German Language and Literature Commons^™

Literaturproduktion In Der Ddr: "Vom Entstehen Und Sterben" Erich Loests Es Geht Seinen Gang Und Vom Entstehen Und Gedeihen Christa Wolfs Nachdenken ÜBer Christa T., Gudrun Hommel-Ingram

Dissertations and Theses

Christa Wolf is perhaps the best known East German author outside the Gennan Democratic Republic. Her works have been translated into many languages, and on her recent sixtieth birthday she was able to look back on an illustrious literary career. Erich Loest's life as an East German writer has been more troublesome, from his years as a young adult on the eastern side of the wall to his life in the Federal Republic since 1981. Both writers have worked under a political system which imposes strict guidelines on its artists, as regards conception and production of their works. Both authors …

'Gewalt Gegen Gerechtigkeit": Reality And Morality In Heinrich BöLl's Die Verlorene Ehre Der Katharina Blum, Michelle Elizabeth Manicke

Dissertations and Theses

Heinrich Boll is West Germany's most controversial author of the post-war period, and Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum is probably his most widely contested work. Readers and literary critics alike have generally misunderstood or only partially understood Boll's purpose in writing this Erzählung. Many have discounted it as the author's personal revenge against press and police for their mutual attacks on his honor. Others have panned it for its "poor German" and its lack of realism. Such reviews tend to examine only selected formal and thematic aspects of Katharina Blum. In order to fully comprehend any of …

Landscape And Change In Three Novels By Theodor Fontane, Jane Ellen Speerstra

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis traces and explicates the changes in Theodor Fontane's landscape depiction in the years 1887-1892. I examine his novels Cécile (1887), Irrungen, Wirrungen (1888), and Unwiederbringlich (1892). I show that Fontane, as though discarding a relic of the Romantic past, used increasingly less landscape in his narratives. He focused on the actions and conversation of his characters, and on their immediate surroundings. When these surroundings were urban, they tended to disappear. The progressive minimalization of landscape, and of cityscape in particular, foreshadowed the appearance in German literature of twentieth-century man: man alienated from nature in cities, and less aware …

The St. Josephs-Blatt, 1896-1919, Steven Wayne Harmon

Dissertations and Theses

The St. Josephs-Blatt was a German-language newspaper published by the Benedictine monks of Mt. Angel Abbey from 1896 through 1952. The only fully extant collection of the St. Josephs-Blatt resides in the archives of Mt. Angel Abbey. The current archivist and Mt. Angel historian is Fr. Martin Pollard, who graciously allowed me to examine original copies of the newspaper and gave me the benefit of his personal historical expertise about both the paper and Br. Colestin. For my research on the newspaper I did not use the original bound copies of the Blatt, which were too sensitive and brittle to …

Die Rolle Der Hexe In Den MäRchen Der BrüDer Grimm Und Ludwig Bechsteins, Karin Ulrike Herrmann

Dissertations and Theses

Fairy Tales have been an important part of peoples' cultural heritage since time immemorial. From a very early age on, children hear stories about witches, giants, dwarf's, and magicians which make up their first entry into the literary world. Only recently have scholars begun to research just how much influence these stories have on children and how they might have a different impact on girls than on boys. This thesis will investigate the world of fairy tales in relation to their historical context and their differing relevance for male and female readers. I will examine the fairy tales of the …

Theodor Fontanes Darstellung Der Berliner Gesellschaft In Seinen Romanen Effi Briest Und Irrungen Wirrungen, Ronald Kent Nelson

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines Theodor Fontane's novels Effi Briest and Irrungen Wirrungen and shows how he used them to express his dissatisfaction with the Berlin society of his time.

Die Kunst Als Ausdrucksmittel Der Inneren Welt Hermann Hesses, Debra Lynn Vaul

Dissertations and Theses

Das von Hermann Hesse im Jahre 1920 veröffentlichte Buch Wanderung ist eine Form der Reisedarstellung. Es ist jedoch mehr als die Beschreibung einer Reise. Vielmehr ist Wanderung eine interessante Zusammenstellung von Gedanken, Überlegungen und Fragen in den unterschiedlichen Kunstformen wie Malerei, Prosa und Dichtungen. Das Buch ist ein Ergebnis Hesses persönlichen Versuches, einen Teil seines Lebens zu erklären. Anders gesagt, es ist eine Reise auf dem Weg in das eigene Innere, wo der Mensch mit seinem Dasein um eine Antwort auf die Fragen des Alltags ringt.

