Paul Celan's Atemwende: About the 'Death of Speech' and the 'Hope of Silence'
In brief, from legend and myth we know that through the word and through language creation took place. [...]the world was formed and since that time words and language have brought creation and life to a standstiU, even to annihilation. Long before the period of romanticism, but particularly during...
Saved in:
| Published in: | Sulfur (Pasadena, Calif.) Calif.), 1984, Vol.11 (11), p.71 |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | eng |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | In brief, from legend and myth we know that through the word and through language creation took place. [...]the world was formed and since that time words and language have brought creation and life to a standstiU, even to annihilation. Long before the period of romanticism, but particularly during the romantic age, the "Hope of Silence," which was the single and unavoidable result of the "Death of Speech," affected the carmina non prius audita, those ménages bestowed upon man by nature, which stir in dreams that remain inaudible "untü our noisy delights slip into silence." The frozen state of "Weggebeizt," the reduction of the written text per se to an ice crystal (of the genuine or the mendacious poem, or of writing altogether) is also an attempt to silence language, i.e., the German language, to make language mute from within: e-i-o. [...]one almost hears Kafka's voice from "An Imperial Message") never, never will this take place and, if it did, nothing would be gained, because language would again become contaminated. [...]the "AtemkristaU" signifies salvation, a rescue which, as it is speUed out, denotes salvation, but, in its hypothetical context, cannot be salvation. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0730-305X |