one may not have come across before; for example, if one examines the contributions on the Middle Ages, there are discussions of Tristan, courtly poetry and Hartmann von Aue alongside some welcome in-depth coverage of medieval mysticism, Yiddish literature and literature in Latin. As Wellbery puts it: "Placed next to ... major figures, relatively unknown writers ascend from the status of footnotes to that of engaging discoveries" (p. xviii). In this history of German literature, the terms "German" and "literature" are understood in their broadest sense. The collection includes, for example, exile literature in English such as Hannah Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism; literature in Latin such as twelfth-century goliard poetry and seventeenth-century Jesuit theater; and an entry on Old Norse literature, among other things. The definition of literary history is opened up in order to examine various relevant aspects of cultural history. In addition to discussions of literary works, one finds, to name just a few examples, discussions of philosophy (Leibniz, Hegel, Nietzsche), history (Charles IV's relationship with Petrarch, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the rise of a new architecture of commemoration), film (Expressionist cinema, photography), and linguistics (Middle High German).
The strongest virtue of the volume, in my opinion, is the episodic nature of the literary "encounters." The reader is drawn into a culturally significant moment and into a profound and immediate engagement with the topic chosen by the contributor. For example, in Andreas Huyssen's essay, "The Confusions of Genre," the mood is set by the February 1778 event: J. M. R. Lenz "tries halfheartedly to commit suicide" (p. 399). What follows is an in-depth analysis of Lenz's major works, his dramaturgical theory, his contemporary reception and the significance of his work for German literary history. The format of the volume encourages readers to browse the selections; one can read them in a linear fashion or skip from one essay to another; one can read entries focusing on a particular period or one can follow the references at the end of an entry and journey from one encounter to the next thematically related encounter. For example, if the reader starts at the Nibelungenlied (discussed by Jan-Dirk Müller), the volume refers the reader to "830," or the entry on the Nibelungenlied's Old High German precursor in the genre of heroic epic, the Hildebrandslied (by Theodore M. Andersson); then on to "930," which is the entry on Old Norse literature, the source material for the Nibelungenlied (by Carol J. Clover); then to "1184" for Horst Wenzel's discussion of courtly festivals; then on to "1203 (Summer)" for James A. Schultz's contribution on Parzival, one of the other "great narratives written in German about the year 1200" (p. 101); and finally to "1876," or David J. Levin's discussion of Richard Wagner's opera cycle The Ring of the Nibelung (Der Ring des Nibelungen). Of course, each of the aforementioned entries refers the reader to various other entries, so readers can create their own maps by which to navigate the rich landscape of German (in its broadest sense) literary and cultural production. In the words of Wellbery: "it is a random access history, providing multiple points of entry and allowing for various reading agendas. This volume has no single story to tell, but sets many stories in relation to one another. Its aim is to allow various types of curiosity to unfold, divergent patterns to emerge, different--and often dissonant--resonances to be heard" (p. xxii).
Chronologically arranged, the dates around which the essays are structured represent positions from which the reader can engage with the ideas, works and personalities of a particular era. Sometimes a single day is given: "1773, July 2," for example, refers to an event: "[s]tudents at the University of Göttingen burn the works of Christoph Martin Wieland, accusing him of being a 'lascivious' poet" (p. 381), and this event opens Walter Hinderer's incisive discussion of Wieland's oeuvre and its contemporary reception in his essay, "Wieland's Cosmopolitan Classicism." Hans Rudolf Vaget's essay, "A Musical Prefiguration of History," begins with "1943, May 23," transporting the reader to the genesis of Thomas Mann's novel Doctor Faustus "[f]ive months after Roosevelt and Churchill agree to demand Germany's unconditional surrender" (p. 819). At other times, a broader temporal range is given. The range of years "1177-1197," referring to the event "[t]he poet Heinrich composes the first animal epic in the German vernacular" (p. 71), stands at the outset of Helmut Puff's insightful reading of Heinrich [der Glichesere]'s Reinhart Fuchs, entitled "A Satire of Courtly Literature." The season "1942-43, Winter," marking the event "[n]ews of the Nazi death camps changes Hannah Arendt's vision for her planned book on modern anti-Semitism," (p. 814) begins the essay "Origins of Totalitarianism" by Elisabeth Young-Bruehl, who details the intellectual genesis of Arendt's monumental eponymous work as well as its reception in the United States, Germany and elsewhere. Other gems that must not be missed include Clayton Koelb's exquisitely detailed reading of Thomas Mann's Death in Venice (Der Tod in Venedig) in his essay "The Lasciviousness of Ruin," in which he traces out the significance of homoeroticism and dissolution in the novella; Christopher J. Wild's insightful readings of the seventeenth-century dramas Cenodoxus and Catherine of Georgia (Catharina von Georgien), in which he explores the intersections of theology, science, politics and dramatic performance; and Anton Kaes's keen interpretation of the connections between Expressionism, World War I and psychoanalysis in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari). Unfortunately, one cannot do justice to all of the wonderful contributions to this volume without writing almost a thousand pages oneself.
Even this exciting collection of works, personalities, ideas and critical talent has an aspect or two that could be improved. Whereas the organizing principle of this anthology of essays is in fact its strongest point and does indeed fulfill the stated objective of encouraging readers to embark on nonlinear journeys through German literature, the volume is at times difficult to navigate. The table of contents lists only the dates that serve as the point of departure for each entry as well as each entry's title. One must therefore go to the actual entry and read through part of it before one knows the subject of the essay. The reader who is looking for a particular work or author can use the extensive index, but the reader who wonders what nineteenth-century topics are covered by the volume will have to page through and read the beginnings of each individual essay, which is not very helpful. Similarly, if the reader would like to read an essay by a particular contributor, that reader will have to scan the table of contents (which includes over 150 names) for the name of that contributor, as the authors of the essays are not listed in the index.
In general, however, the volume is to be applauded for its broad range of contributors, topics and approaches, which gives the reader various points of entry and various perspectives from which to engage with the period of literary history under consideration. One must also commend the volume for eschewing periodization, which often becomes a template into which literary works are forced. The structure of this volume scrupulously avoids using literature as a means of typifying overarching trends, yet the many and varied trends and developments in intellectual history indeed become apparent. This volume will be perfect for students wanting to learn more about the history of German literature, and it will provide scholars a recent viewpoint on the topics of their research as a potential point of departure for discussion. It would be of great use to professors preparing classes, and it would also be of value to general readers interested in enhancing their knowledge of German literature and culture. All in all, A New History of German Literature is fascinating, informative and a joy to read.
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Citation:
Edward T. Potter. Review of Wellbery, David E.; Ryan, Judith; Gumbrecht, Hans Ulrich; Kaes, Anton; Koerner, Joseph Leo; MÖ¼cke, Dorothea von, eds., A New History of German Literature.
H-German, H-Net Reviews.
August, 2006.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=12099
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