‚Mit Haut und Haar‘ – Somatismen in der modernen Liebeslyrik

Abstract

Although there exists a considerable number of linguistic monographs and articles about somatic phraseologisms, they are primarily comparative textual analyses between two or more languages. It is, however, also of interest to analyze the actual use, function and meaning of these somatisms in oral and written communication. These emotional expressions have played a considerable role for centuries in love poetry. The article shows by way of poems by such authors as Erich Fried, Walter Helmut Fritz, Ulla Hahn, Heinz Kahlau or Sarah Kirsch, that emotional feelings are expressed through somatic proverbs and expressions in modern love poetry. These poems hardly deal with romantically expressed feelings but rather with realistic and honest expressions about failed love, the lovelessness among people and the question whether true love is still possible.

Keywords

• emotionality
• modern love poetry
• proverbs
• proverbial expressions
• somatisms