A Study Of The Role Of The Secondary Virtues In Uli Der Knecht, Roland Minder

Dissertations and Theses

The thesis is a response to critics who interpreted Uli as being too "worldly." Specifically, it attempts to show, by way of exploring the role of a particular category of virtues present in the novel, how these critics misunderstood the novel as well as the intent of the author.

Concrete Poetry: The Influence Of Design And Marketing On Aesthetics, Tineke Bierma

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores the past and present of concrete poetry with the purpose of finding out whether concrete poetry is still being produced in its original form, or whether it has changed.

Concrete poets were not the first ones to create picture poems and similar texts. In chapter I an overview of earlier picture poetry is given. It and other precursors of concrete poetry are discussed and their possible contributions evaluated.

Chapters II and III deal with the definition of concrete poetry of the mid-fifties and sixties (pure, classic c.p.). They focus primarily on German, Austrian and Swiss poets. Manifestos …

Lampen Und Laternen Als Zeichen Der Hoffnung In AusgewäHlten Werken Wolfgang Borcherts, Carol Nolan

Dissertations and Theses

Wolfgang Borchert wurde 1921 in Hamburg geboren. Ein vielversprechender Dichter, Schriftsteller und Schauspieler, musste er im zweiten Weltkrieg kaempfen. Er wurde zweimal wegen seiner Antikriegsaussprueche verhaftet, und zwei Jahre nach Ende des Krieges starb er, mit 26 Jahren, an einer sich im Laufe des Krieges zugezogenen Gelbsucht.

Die Hauptwerke Borcherts bestehen aus Gedichten, Kurzgeschichten und anderen Prosastuecken, und einem Theaterstueck. In diesen Werken sind Zaertlichkeit und Humor, ebenso wie Bitterkeit und Mahnung zu finden.

In den Werken Wolfgang Borcherts warden Lampen und Laternen oft als Zeichen der Hoffnung verwendet. In dieser These wurde versucht, den Kontext und die Bedeutungen dieser …

Bertolt Brecht And The Bible, Clara Martha Baker

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis presents evidence which supports Bertolt Brecht's oft-quoted statement that the Bible was the book which exerted the greatest influence upon his writings. While Brecht's early works, Die Bibel (1913), and Die Dreigroschenoper (1928), serve as the main examples, there are also references to biblical allusions from a number of his other writings and some of his poetry. There is general information on Brecht's religious background and on his extensive biblical knowledge which enabled him to use the Bible as one of his principal sources. Brecht's manner of usage and adaptation of religious and biblical material to suit his …

Translation Of Ilse Aichinger's Short Stories, Patsy Kay Looney Corrigan

Dissertations and Theses

Translations of three of Ilse Aichinger's stories which originally appeared in the book Eliza, Eliza are presented in this thesis. The three stories translated are "Herodes," "Port Sing," and "Die Puppe."

Strong-Minded Woman Figures In A Time Of Crisis : Maria Stuart, Penthesilea, Sappho, Inger M. Olsen

Dissertations and Theses

The strong-minded woman as a character capable of genuine self-determination has not received nearly as much literary attention and study as the less psychologically and socially aware sublime woman, the innocent woman, and the femme fatale. Consequently, the strong-minded woman is only an occasional literary phenomenon and is absent entirely during some literary periods.

Thus the purpose of this thesis is to establish that the strong-minded woman exists as a literary figure, that she is a fully developed character capable of forming meaningful and even traditional relationships when allowed by circumstances. She is capable of relying on her own abilities …

A Translation Into English Of The German Novel Jakob Der LüGner By Jurek Becker, Harriet Passell

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis is a translation of the German novel Jakob der Lugner by Jurek Becker. In my commentary I have tried to explain why I undertook the project of translating this novel from German into English, when that had already been done by Melvin Kornfeld. Kornfeld's translation, which is no longer in print, fails to do justice to Jurek Becker's style and changes a story of heartwarming simplicity, humor and psychological insight into a somewhat tedious account of the life in a ghetto during World War II.

Theodor Storm's Der Schimmelreiter And The Realism Of The Supernatural, Regina Berrit Braker

Dissertations and Theses

In interpreting Der Schinmelreiter by Theodor Storm, the deconstructive method always leaves room for more interpretation; a deconstructive interpretation may simply acknowledge a variety of critical opinions, not necessarily considering one more valid than another, but arguing that all of than together are necessary to form a collective interpretation. I have examined traditionally important views of Storm's work, those of Stuckert and Silz, who argue for a positive heroic example in the main character Hauke Haien, and who consider the supernatural in a less structurally important light, but attribute it to Storm's personal views and geographic background. Ellis, Findlay and …

Buddhistische Elemente In Hermann Hesses Siddhartha, Sawitree Kunapongsiri

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to show the elements of Buddhism, exerted in Siddhartha. These elements are important to the plot, despite the fact that Hesse did not intend to write an authentic Buddhist work, but to express his own belief.

