TY - JOUR

T1 - BETWEEN ‘URBILD’ AND ‘ABBILD’: THE CONCEPTION OF THE IMAGE IN CELAN'S POEMS ‘BEI WEIN UND VERLORENHEIT’, ‘TENEBRAE’, AND ‘HALBZERFRESSENER’

AU - Koch, Julian Johannes Immanuel

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - This article contends that the image is a central trope in Paul Celan's poetry. It suggests that Celan's rejection of metaphor and his opposition to readings of his poetry as mere imagery constitute only one side of his understanding of the image. On the other hand, Celan embraces the image when it goes beyond the merely figurative or imitative and approaches a form of ‘Urbild’. This article traces Celan's understanding of the image as split between ‘Urbild’ and ‘Abbild’ in his mature poems ‘Bei Wein und Verlorenheit’, ‘Tenebrae’, and ‘Halbzerfressener’, through which we will also gain a fuller sense of how Celan conceives of language and poetic voice.

AB - This article contends that the image is a central trope in Paul Celan's poetry. It suggests that Celan's rejection of metaphor and his opposition to readings of his poetry as mere imagery constitute only one side of his understanding of the image. On the other hand, Celan embraces the image when it goes beyond the merely figurative or imitative and approaches a form of ‘Urbild’. This article traces Celan's understanding of the image as split between ‘Urbild’ and ‘Abbild’ in his mature poems ‘Bei Wein und Verlorenheit’, ‘Tenebrae’, and ‘Halbzerfressener’, through which we will also gain a fuller sense of how Celan conceives of language and poetic voice.

U2 - 10.1111/glal.12298

DO - 10.1111/glal.12298

M3 - Journal article

VL - 74

SP - 183

EP - 202

JO - German Life and Letters

JF - German Life and Letters

SN - 0016-8777

IS - 2

ER -