Austrian literature
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Austrian literature is the German language literature written in Austria. We can speak about Austrian literature in the strict sense from the year 1803 on when Francis II disbanded Holy Roman Empire and established Austrian Empire. A more liberal definition incorporates all the literary works written on the territory of historical Austria and German speaking authors who were tightly connected with the country. The Austrian literature must be considered in close connection with German literature in general and the borderline between proper German literature and the Austrian one is fuzzy.
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[edit] Origin and background
There are and have been many tries to work out a complete definition of Austrian literature. Something most people can agree on is that there are certain differences and distinctive motives common in this literature which make it stand apart from other literary traditions.
The Austrian literature can be divided into two main divisions, namely the period up until the mid-20th century, and the period subsequent, in which both the Austro-Hungarian and German empires were gone. Austria went from being a major European power, to being a small country. In addition, there is a body of literature which some would deem Austrian, but is not written in German.
Complementing its status as a land of artists, Austria is a country where great poets, writers and novelists lived and created their literary works. It was the home of novelists / short-story writers Arthur Schnitzler, Friedrich Halm, Stefan Zweig, Franz Kafka, Thomas Bernhard, Joseph Roth, or Robert Musil, of poets Georg Trakl, Franz Werfel, Franz Grillparzer, Rainer Maria Rilke or Adalbert Stifter. Famous contemporary playwrights and novelists are Elfriede Jelinek and Peter Handke.
This article tries to provide some definitions which together may give a better understanding of authors and literature in Austria and its territorial predecessors.
[edit] The search for a definition
The main problem of defining a dynamic development may be that any definition will fall short of the various currents which lead to a certain type of literature. Through the centuries, there have been many different approaches, but most of them have been criticised to be biased - cultural, ideological or political. The Austrian literature developed out of a symbiosis of different regional traditions and languages.
In the Middle Ages, there was a homogeneous zone along the Danube river, spanning from Bavaria down to the eastern territories. Travellers and bards moved along this route, bringing with them new influences. At the same time Alps had their forbidding little valleys, which were virtually untouched - they developed their own regional culture.
This is important, because it remains characteristic through the centuries. On the one hand, there were writers strictly in the tradition of a region (like towns, countries etc.), language or culture, on the other hand there was a continuous influence on each others writing and thinking.
The multi-ethnic Austro-Hungarian Empire should therefore not be reduced to the German parts of the empire. There were large ethnic or religious minorities in nearly all regional capitals, like Prague, Budapest or Vienna - microcosmoses with their own traditions and characteristics.
Franz Kafka may be a good example: while in some of his writings he was declaring himself to be "German" this was meant more in relation to the ethnic minority living in Prague than as a declaration for another part of the empire. The official language in the school Franz went to was German, in private he spoke Czech, most of his works were written in German while private letters, like the ones to his lover Milena Jesenská were written in Czech. So perhaps he was a "German-speaking-secular-Jewish-born-in-Prague-Austro-Hungarian-Austro-Czech writer" - a term which best shows the difficulties that are to be faced.
Besides the national differences between the provinces, there were also different regions which influenced the writing style. There were Alps with their distinctive traditions, the deep woods, the coastal regions around Trieste (now Italy and Slovenia) and the Croatian islands, which served as the Austro-Hungarian equivalent to the French Cote d'Azur, a centre for writers, painters and other artists.
[edit] Literature through the centuries
[edit] Middle Ages
[edit] From the beginnings to the end of the early Middle Ages (about 750-1170)
Before and during the early Middle Ages poetry was spread verbally most of the time. Out of this reason it has been lost nearly completely. The texts conserved are limited to the scripts in monasteries.
Materials were expensive and their production difficult. Therefore nearly only works of value - and that often meant religious texts - were written down. In addition most texts were also translated into latin before the were put down (e.g. Germanic tribal laws).
Different sources however suggest that there also existed aristocratic historical records (like Heldenlieder), lyric folklore (dance, love songs, spells). Only by accident individual texts were preserved in monasteries. Examples for this are the "Merseburger Zaubersprüche", two Germanic spells being the only written proofs for pagan religion in the German speaking lands. The "Hildebrandslied" is important as voucher of Germanic hero literature.
