Final Exam; Part II

Innerhalb von 400 Jahren, der deutschen Literatur hat durch massive Änderungen sowie zehn verschiedenen Epochen. Nach der Renaissance, deutscher Schriftsteller schreiben nicht so viel über Gott und der Kirche. Ich glaube, dass die protestantische Reformation hatte viel zu tun mit diesem. Die katholische Kirche verlor ihren Griff auf die Menschen, die jetzt wollte die Bibel für sich deuten. Ich glaube dies zu Schriftstellern tiefer Faszination mit dem Leben und der Natur.

Die Epoche nach der Renaissance war das Barock. Es dauerte zwischen den Jahren 1600 und 1720. Während dieser Zeit, Schriftsteller blickte zurück auf die Schriften von der Renaissance und wollte auf alten Ideen verschönern. Einer der bekanntesten Autoren aus dieser Zeit war Andreus Gruphius. Sein Gedicht “Es ist alles eitel” ist eine Berufung zurück zur Natur. Vielleicht war er anspielend, dass die städtischen Entwicklung würde zerstören uns alle.

Die nächste Epoche war der Aufklärung. Es dauerte zwischen den Jahren 1720 und 1785. Die Arbeiten während dieser Zeit betont Grund über Emotionen. Ein Beispiel für die “Erleuchteten” Autor war Immanuel Kant. Seine Arbeiten mit Philosophie definiert das Alter der Aufklärung.

Die nächste Epoche war der “Sturm und Drang”. Es dauerte zwischen den Jahren 1767 und 1785. Es war eine Form von Protest zu den Werken der Aufklärung. Autoren hat jetzt Gefühl und Natur in ihren Werken nicht als Grund und ausgebildet Schwank genutzt. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ist ein weltbekannter Schriftsteller von diese Zeit. Sein Gedicht “Ganymed” ist ein ausgezeichnetes Beispiel von die Erstellung Stil der Zeit. Es ist nicht ein Gedicht von Grund, sondern ist ein Gedicht von Gefühl.

Die klassische Epoche war nächsten in der Zeile. Es dauerte zwischen den Jahren 1786 und 1832. Es war eine Reaktion auf die “Sturm und Drang”. Schriftsteller während dieser Zeit schrieb mit Vernunft und Gefühl. Friedrich Schiller war ein großer Name in dieser Zeit. Er mischt oft Vernunft und Emotionen in seinen Werken. Seine ausgebildete schriftlich Struktur hat sein emotional Arbeiten Glanz geholfen.

Die nächste Epoche war der Romantik. Es dauerte zwischen den Jahren 1798 und 1835. Nach insgesamt Vernunft und insgesamt Emotion, Schriftsteller während dieser Zeit blickte zurück auf das Mittelalter für ein Verhältnis von Kunst und Gesellschaft. Ein Autor aus dieser Zeit war Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorf. Sein Gedicht “Mondnacht sterben” ist rein Romantik, wenn er schreibt über seine Seele nach Hause fliegen.

Die nächste Epoche war der Bidermeier und Vormärz. Es dauerte zwischen den Jahren 1815 und 1848. Während dieser Zeit, Schriftsteller kamen hauptsächlich aus der mittleren Klasse anstatt Adel. Die meisten Werke aus dieser Zeit sprechen über das Leben der mittleren Klasse.

Die nächste Epoche war Realismus. Es dauerte zwischen den Jahren 1850 und 1890. Schriftsteller dieser Zeit schrieb über die Realität der Natur und der Gesellschaft. Anstatt verschönernd auf die Schönheit der Menschen, die Autoren würden oft beschreiben Menschen wie sie waren. Ein Schriftsteller aus dieser Zeit war Theodor Storm. Er oft in seinen Werken das Land aufgewachsen, wo er gelebt. Ein Beispiel für seine Arbeit ist das Gedicht “Die Stadt”.

Die nächste Epoche war Naturalismus. Es dauerte zwischen den Jahren 1880 und 1900. Werke dieser Zeit blieb “natürlichen” dass es keine übernatürlichen Dinge aufgetreten. Viele Autoren dieser Zeit wurden durch die Arbeit von Charles Darwin beeinflußt.

