Courses / Kurse

Romantische Lyrik / Romantic Poetry

I have taught this course or parts of it at

Content

In these seminars we will study a selection of poetry from the Romantic period of German literature (the very late 18th and early 19th centuries), by a variety of authors including Achim von Arnim, Bettina von Arnim, Clemens Brentano, Adelbert von Chamisso, Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, Joseph von Eichendorff, Heinrich Heine, Nikolaus Lenau, Novalis, Friedrich Rückert and Ludwig Uhland.

Concept

The aim is to gain a sense of what it meant to be a Romantic, and the seminars will approach this by looking at some of the major themes and preoccupations of the period – love (both passionate and unrequited), death, nature, youth/old age, dreams, spirituality, etc. – and at some characteristic forms (the folksong, the ballad, etc.). The seminars will proceed by analysis of individual poems and will develop skills of close reading and an awareness of some of the major features of German verse writing.

I look forward to hearing from you if you would like me to teach