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Robert Hamerling and the Survival of Epic
Author: Robertson, Ritchie
Source: Austrian Studies, Volume 16, Number 1, 1 December 2008 , pp. 142-153(12)
Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association
Abstract:
Although it is widely believed that in the nineteenth century the epic was replaced by the novel, Robert Hamerling's immensely successful epic Ahasuerus in Rome (1865) exemplifies the genre's continuing popularity. The poem is interpreted as an indirect attack on the plutocratic France of Napoleon III and as an expression of Hamerling's `Christian-Germanic' nationalism. Paradoxically, however, Hamerling also owed a great debt to Heine, which is illustrated from this poem and from his later humorous epic Homunculus (1887).German
Entgegen der landläufigen Annahme, dass im neunzehnten Jahrhundert das Epos weitgehend vom Roman verdrängt wurde, wird die dauerhafte Beliebtheit epischer Dichtungen an Robert Hamerlings höchst erfolgreichem Epos Ahasver in Rom (1865) dargestellt. Interpretiert wird das Gedicht zugleich als ein satirischer Angriff auf das von Geld-und Gewinnsucht dominierte Frankreich des Napoleon III. und als Ausdruck von Hamerlings christlich-germanischem Nationalismus. Paradoxerweise aber war Hamerling der Poesie Heines vielfach verpflichtet, nicht nur in Ahasver, sondern auch im späteren humoristischen Epos Homunkulus (1887).
Keywords: Epic; novel; Robert Hamerling's; Ahasuerus in Rome; Napoleon III; nationalism; Heine; Homunculus; Epos; Roman; Robert Hamerlings; Ahasver in Rom; Napoleon III; Nationalismus; Heines; Homunkulus
Document Type: Research article
Affiliations: 1: St John's College, Oxford
Publication date: 2008-12-01
- Austrian Studies is an annual journal reflecting sustained interest in the distinctive cultural traditions of the Habsburg Empire and the Austrian Republic. By publishing a wide range of articles in English, together with a selection of book reviews, it aims to make recent research accessible to a broadly based international readership.
The focus is on Austrian culture from 1750 to the present. Literature is considered in relation to psychology, philosophy, political theory, music, theatre, film, and the visual arts. 'Austrian' includes German-language culture of former areas of the Habsburg Empire, such as Prague and the Bukovina, as well as the work of people of Austrian origin living abroad. Austrian interactions with other linguistic and ethnic groups -- the Jewish communities of Austria-Hungary, for example -- are also taken into account.
Each volume of Austrian Studies has a coherent but broadly conceived theme, and reviews of the most important recent publications in the field of Austrian studies. Each volume also includes a number of substantial review essays devoted either to keeping readers up to date with major cultural debates and events, or to areas of scholarship in which activity has been particularly intense.
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- In this Subject: Social Science (General)
- By this author: Robertson, Ritchie
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