Die nächste Epoche war Expressionismus. Es dauerte zwischen den Jahren 1905 und 1925. Während dieser Zeit, eine Flut von Emotionen gefüllt Kunst wieder. Die Emotionen porträtiert war nicht immer glücklich. Eine berühmte Schriftsteller aus dieser Zeit war Franz Kafka. Seine Werke enthalten oft ungewöhnliche Umstände erlitt durch seine Zeichen.

Der letzte und aktuelle Epoche ist die Moderne. Es begann als Expressionismus war verlassen. Viele deutsche Werke aus dieser Zeit oft geht es um die Ereignisse des Zweiten Weltkriegs. Dichter wie Paul Celan schrieb mehrere Stücke über ihre persönlichen Erfahrungen mit dem Krieg.

Final Exam; Part I

In the year 1690, my family and I packed our belongings and headed to Leipzig to settle within the city and operate my father’s “Metzgerei”. While there, I would frequently visit the city’s university and socialize with the students in the courtyards. Through these visits to the university, I became one of the only butcher’s apprentices with an infatuation of the arts. One day, I arrived to meet with my friends when they told me they had just received a copy of Daniel Caspar von Lohenstein’s new 3000 page novel “Arminius”. We gathered in a circle under a tree and would take turns reading chapters from book until we finished it in one afternoon.

Eighty-four years later, I somehow became a grandchild of mine (and also became a vampire that never grew old) while still living in Leipzig and owning the family Metzgerei. One evening, I decided to see a play at the local theater. The theater company was performing Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz’s new play “Der Hofmeister”. Lenz had filled the play with writing styles from different genres and blended them altogether to form a long, but entertaining experience. I thought the play was good entertainment, but nothing that could reach “classic” status. After the play, I loitered on the walkway in front of the theater in hopes to meet some of the actors when Jakob Lenz happened to exit the doors accompanied by his good friend Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. I talked to the two of them for a while, complimenting Lenz’s play while Goethe kept trying to insert references to his works into the conversation. Finally, I asked if he had been working on anything new and he quickly replied that he had finished composing a poem that very morning and was eager to have someone hear. He then proceeded to recite “Ganymed”. I told him I thought he was on a good start with the poem, however it need a slight improvement.

Roughly forty years later in 1811, my family and I came to the conclusion that Leipzig was too lively a town and decided to pack up and move to Göttingen to establish another Metzgerei. While here, we recieved a visit to our house from Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm. They explained to us that they were traveling the country talking to its citizens and collecting and recording local oral tales and legends in order to compile a collection of the Germans’ unique stories. Unfortunately my family did not know any knew story that the Grimm brothers had not already heard, so they left my house and headed on their way. In 1827, I learned that Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff was going to be reciting poems at a lecture hall at the Georg-August-Universität. He told us that he was not feeling too well that evening and decided he was only going to recite one poem, and of course he picked his shortest one: “Die Mondnacht”. I think he was wanting to be at home during his illness which is why he recited a poem that concludes with him flying home.

In 1835, I decided to take a vacation to Berlin for a chance to see premiers of art or music. When I arrived, I happened to walk into the public trial of Karl Gutzkow. He was in trouble for composing his novel “Wally, die Zweiflerin” which attacked social morals of the time such as the idea of marriage. In 1865, my family decided to move the Metzgerei to Berlin after having heard the numerous stories of my visit there. My brother had informed me that he intended on staying in Göttingen because he believed his two sons would get into too much trouble in a big city like Berlin. He told me his boys have a hard time heeding rules and were always upsetting neighbors with their original antics. I informed my brother that I had come across a book by Wilhelm Busch called “Max und Moritz” that would be sure to help his children realize their mischievous faults and to help them become better behaved through threat of grinding their bones into flour.

Now in Berlin in 1882, Friedrich Nietzsche’s “Die fröhliche Wissenschaft” had just hit the streets hot off of the press and everyone was talking about it. I picked up a copy, read it and reconsidered my life as a Metzgerei owner and decided to leave the business and live as a nihilist above a grocer’s store owned by an Austrian. About thirty years later in 1915, I was drinking coffee at a corner café when a friend of mine sat down with me and introduced me to Franz Kafka. My friend told me that Kafka had a manuscript he was wanting friends to read and give criticism. The manuscript was titled “Die Verwandlung”. I was immediately attached to the title (seeing how I just went through a transformation of my own) and read the entire thing that night in my apartment above the grocer’s store owned by an Austrian. The book had awakened me from my nihilistic ways and forced me to realize my impractical hopes of isolating myself from the majority.