The conclusion shows that certain Buddhist teachings have in various ways directly shaped the work.

Das DreiecksverhäLtnis In Gerhart Hauptmann's "Einsame Menschen" Und "Gabriel Schillings Flucht" Und Dessen LöSung Im Naturalistischen Drama, Ulrich Karl Tutsch

Dissertations and Theses

Die bürgerliche Gesellschaft des ausklingenden 19. und beginnenden 20. Jahrhunderts drängte fast einen jeden Menschen in eine Aussenseiterrolle, wenn er ihre Werte nicht akzeptierte. Der Naturalismus machte innere Schwächen der Menschen wie auch deterministische äussere Einflüsse für das Scheitern der Hauptfiguren verantwortlich.

Johannes Vockerat und Gabriel Schilling fühlen sich von ihrem bürgerlichen Familienleben eingeengt und versuchen mit Hilfe einer anderen Frau, ihr Dasein zu verbessern. Vockerat versucht dem Dreiecksverhältnis auf einem höhere geistigen Niveau gerecht zu werden. Er muss sich aber am Ende eingestehen, dass solch eine platonische Verbindung auf die Dauer unmöglich ist. Sein Ideal …

Die Moderne Großstadt In AusgewäHlten Werken Deutscher Lyriker, Hildegard Goranson

Dissertations and Theses

It is the purpose of this thesis to discuss the works of German poets who describe the large modern city and deal with various aspects of city life and city people.

The Isolation Of An Individual: Thomas Mann's Tonio KröGerR, Thomas Richard Survilla

Dissertations and Theses

Thomas Mann, early in life, felt himself to be "different" from others around him and "isolated" from the normal life that others enjoyed. He attributed these feelings to what he felt was his descent from a sound Bürger life to unsound Künstlertum.

These feelings of guilt and suffering prodded Mann into applying his introspective artistic techniques to his own condition. He examined his own life, considered his own world and his relationship to it, and came to certain conclusions. Many of Mann's works are therefore not "fiction" at all; he himself once stated that all of his works were autobiographical.

GüNter Kunert: Der KüNstlerische Weg Eines Schriftstellers Der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, Jutta Southwell

Dissertations and Theses

It is the purpose of this thesis to present the artistic development of the socialist writer Günter Kunert. He is considered to be one of the important representatives of the literature of the German Democratic Republic where he has spent most of his life. His artistic creativity stretches over three decades.

The different artistic and ideological periods of the development of this writer are presented in chronological order. An attempt is being made to explain why Kunert's work is of a politically provocative nature and why it shows such strong criticism towards the socialist country whose citizen he is.

The …

Aspekte Des Charakterbegriffs Im Werk Von Bertolt Brecht, Brigitte Dewolfe

Dissertations and Theses

Brecht's concept of character, based on the Marxist-socialist premise of the perfectibility of man, is one of the most important aspects of his work. He believes that man's character is comparable to an atom, constantly falling apart and re-assembling itself. He states that man should be defined by his contradictory actions.

With this view of man, several assumptions of the traditional theater no longer hold. There is no stalwart hero to pit the strength of his character against fate, there is no moral code by which he could act, since all is seen as being in flux and ethics are …

Lebendiger Klang Der Natur: Herders Begriff Des "Primitiven" In Der Literatur, Judy A. Lorenz

Dissertations and Theses

Johann Gottfried Herder, ein Vorromantiker, führte eine neue Bewegung, eine Volksbewegung, in Deutschland ein. Herder interessierte sich für die Sprache im Allgemeinen und insbesondere für die "primitiven" Elemente in der deutschen Sprache, die am besten in Volksliedern erscheinen. Seine Bedeutung liegt in der Umwertung des Wortes "primitiv" durch seine Sammlung von nationalen und internationalen Volksliedern.

Herder ruft den Deutschen zu, ihren eigenen Volkscharakter wieder durch ihre eigene Muttersprache zu entdecken. Die Muttersprache ist am besten durch Volkslieder aufbewahrt. Herder betont die Haupteigenschaften solcher Lieder als "primitiv": lebendig, klangvoll, kraftvoll, original, bildlich, spontan und fürs Hören bestimmt. Dort in den eigenen …

Unwiederbringlich Und Effi Briest : Eine Studie Zu Theodor Fontanes ErzäHlweise, Christine Gentzkow

Dissertations and Theses

In this thesis an attempt is made to show the peculiar features of Fontane's narrative style as well as his art of characterization. I have tried to interpret his concept of humaneness in the two novels, Unwiederbringlich and Effi Briest, and to show how the composition of these novels is directed to the portrait of the individual.

