Crisis and Form in the Later Writing of Ingeborg Bachmann
An Aesthetic Examination of the Poetic Drafts of the 1960s

Áine McMurtry

MHRA Texts and Dissertations 84

Bithell Series of Dissertations 39

Modern Humanities Research Association and the Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies

30 May 2012  •  253pp

ISBN: 978-1-907322-39-6 (hardback)  •  RRP £34.99, $48.99, €41.99

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ContemporaryGermanPoetry


Ingeborg Bachmann (1927-73), one of the most acclaimed German-language poets of the post-war period, famously turned away from the lyric during the 1960s. Publicly declaring that she had stopped writing poetry, Bachmann began work on the prose Todesarten cycle that would dominate the last decade of her life. During a period of personal breakdown in the 1960s, however, she privately continued to write in verse, and the publication of selected drafts in 2000 threw new light on her compositional methods in this period.

As the most extensive study to date of the poetic drafts, this monograph leads away from the polemic that surrounded their publication to establish the fragmentary texts as an experimental stage of writing that proved formally and thematically significant for later published prose works. Bridging the genre gap of much Bachmann scholarship, McMurtry illuminates the development of a reflexive mode where sophisticated aesthetic strategies enable the oblique expression of cultural critique.

Áine McMurtry is Lecturer in German at King's College London.

Reviews:

  • ‘There is precious little in McMurtry’s approach and textual interpretation that invites criticism. In fact, one so often feels compelled to applaud the subtlety of these examinations, the comprehensiveness of argument, and sheer erudition of the author... With this study McMurtry has positioned herself in the forefront of contemporary Bachmann scholarship.’ — Rüdiger Görner, Modern Language Review 109, 2014, 1144-45 (full text online)
  • ‘The study’s solid grounding in Bachmann research, and modern European literature in general, means that it provides a useful starting point for readers who are new to Bachmann’s work, academics interested in modern literature or philosophy, and Bachmann scholars in search of a new perspective on her work.’ — Lina Fisher, German Quarterly 2013, 110-12

Contents:

i-iv

Front Matter
Áine McMurtry
doi:10.2307/j.ctt2tt807.1

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v-vi

Table of Contents
Áine McMurtry
doi:10.2307/j.ctt2tt807.2

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vii-viii

Acknowledgements
Á. M.
doi:10.2307/j.ctt2tt807.3

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ix-ix

Abbreviations
Áine McMurtry
doi:10.2307/j.ctt2tt807.4

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x-x

[Illustration]
Áine McMurtry
doi:10.2307/j.ctt2tt807.5

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1-36

Introduction
Áine McMurtry
doi:10.2307/j.ctt2tt807.6

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37-85

Chapter 1 Writing in the 1960s
Áine McMurtry
doi:10.2307/j.ctt2tt807.7

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86-133

Chapter 2 the Case of the Berlin Writings
Áine McMurtry
doi:10.2307/j.ctt2tt807.8

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134-188

Chapter 3 ‘Liebe Ist Ein Kunstwerk’: the Appeal To Gaspara Stampa
Áine McMurtry
doi:10.2307/j.ctt2tt807.9

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189-222

Chapter 4 Tristan and the Composition of A Reflexive Aesthetic
Áine McMurtry
doi:10.2307/j.ctt2tt807.10

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223-227

Conclusion
Áine McMurtry
doi:10.2307/j.ctt2tt807.11

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228-242

Bibliography
Áine McMurtry
doi:10.2307/j.ctt2tt807.12

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243-252

INDEX
Áine McMurtry
doi:10.2307/j.ctt2tt807.13

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Bibliography entry:

McMurtry, Áine, Crisis and Form in the Later Writing of Ingeborg Bachmann: An Aesthetic Examination of the Poetic Drafts of the 1960s, MHRA Texts and Dissertations, 84 (MHRA, 2012)

First footnote reference: 35 Áine McMurtry, Crisis and Form in the Later Writing of Ingeborg Bachmann: An Aesthetic Examination of the Poetic Drafts of the 1960s, MHRA Texts and Dissertations, 84 (MHRA, 2012), p. 21.

Subsequent footnote reference: 37 McMurtry, p. 47.

(To see how these citations were worked out, follow this link.)

Bibliography entry:

McMurtry, Áine. 2012. Crisis and Form in the Later Writing of Ingeborg Bachmann: An Aesthetic Examination of the Poetic Drafts of the 1960s, MHRA Texts and Dissertations, 84 (MHRA)

Example citation: ‘A quotation occurring on page 21 of this work’ (McMurtry 2012: 21).

Example footnote reference: 35 McMurtry 2012: 21.

(To see how these citations were worked out, follow this link.)


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