“A Conversation about Trees”. A Short History of One Misunderstanding Cover Image

„Gespräch über Bäume“. Kleine Geschichte eines Missverständnisses
“A Conversation about Trees”. A Short History of One Misunderstanding

Author(s): Robert Rduch
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Language and Literature Studies, Studies of Literature, German Literature, Theory of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: Bertolt Brecht; a conversation about trees; German literature history; 20th Century; politics

Summary/Abstract: The article outlines the history of the literary topos “Gespräch über Bäume” (“a conversation about trees”) in German-language literature. The author analyses Bertolt Brecht’s poem, An die Nachgeborenen (To Those Who Follow in Our Wake), which is the source of the phrase “Gespräch über Bäume,” and presents the functioning of this topos on the chosen examples in various historical and literary contexts after 1945. The author also points to the fact that misinterpretations of the poem contributed to the popularity of this topos.

  • Issue Year: 2017
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 99-113
  • Page Count: 15
  • Language: German