Barthold H. Brockes: ein aufklärerischer Umweltschützer? Die poetische Wiederentdeckung der Schöpfung im Irdischen Vergnügen in Gott

Abstract

Barthold H. Brockes’ poetry collection Irdisches Vergnugen in Gott (1721-1748) proposes a joy¬ful celebration of every element of Creation. Influenced by the English physico-theology, this work contributed to spread a new, positive perception of immanent reality, no longer condi¬tioned by baroque pessimism. If considered in an ecocritical perspective, these poems can be extremely relevant even today: the deep and reverent admiration for nature they express, orig¬inally geared towards the celebration of God, has the potential to point today’s readers to an empathetic and responsible relationship with nature.

Keywords

• Barthold H. Brockes
• nature poetry
• physicotheology
• ecocriticism
• Irdisches Vergnugen in Gott