The first German texts were written to translate Latin religious books around 750 in the early Middle Ages. The Benedictine communities in Melk and Salzburg were carrying on notable literary and religious activities. Ava (1060-1127), who was the first known female writing in German, wrote in this religiously inspired tradition and lived in the territories which were then and now within borders of Austria.
[edit] High and Late Middle Ages (1170 - 1500)
With the crusades around 1160, the knights became more important and prosperous. The oral minnesang was a new form, dealing with their live. The topics of the ballads were also more worldly with themes ranging from love and war to political criticism. There was a lot of travelling along the Danube river, with travelling bards (Minnesänger) bringing news and new songs. The towns were getting rich and independent. The first representants of this movement and first known male writers in German were Der von Kürenberg and Dietmar von Aist (12th century). At the end of 12th century one of the most important literary works of the times, Nibelungenlied, emerged. It was created by an unknown minnesang poet most probably in the territories of Austria. As the tradition of minnesang grew, the older poets started teaching younger ones. For example probably the most known German bard Walther von der Vogelweide (13ht century) learnt his craft from Reinmar von Hagenau at the court in Vienna. Among other known minnesang poets are Neidhart, Jans der Enikel, Ulrich von Liechtenstein, and Oswald von Wolkenstein.
In the 12th century, satire was also developing. Seifried Helbling was an example of a writer who wrote texts of this type.
Later on the minnesang, that was cultivated by knights, became a craft practised by burghers – meistersingers. Its centre was more to the west, in Nuremberg. Michael Beheim was a meistersinger poet strongly connected with the court in Vienna. Yet another form that developed at that time was drama. Especially, presentations of Passion were regularly played. Das Wiener Passionsspiel is worth mentioning here.
[edit] Renaissance
Around 1600, the humanism, with his rediscovery of the ancient cultures and ideals spread from Italy throughout Europe. Emperor Maximilian I was a big supporter of this movement. He managed to gather around his court in Vienna humanists such as Conrad Celtes – the founder of Collegium Poetarum or in the later time poet laureat Vadian (Joachim von Watt) who wrote in Latin. Eleonore of Austria translated to German a widely read French adventure novel Pontus et la belle Sidonie. Big figures of the Catholic Church of that time Nicholas of Cusa and Petrus Canisius were connected with Austrian court and a few of their works wrote in German.
[edit] Baroque
The 30 year war gripped Europe the and the writers reacted: while some of them dealt with the gruel situation or turned to God, others wrote about a beautiful and peaceful world readers could flee to. The humorous stories (Schelmenromane) brought smiles to the suffering people. Abraham a Sancta Clara (around 1650) wrote religious and comical works. Catharina Regina von Greiffenberg (around 1650) wrote religious poems at that time.
As a reaction to the protestant movements of Renaissance, many catholic schools emerged on the territories of Austria. These colleges lead by the Jesuit order developed plays and operas that were based on Italian style and impressed most by their luxurious equipment. Sermon was an important genre of the catholic literature of baroque. The mentioned above Benedictine monk Abraham a Sancta Clara was a notable preacher of the times. A jesuit, Georg Scherer, is another example of a monk the sermons of whom were published and had a wider audience.
Another literaric form were improvised plays called "Hanswurstspiele". This direction was represented by Josef Anton Stranitzky, Gottfried Prehauser, Joachim Perinet and Josef Felix von Kurz-Bernardon.
Examples of baroque epic are the knight novels and "Schelmenromane" of Johann Beer, which represent a realistic description of the reality at that time.
[edit] Enlightenment
With the start of Enlightenment around 1720, philosophy and the need of literature to educate the reader (Lehrdichtung, Bildungsroman) were two new and strong motivations for literature.
Aristotle and his school of thinking was revived. These ideas developed on the territories of Austria during the rule of Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II. Around 1790 the ideas of Enlightenment were firmly rooted and the ancient classic cultures (Greek and Roman) were the inspiration for poets, artists, architects and writers. Harmony and Beauty were some of the ideals of that time.
The Austrian literature also was under the strong influence of Freemasonry and strongly connected with the criticism towards clergy. All these circumstences caused that the litarature started to be more educative and instructional. The satire started to be one of the most frequently used literary genres.
The literary life of Enlightenment concentrated around an almanac Wienerischer Musen-Almanach. It was started in 1777 (from 1786 under a changed title Wiener Musen-Almanach) by Joseph Franz von Ratschky and Gottlieb von Leon. Aloys Blumauer was also its editor since 1781 (he even edited a few editions alone).
