„[W]o die himmlischen Zauber der Töne wohnen“. Bemerkungen zu E. T. A. Hoffmanns Don Juan
"[W]here the heavenly magic of the tones dwell". Remarks on E. T. A. Hoffmann's Don Juan

Summary/Abstract: The affinity of romantic literature to music is well known. This is especially true for E. T. A. Hoffmann, who was not only a writer, but also a music critic, conductor, and composer. Music is often a theme in his literary work and the texts are often based on musical structures. The paper examines a single narrative in greater detail, which is relatively seldom treated in the rich and varied Hoffmann research. It will be explained how the individual sound effects and the musical experience are connected to the various states of consciousness of the recipient and how they put him in a state of artistic creativity. At the same time, by analyzing the structures of repetitions, it can be shown how the enthusiast ultimately identifies with what he believes is the ideal Don Juan figure, thereby realizing the structural principle of the work, the mutual interpenetration of reality and imagination.

• Details
• Contents