Now, twelve years later, I move from city to city in Germany confused and torn by my feelings of inadequacy. I stumbled upon Herman Hesse’s new release “Der Steppenwolf”. After reading his story, I completely related the recent changes in my life to that of the character Harry Haller in the book, and found a way to cope with the hardships of daily life and be a normal citizen again (only without being judged by Mozart). Then, I moved back to Leipzig and opened up a new Metzgerei.

Unruly Children; S. 608

During the Biedermeier period, children were viewed as pure, innocent and examples for adults to follow. The author Wilhelm Busch had a different view and decided to compose an illustrated book that depicted children as being honest in what they were–“active and selfish”. His book Max und Moritz: Eine Bubengeschichte in sieben Streichen is about two boys who go around playing pranks on adults for pure joy and amusement. There are seven pranks the boys perform in the book After each prank, the boys are seen laughing and never learn from their mistakes or from hurting others. After their seventh and final prank, a man decides to play a final prank and has the boys ground up in a mill–all the while he is attempting to hide a smile. Busch wanted to tell the world that as people get older, they cover up their true enjoyments and motivations. Max and Moritz embraced their enjoyments and made no attempt to hide them even in death. The man used violence (killing the boys) to restore the order of peace, but can be seen smiling in the illustration of the boys being thrown into the grinder. Modern society sometimes views children as “beings that lack intellect and reason” who need to be taught to be like adults as quick as possible rather than believing that children are children.

Ich habe ein paar Teile von Max und Moritz von dieser Website gelesen. Diese Geschichte ist genau so, wie das Buch beschrieben ist. Zwei Kinder spielen Streiche und Sie sind sorglos über die Konsequenzen. Sie sind schließlich getötet eines Erwachsenen.

The Confusion of Genre; S. 399

Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz was a writer in Germany who lived during the latter half of the 18th century. His work is rarely known outside of his lifetime and for this reason, he was considered a failure by other writers of the time such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Der Hofmeister was Lenz’s first play, considered his best work and is well-known for the style it was written in. Even though his play was written during the ‘Sturm und Drang’ period, Lenz preferred to compose the play by mixing elements from other literary periods such as “Classical rhetoric and an Enlightenment concept of language.”(s. 399) It’s popularity was mainly due to the social issues he incorporated into his play. His critics were quick to judge the play as being nothing but a failed goal for a new style of theater. Most of the situations in the play begin with one literary style and end up resolving under the guidelines of another literary style. Goethe thought Lenz was “Goethe as failure, as ruin, as idiosyncratic talent, shipwrecked on the shoals of life and art.”(s. 399) Writers continue to go through the rise and fall of success in modern times. A writer that is very popular today may not be as popular 20 years from now as well as having negative criticism pile up.

Ich habe diese Website gefunden und ich habe “An die Freude” von Friedrich Schiller gelesen. Es is eine Ode, die in 1785 geschrieben war der Sturm und Drang Epoche. Es ist besonders bekannt für seine musikalischen Einstellung komposiert von Ludwig van Beethoven in seiner neunten Symphonie.  Die Website hat Sounddateien aus Beethovens Symphonie.  Die Ode ruft in der Welt und fordert seine Mitarbeiter für die Bruderschaft von Gott.  Wenn man ist in der Brüderlichkeit, dann ist man von der Sünde vergeben.

Andreus Gryphius: Es ist alles eitel

Andreas Gryphius hat dieses Gedicht in der Dreißigjärigerkrieg geschrieben. Ich glaube daß, es der allgemeinen Sicht der Zeit entspricht. Das deutsche Volk hatte hart gearbeitet, die Entwicklung ihrer Kultur, aber es wurde mit Füßen getreten durch seine Leute in diesem Krieg. Der Autor bringt seine Trauer für sein Vaterland in diesem Gedicht. Gryphius hat Städte zerrissen von diesem Bürgerkrieg gesehen, und wollte dieses Gedicht zu schreiben, um seine Leser denken seine Botschaft. Das Gedicht kann in heutigen Tag als Ermutigung sein. Es könnte die Menschen zu schützen, was die Menschheit hat, und werfen Sie es nicht mit einem Argument.

