Chapter 521 is wonderful!
Chapter 521 is wonderful!
“No wonder Kleist’s works have such varied styles—is it because he was driven all his life?” Cornis felt as if he had come to know this playwright from his own country for the first time.
"The Man Who Wrestled with Demons" gives a more accurate definition, which is psychedelic art.
For example, in the drama "Pentesilia", the extreme passion in the creation is fully revealed, as well as the profound exploration of human nature.
"Pentesilia" is based on the story of the Trojan War and is an adaptation of the image of Penthesilia. She was injured in the battle and captured by Achilles. Later, she accidentally revealed the secret of the Amazon Kingdom...
This story, combined with the author's experience, and the content's penetrating analysis of Penthesilia's inner world and the expression of human weakness, makes it difficult for Cornis not to wonder whether Kleist used his own mental journey as a template for the character?
“It’s full of obsessive and fanatical creations and trembling leaps of spirit, but is this really okay?” Conis wondered.
The constant, insecure escape can produce such spiritually inspiring works, which leads people to immerse themselves in this mode. However, no one appreciates the works, so there is no success in the secular sense as a psychological support. Instead, people feel more defeated and want to escape more!
"The Man Who Wrestled with Demons" compares Kleist with Goethe. Goethe is a poet who can control the "devil", while Königs... As far as we can see, this "devil" is the "desire" that drives the writer to create.
There is a description in the book that Kleist disappeared, and his friends' first reaction was to go to the morgue to look for him. When his family hadn't heard from him for more than a week, they thought he might have had an accident. Why? Because his family thought he was the kind of person who would put himself in danger! So Kleist's demon was the abyss-like insecurity and the experience of fleeing.
Unlike Goethe, Kleist was conquered by the "devil". The former successfully transformed the "devil" into the power of creation through reason and self-control, while the latter gradually lost self-control under the impact of the "devil" and eventually went to destruction.
Koenigs reacted, and Kleist first killed a female patient suffering from cancer at Wannsee in Berlin on November 1811, 11, and then committed suicide. His destruction was very complete.
[If pain experiences the grace of creation, then all pain is significant and becomes the most sublime magic of life, because only those who are completely shattered will understand the desire for perfection, and only those who are driven will reach the realm of infinity.]
What an accurate description! The last words of Kleist's chapter are from the original text of "Pentesilea": The dead oaks stand tall in the gale, but the living oaks are blown to the ground because the wind can reach their crowns.
"After watching it, I felt an urge to go and read Kleist's plays immediately. This is the most perfect biography I have ever seen."
Connected with fate, Konis deeply understood that Kleist's tragic fate was closely related to his "devilishness".
"The first Kleist is a person who failed in his fight with the devil. The next one should be about a person who successfully fought with the devil?" Cornis wanted to continue reading the second article. His second article was about Hölderlin.
But he stopped after reading only the beginning, because Conis' emotions were still lingering on the figure who was forever driven away.
"Mr. Gu Lu is not just writing casually. His understanding of German literature is probably no less than mine. Even though his evaluation of Kleist was a failed struggle, his words were full of sympathy. Kleist is a great artist!"
Before this, Königs would not have associated greatness with Kleist. As mentioned before, in the fields of drama, novels and poetry, he was at most T2 in Germany, and his literary achievements were far behind those of Goethe, Heine, Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, and Erich Maria.
Can you imagine? Even the well-informed vice president of Cornish is like this, let alone other readers.
No wonder it is said that the status of poets, writers, painters and other creative people is not static after death. Because there will be the strongest "assistant" like Gu Lu!
He looked at the other committee members and found that two of his colleagues also raised their heads with similar expressions, both of them sighing solemnly. Did they all find it difficult to calm down after reading the first article?
Among the other members, there is one who read the Hölderlin article first. Her name is Bede, and she is a poet.
If Kleist is T2 in the field of German literature, then Hölderlin is - difficult to evaluate.
He is said to be the "pioneer of classical romantic poetry" who has been forgotten by the world for a century, but have those who are studying in Germany or are interested in German literature heard of him?
Bede had read a lot of poetry, but he had only read two of Hölderlin's representative works.
[But the new century does not love its reckless young generation. It is worried about their abundance and suspiciously fears their overflow. It uses an iron sickle to ruthlessly cut off its own spring seedlings. …]
The cold words at the beginning of the article set the tone for this biography.
Hölderlin said it was creation, but more accurately it was a dialogue with God through poetry.
He regarded poetry as a sacred mission.
The poet can be “the voice of the gods.”
A poet can be “the voice of the people.”
This is Hölderlin's persistence, his inner demon, and the main reason why his poems have a sense of mystery and solemnity.
Hölderlin was "a tree struck by lightning", burning in the flames of passion and eventually turning into ashes.
"'The only people who believe in God are those who are God themselves.' What a magnificent poem! Hölderlin was pursuing divinity, so what am I pursuing?" In fact, Bede's current mood is a little different from that of Konis.
The latter sighed at the writer's tragic yet brilliant life after reading it, while Bed began to doubt her own writing career because, after careful consideration, she still hadn't found the theme she had been pursuing throughout her life.
As an aside, it may be difficult to understand the beauty of foreign poetry, but if you read it without understanding it too much, you will find many good sentences. For example, the sentence from the poem "The Poet's Mission" reminds me of a classic line from a Chinese cartoon that was postponed: "Those who truly believe in miracles are as great as miracles themselves."
To sum up, it’s okay to watch famous things when you are bored.
While I was chatting away, about ten minutes passed by in a flash.
All seven people at the round table finished reading, including Chairman Orr, who only read one article. However, their expressions were no longer as relaxed as they were at the beginning.
There are a lot of words in my throat that I want to say.
(End of this chapter)