A notable place in the Austrian literature of this period has Johann Baptist von Alxinger who wrote chivalric epics Doolin von Maynz (1787) and Bliomberis (1791) which were inspired by the tradition of Freemasonry. Alxinger also wrote poetry based on anticlerical ideas.
The writings of a might-have-been monk Johann Pezzl also had a profile of this kind. He wrote journalistic and epic texts.
Classical vision of poetry promoted by Joseph Schreyvogel strongly influenced later authors (for instance Franz Grillparzer). Schreyvogel improved considerably the quality of the Austrian theatre. He was a dramatic adviser at the Wiener Burgtheater from 1814-32.
Another important dramatist was Johann Nepomuk von Kalchberg, but historical themes of his dramas give his work the flavour of Romanticism.
[edit] First half of 19th century
Around 1790 these ideas were firmly rooted and the ancient classic cultures (Greek and Roman) were the inspiration for poets, artists, architects and writers. Harmony and Beauty were some of the ideals of that time. There was a lot of philosophical and aesthetic writing which accumulated in the Romantic era around 1820 (mostly writers from the nobility). With the Napoleonic Wars going on, a lot of people wanted literature which took them away in a fantasy world. A lot of religious writing was also providing people with new hope. Klemens Maria Hofbauer, Eduard von Bauernfeld and Franz Grillparzer are but three of the writers influenced by these events. The German writer Karl Wilhelm Friedrich von Schlegel also lived and worked in Vienna around 1809.
Between the years 1815, the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and 1848, the year of the European revolutions the Biedermeier contrasted with the Romantic era which preceded it. Biedermeier can be identified with two trends in early nineteenth-century history.
The first trend is growing urbanisation and industrialisation leading to a new urban middle class. The early Lieder of Schubert, which were performable at the piano without substantial musical training, serve as examples. Further, Biedermeier writers were mainly middle-class, as opposed to the Romantics, who were mainly drawn from the nobility. The second trend is the growing political oppression following the end of the Napoleonic Wars prompting people to concentrate on the domestic and the non-political.
[edit] Biedermeier
Biedermeier refers to work in the fields of literature, music, the visual arts and interior design in the period between the years 1815 (Vienna Congress), the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and 1848, the year of the European revolutions and contrasts with the Romantic era which preceded it.
Biedermeier can be identified with two trends in early nineteenth-century German history.
The first trend is growing urbanization and industrialization leading to a new urban middle class. The early Lieder of Schubert, which were performable at the piano without substantial musical training, serve as examples. Further, Biedermeier writers were mainly middle-class, as opposed to the Romantics, who were mainly drawn from the nobility.
The second trend is the growing political oppression following the end of the Napoleonic Wars prompting people to concentrate on the domestic and (at least in public) the non-political. The strict publication rules and the censorship had the consequence, that the main topics written about were unpolitical, eg Historical Fiction or Books about the quiet life in the countryside. This does not mean that there was not a lot of political discussion going on, but it happened at home and in the presence of close friends. This explosive situation finally lead to the revolutions in Europe in the year 1848.
Poets of that time in Austria-Hungary were Nikolaus Lenau (1802-1850) or the poems of Adalbert Stifter und Franz Grillparzer.
Writers of that time were Annette von Droste-Hülshoff (1797-1848) ("Die Judenbuche"), who wrote some of their works at the lake "Bodensee" in the three country triangle Austria, Switzerland and Germany or Adalbert Stifter (1805-1868) in Austria.
Play-writers at that time were Franz Grillparzer (1791-1872), Friedrich Halm (1806-1871), also an accomplished writer of "Novellen" (novellas / short stories), Johann Nepomuk Nestroy (1801-1862) and Ferdinand Raimund (1790-1836). Grillparzer wrote tragedies in the tradition of the "Weimarer Klassik", Nestroy and Raimund were representatives for the "Wiener Volksstück" mainly played at the vienese theater "Volkstheater Wien".
The end of biedermeier is marked by the writings of Adalbert Stifter. His first work Nachsommer was published in 1857, but was still believed to be on of the finest works of biedermeier. Stifter not only influenced Rosegger or Ganghofer, Heyse, Freytag and Wildenbruch, but also later writers (the time of "Bürgerlichen Realismus") like Storm, Fontane and through them Thomas Mann and Hesse.