The Baroque Novel and the Romance Tradition, S. 330

After the printing press had been invented and improved over the years, printers began releasing translations of very old works. Authors of the late 17th century began composing fictional novels based on the ancient Greek “romance” novels. Authors of these novels would often follow a model that listed certain plot factors that should appear in a decent work (a similar table can be found on page 332 of the textbook). One such author was Daniel Caspar von Lohenstein who composed the novel Arminius. The novel is over 3000 pages and was one of the more popular books in Germany at the time. In the textbook, a professor of feudal law in 18th century Leipzig tells what it was like as a young student eager to read Lohenstein’s latest novel. The novel mixes a complicated plot and dozens of characters with detailed historical descriptions and examples of social customs of the time. The story follows the romance novel model by containing characters deeply in love but separated, a malefactor who is thoroughly wicked, a big battle scene, a happy ending, lovers reunite, etc. An ancient Greek novel written by Heliodorus called Ethiopian Story is said to contain all elements of the romantic novel model. Using a set of standard guidelines for story creation seems to have carried over into the 21st century. I think that many movie writers follow a set of guidelines that have been tested and proven to maximize profit, rather than attempt to create a good story. However, I feel that movie audiences will one day demand movies with more substance and effort.

Ich habe über barocke Literatur auf dieser Website gelesen. Die Literatur würde Metaphern und Allegorie verwenden, um neue Ideen und Werte auszudrücken. Fromme Themen waren ein großes Teil barocke Literatur, weil die römische Kirche der Hauptkunde war.

Midterm – Part I

Long ago, my family lived as farmers outside the city of Aachen in what is now Germany. Even though growing up on a farm in poverty was fun, I thought growing up poor in the city and devoting my life to the church would be even better. I set off to a monastary in the city where I became a monk that received training in copying pages of text into fresh, blank codices. After spending several years in this monastary, I had completed many copies of text and had become one of the best scribes in the monastary. One day, I had heard that the Emperor Karl der Große was planning to visit the scriptorium to purchase several books. I had also learned that I was chosen to create a copy of “Parzival” that Karl der Große had personally requested. It took three months for me to complete the copy of “Parzival” and soon after, Karl der Große arrived. He briefly visited with the archbishop, collected his books and left behind a hefty donation to the church.

Further down the history time-line, I was a nobleman from 12th century Köln. I had traveled to Mainz to attend the knighting ceremony of Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa’s two sons and stay for the celebration afterward. All of the guests invited to the celebration had set-up camp all around Barbarossa’s court, each camp decorated with flags and banners of prices, archbishops, abbots, dukes, margraves, counts palatine, other counts, and noblemen. My camp was relatively small in comparison to the more lavish camps around the site. Most guests of this celebration brought members of their own court who helped carry in and arrange the their lord’s possessions so that the political/social status of the guests would be known to all. After the knighting of Emperor Barbarossa’s two sons, a tournament was held so that all of the knights in attendance (over 20,000) would have a chance to demonstrate their skill with lances, shields and banners. Even Emperor Barbarossa participated, but only challenged knights he knew to be weaker than himself.

During the 15th century, I was an employee of Johann Gutenberg at his first printing press. I was in charge of organizing printed pages of books and made sure that they stayed in proper order. This was a rather boring job especially when the Bible was being run through the press, although the exhibition of the new technology was enough to keep my job interesting. When Gutenberg first unleashed his invention, copies of the Bible were in high demand. Many other printing presses formed for the sole purpose of copying Bibles. The problem was that the Bibles were very expensive, often forcing printing presses to shut down prematurely because of overproduction and over-budgeting.

In the 16th century I was still in the printing industry, although I now worked with Martin Luther. He would give me pages of his new translation of the Bible from Latin to German, and I would arrange movable type in the printing press to begin making copies. Luther not only translated the Bible to a form of German spoken by most people, but he also incorporated different fonts into his bible to put different emphases on words or phrases without changing the meaning. This allowed the scripture to interpret itself so that the reader would not become confused on how to understand certain passages. When enough Bibles were completed, I traveled with Luther around the country visiting parish churches. Luther informed leaders of these churches about his new translation and offered to help them with interpretation issues and gave them tips on what subjects to teach their congregations. Because of Luther’s translation of the Bible, many people now spoke the same form of German all over thus bringing about standard German. That concludes the short examples of what one would see and experience having lived in the times of such revolutionary people and events that have shaped modern Germany and its people into who they are today.

