Overview

"J.M.R. Lenz is remembered as the most creative and original of Goethe's Strasbourg friends and, because of failures in his personal life, as a figure of pathos. The son of a Lutheran pastor who received a theological education at the university of Koenigsberg, Lenz was a religious thinker who saw himself as prophet as well as poet. Timothy Pope's ""Holy Fool"" is the first study of Lenz to consider how Christian faith shaped his literary theory and practice and was responsible for his unwise expectations about the increasingly secular world for which he wrote. Previous studies have viewed Lenz's religion as a largely pathological phenomenon that was linked to the temporary lapses into insanity that he experienced after he was banished, at Goethe's insistence, from the court and city of Weimar. Pope reveals, however, that a dynamic shift in Lenz's faith had occurred four years before the debacle of Weimar. Coherent statements during those four years concerning the articles of his new faith, and a consistent application of faith to questions of poetry and dramatic theory, indicate that Lenz's contribution to the literary revolution of the 1770s was conditioned as much by a personal religious renewal as by enthusiasm for the aims and ideals of his generation. Theologically, Lenz's new convictions followed a path that led away from the neology of the late Enlightenment and pointed not only back to conservative traditions but also forward to the Christology of more modern times."

Full Product Details

9780773526051

Table of Contents

Reviews

"""A significant contribution. Pope guides us through a good deal of unfamiliar material, forcing us to think about theological questions. He is painstaking in presenting the complex context of theological thought in the German Enlightenment, and he shows how Lenz managed to reach a highly personal and deeply held religious position while also drawing eclectically on the different currents that were circulating at the time. Pope's new look at the plays and the essay is persuasive in the context of the theological material that he has presented to us. It represents a significant new perspective on these canonical works."" David Pugh, Department of German Language and Literature, Queen's University ""Pope presents a careful and meticulous investigation into Lenz's theological thinking and development. By drawing on Lenz's theological writings generally ignored by scholars, Pope is able to offer new perspectives. The close reading of the theological essays together with Lenz's canonical works is illuminating and allows Pope to correct erroneous perceptions which have persisted in Lenz scholarship as a result of uncritical acceptance of derogatory comments made by Goethe and others."" Thilo Joerger, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Mount Allison University ""Pope's scholarship is sound and the point he makes is well-taken. He makes a convincing case for the bearing Lenz's religious development had both on his biography and, particularly, one of his plays."" Hans Eichner, emeritus, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, University of Toronto"

A significant contribution. Pope guides us through a good deal of unfamiliar material, forcing us to think about theological questions. He is painstaking in presenting the complex context of theological thought in the German Enlightenment, and he shows how Lenz managed to reach a highly personal and deeply held religious position while also drawing eclectically on the different currents that were circulating at the time. Pope's new look at the plays and the essay is persuasive in the context of the theological material that he has presented to us. It represents a significant new perspective on these canonical works. David Pugh, Department of German Language and Literature, Queen's University Pope presents a careful and meticulous investigation into Lenz's theological thinking and development. By drawing on Lenz's theological writings generally ignored by scholars, Pope is able to offer new perspectives. The close reading of the theological essays together with Lenz's canonical works is illuminating and allows Pope to correct erroneous perceptions which have persisted in Lenz scholarship as a result of uncritical acceptance of derogatory comments made by Goethe and others. Thilo Joerger, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Mount Allison University Pope's scholarship is sound and the point he makes is well-taken. He makes a convincing case for the bearing Lenz's religious development had both on his biography and, particularly, one of his plays. Hans Eichner, emeritus, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, University of Toronto

Author Information

CA

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available