Hugo Von Hofmannsthal: Poets and the Language of Life

Argues that Austrian lyric poet Hofmannsthal (1874-1929), usually considered a typical fin-de-siFcle aesthete, was an early and consistent opponent of aestheticism, and was, in fact, an heir of Nietzsche in his search for a legitimate source for values. Also argues that poets describe life better than philosophers do. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Despite the author's insistence that this admirable study of the 19th-century German poet Hofmannsthal is directed to the nonspecialist, this work will appeal mainly to scholars in German literature and philosophy. Del Caro (German, Univ. of Colorado at Boulder) devotes considerable space to Nietzsche, particularly to his philosophy of life and its influence on contemporary poets and writers. Rather than writing literary criticism of Hofmannsthal's poetry, Del Caro uses major themes such as words, actions, threshold, and time to show how the poet exemplifed life through the language of poetry. He also shows that Hofmannsthal was able to reach out through his poetry beyond the influence of the philosophers as an advocate of life both for his day and into the present. This thorough scholarly work is recommended for academic collections.
- Ingrid Schierling, Univ. of Colorado at Colorado Springs
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