Highlight of the Yiddish Renaissance, S. 256

During the fifteenth century, many Jews left Germany to settle in Northern Italy in prospects of making a better living thus adopting the Italian language and blending their culture with Italian culture. During this time, Italo-Yiddish literature began to emerge, often taking stories that were popular in the past and creating a new version to better suit the readers of the present time. One such story was “Pariz un Vyene (Paris and Vienna)”. The author of this story is unknown, however it is attributed to Elijah Levita. The theme of the story was a subject that the author believed would connect well with the Jewish audience: the choice of a marriage partner. In Jewish tradition parents choose a husband for their daughter, however, the daughter cannot be forced to marry someone they do not want. The author took the opportunity to use the story to criticize the practice of parents choosing their daughter’s spouse. “Pariz un Vyene” is about the daughter of a king who falls in love with the son of a count and the obstacles they encounter when the king refuses to allow Vienna to marry Paris who is lower in social class. This story is considered to be one of the most important works of Old Yiddish literature because of the author’s ability to take a popular European story and adapt it to the Jewish culture. Rather than compose the story in prose the author decided it would be better composed as a long rhymed epic, incorporating the Italian “ottaverime” stanza form–or the rhyme scheme abababcc. The Yiddish version of this story is the only one that utilizes the plot and character descriptions to show the comical side of human characteristics for an overall light-hearted story. Adapting well-known stories to a modern culture can be seen in American books and film today, such as Disney adaptations of fairy tales. I think that it is inevitable that cultures will continue to adapt well-known stories to suit their lifestyle of the time–sometimes improving the story, and sometimes degrading the story.

Ich könnte nicht den Text von “Paris und Vienna” auf dem Internet finden, aber ich habe über das “Bovebukh” gelesen. Es war ein anderes sehr populares jiddisches Buch, das war mit “Paris und Vienna” ähnlich. Es ist über die Tochter eines Königs, die in ein Stalljunge verliebt und der König lehnt die Verbindung zu geschehen ab. Ich denke, daß dieses Thema durch die Zeiten getragen worden ist und es heute popular ist. Viele Bücher und Filme werden noch um dieses Thema geschrieben. Die Details und die kulturellen Hinweise sind die einzigen Themen, die ändern.

A Vision of Flowing Light, S. 126

The Beguine Mechthild von Magdeburg was one of many people who spent her life devoted to imitating the life of Christ and serving the world. She and other Beguines lived in communal housing supporting each other with posessions they had before entering the beguinage. For jobs, Beguines would implement trade skills, such as spinning and weaving, to become part of the textile industry workforce. Beguines also sometimes worked as nurses and teachers for young girls. Even though Beguines lived a lifestyle promoting humility and servitude, the male-authorities during this time opposed their way of life saying it was unacceptable for women to live that way. Amidst the strong opposition to her lifestyle, Mechthild felt compelled to compose a collection of books that could be shared with the world. “Das fliessende Licht der Gottheit” was the title of the collection she composed. The problem with her books was that she claimed they were written through her by God and circulates the idea that “only in suffering with Christ in his humanity can one be joined with him in his divinity.” She also touches on issues of corruption and hypocrisy in the Church, but never directly challenges the church in her books. Though she never delves into radical claims, the author of this essay believes that “the seeds for [radical claims] lie within her work.” I think that if a person were to compose a book with new ideas and messages about the relationship between man and God and claim God had written the book through them in today’s world would probably receive the same type of criticism from the public as well as the Church…although they probably wouldn’t have to fear being burnt at the stake.

Höfische Feste, S. 76

Courtly festivals were celebrations held by emperors at their imperial courts whose main purpose was to display the power and majesty of an emperor’s court. One such festival at Mainz, hosted by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa during Pentecost, was documented in the Hennegau Chronicle by Gislebert of Mons. Gislebert was a clerk to Count Balduin of Hennegau and documented his lord’s arrival and stay at Barbarossa’s festival. Count Balduin was one of the most prestigious guests and was even allowed to carry the ceremonial sword at the festivities. Count Balduin also participated in the tournament; assisting Barbarossa by holding his lance as the Emperor demonstrated his skill of use of his shield.

After reading the article about courtly festivals, I could relate the activities to modern society. Festivals like this are still held today by those who wish to remind the world of their wealth and/or power (though most are held without a jousting tournament and do not require guests to camp out on the host’s property). We see these activities among world leaders, Hollywood stars and other wealthy people.  I think Barbarossa’s festival was a way of “uniting” his empire while proving and justifying his ability to reign over them.