The course "Ut musica poesis" offers an in-depth immersion into the rich and complex relationship between music and poetry in German literature from the 18th century to the present. The course will explore the intersections between these two art forms, analyzing how music and poetry have mutually influenced cultural and artistic development in Germany. Some of the aspects covered are the paradigm shift in 18th century poetics towards an orientation of poetry to music as a non-mimetic art, the polysemy of the word lied, the structural comparison of language and music, the development of the German art song, the aesthetic and political significance of the use of popular song in the Sturm und Drang, the musicalization of poetic language in Romanticism, the various forms of collaboration between poet and composer, the tension between high and popular culture in the literary and musical avant-gardes of the 20th century, the role of political songwriters in the context of the two German dictatorships.
Teaching Methods
Lessons will consist primarily of frontal lectures, mainly in German. Space will also be given to discussion and a more seminary-style approach of close reading and translation. The lectures will be accompanied by slides and other audiovisual materials. A series of excursions are dedicated to establishing a metalinguistic vocabulary and critical toolkit to facilitate close reading and discussion of the texts. The course will also provide historical background information and an introduction to genre theory.
Assessment Methods
There will be one oral exam about the texts and subjects covered in the lectures.
Texts
Hans-Dieter Gelfert: Im Garten der Kunst. Versuch einer empirischen Ästhetik. (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1998)
Gerhard Kurz: Macharten. Über Rhythmus, Reim, Stil und Vieldeutigkeit (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2009) Heinz Schlaffer: Geistersprache. Zweck und Mittel der Lyrik (Hanser, 2012)
Contents
The course aims to cover the main literary movements in German literature through the analysis of set texts that will be read, listened to, and commented on in class. During the first part of the course, the poems of J. W. Goethe and the Romantic poets and composers such as F. Schubert, R. Schumann and G. Mahler will be explored. The second part of the course will cover the development of the collaboration between Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill and their influence through to the songwriter Wolf Biermann. Both parts of the course will trace the main literary movements of the periods covered: the "Sturm und Drang"; movement, Weimar classicism and romanticism for the first part; the "Neue Sachlichkeit"; (New Objectivity), the literature of exile, and the literature of the two post-war Germanies for the second part. Readings, translation and discussions of the individual texts will be accompanied by analyses and contextualization in relation to the literary production of the period, especially considering the inter-artistic relations between poetry and music. The two parts of the course will also open up the historical perspective on the impact of the authors treated on subsequent epochs, i.e. the influence of Goethe on 19th century Romanticism and Brecht on the "Exilliteratur" during the war and the two post-war Germanies.
