Svět Literatury (Nov 2018)

Mechanika hrůzy: K hororovým příběhům německého romantismu | Mechanics of awe: The horror tales of German romanticism

  • Pavel Novotný

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 28, no. 58
pp. 85 – 99

Abstract

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In its early and peak periods Romanticism was particularly characterized, among other things, by severe criticism of the rational understanding of the world, and thus also of the Enlightenment and its world-view. One area where the Romantics’ distrust of reason, system, and mechanics was manifested was the area of the so-called Dark Romanticism and its terrifying stories. In this context, one dominant principle of the emergence of disturbing or scary moments in the Romantic literary text can also be determined: Fear is created as a crack in the rational images of the world, as a dark psychological exploration of the human self. In this respect, the article deals with the work of E. T. A. Hoffmann and Ludwig Tieck.

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