Theodor Fontane's unusual distinction lies in his keen observation of the Prussian scene and his craftsmanship as a cosmopolitan storyteller. The principal elements of his works are a sense of historical continuity and an uncommon perception of the speech and gestures by …

Mystik Und Pietismus In Der Deutschen Sprache, Unter Besonderer BerüCksichtigung Des Wortes "Gelassenheit" (Mysticism And Pietism In The German Language With Special Emphasis Upon The Word "Gelassenheit"), Clyde E. Antwine

Dissertations and Theses

In this thesis attention is focused on two religious movements, Mysticism and Pietism, both of which made significant contributions toward the enrichment of the German language.

The 14th century was the "golden age" of German Mysticism. For this reason special consideration is given to this period of history and to the three most prominent 14th century German mystics: Meister Eckhart, Johann Tauler, and Heinrich Seuse. In order to understand their struggle with the language a brief synopsis of mystic theology is given in particular their concept of how the unio mystica, the mystical union of the soul with God, can …

Der Verfremdungseffekt Von Brecht Bis Handke, Brigitte Patrick

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis intends to show how the application of the Verfremdungseffekt (alienation effect), originally formulated by Brecht, serves to express different Weltanschauungen in the works of Dürrenmatt, Frisch and Handke. The main emphasis is on the works of Peter Handke however, in order to demonstrate the changes in the interpretation of the alienation effect, some of the plays by Dürrenmatt and Frisch are analysed.

Rainer Maria Rilkes Musik Der KräFte (Rainer Maria Rilke's Music Of The Forces), Lilly E. Moore

Dissertations and Theses

Most of Rainer Maria Rilke's works leave a deep musical impression on the reader's mind. This impression stems first of all from the beauty of the tone and the rhythm of Rilke's poetical language and from the occurrence of many words that can be associated with music. In addition to this, his creative work was influenced considerably by his own experiences with a variety of musical sounds and by the many thoughts in which he tried to deal with the deeper meaning and function of music.

This thesis attempts to analyze Rilke's relationship to music within the framework of his …

Hermann Lietz And The Landerziehungsheime, John Daniel Flanagan

Dissertations and Theses

The subject of this thesis is Hermann Lietz and the Landerziehungsheime. Its purpose is to discover the sources of the Heime in Lietz's life and thought. It seeks to answer the basic question, "Why did Lietz become an educator and what were his motives in establishing the Landerziehungsheime?" The thesis is divided, generally, into three sections. The first attempts to isolate and reconstruct those events in Lietz's biography which were decisive in the shaping of the educator. The second part investigates certain aspects of the thought of J. G. Fichte, P. de Lagarde end R. Eucken, the three …

Gutzkows Novelle Der Sadduzäer Von Amsterdam Verglichen Mit Seinem Drama Uriel Acosta Und Eine Englische Übersetzung Der Novelle, Clarice Solberg Kitteleson

Dissertations and Theses

The same theme of one unorthodox man opposing a self-appointed authoritative religious institution is interpreted in two different ways in two related works by Karl Friedrich Gutzkow: his Novelle, Der Sadduzaer von Amsterdam (1834), and in his drama, Uriel Acosta (1846). Both works fictionalize the life Uriel Acosta (1585-1640), an unorthodox Jew who fled the Spanish Inquisition in Portugal to the relatively tolerant country of Holland. Acosta's problems were not with the government of Holland, however, but with his own orthodox Jewish temple authorities. He opposed the written interpretations of the Talmud and attempted to question the very idea of …

"German Writers In Exile", Franz Langhammer

Special Collections: Oregon Public Speakers

No abstract provided.

Rainer Maria Rilkes Begriff Der Besitzlosen Liebe : Probleme Und Interpretationen, Kenn Allen Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

The topic of this thesis is the problem of love in the work and life of Rainer Maria Rilke, especially his notion of “non-possessive love” which has given rise to a great deal of controversy in the Rilke-Literature.

The essential motive underlying the thesis is my concern for the relationship between art and life, and specifically the conflict between the demands of intellectual and spiritual development and the biological-social imperatives to which the artist, like all human beings, is subject. To speak in general terms, my interest in Rilke’s view of love is part of a broad study of alienated …