Home > Humanities And Science > Academics

Between the Muse and the Unconscious - Goethe, a Poet in Crisis

by Julian Scutts

WANDERING OR THE (POET'S) QUEST FOR ORIGINS, LIBERTY AND SELF-DISCOVERY

1. A basic Implication of the Verbs "to wander" and "wandern"

The German verb "wandern" and the English verb "to wander" are not necessarily identical in meaning, in as far as meanings can be indicated by lexical definitions, but they do often imply that when wandering, a person walks or travels without having a fixed goal, or at least one that this wanderer is able to reach at an appointed time. In such terms we may speak of Ulysses and the Israelites under the leadership of Moses as "wanderers". The wanderer's lack of a fixed timetable often carries with it the implication that he or she enjoys freedom of movement, indeed freedom itself. Such freedom may well involve exposure to dangers, whether physical, moral or psychological in nature, hence a need for guidance and tutelage. The necessary guidance may come from the experience of wandering itself, as the wanderer, in order to survive, gains self-knowledge, and this in turn involves a growing awareness of the wanderer's origins and original purposes. In as far as "wandering" can be recognised as a literary phenomenon, this general outline takes on a fresh aspect with the coming of a new historical period. In one regard at least, there is no difficulty in locating appearances of this phenomenon, if one considers the implication of the word "to wander" within its textual setting. In Milton's works the word "wander" often carries a signification that is to be understood within a theological frame, as when it concerns Man's moral freedom, the Fall and the path to Redemption.


Goethe's "Speech on Shakespeare's Day" (1771)

The age in which the word "Wanderer" gained greatest prominence in the titles of poems and other works of literature began in 1771, when Goethe published his "Speech on Shakespeare's Day" ("Rede zu Shakespears Tag"). The speech itself is perhaps no great work of the literary art but rather an adolescent verbal outburst pleading for a break with neo-Aristotelian rules regarding the writing of dramatic works. The Speech, originally delivered to members of the Darmstadt literary circle to which Herder also belonged, is imbued with the restlessness, impatience and intemperance so characteristic of the spirit of that literary and philosophical current known as "Storm and Stress", the chief watchword of which was "liberty" .in political terms and "wandering" in the literary sphere. The lasting significance of the "Speech" lies not in its polemical message, for Goethe later submitted some of his plays to the principles laid down by Aristotle. It lay rather in the semiotic effect of a word contained in the "Speech", namely "Wanderer", in a sentence describing Shakespeare as "the greatest Wanderer" ("der größte Wandrer"). With the aid of hindsight we may regard the speech as a manifesto, a program and even a prophecy anticipating later works by Goethe that share the kernal associations established in the Speech,for Shakespeare was to prove Goethe's "friend and companion" through life according to Goethe's late poem "Zwischen beiden Welten" ("Between both Worlds"). This names "William" and "Lida" (a reference to Frau von Stein) as those who exerted the greatest influence on his development as a poet. His novel Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre records the wanderings of the chief protagonist, an actor with a great love of Shakespearean drama.

In order to gain some measure of the word's significance and later impact we must do more than consult a dictionary to discover which of the several possible meanings of the word best fits a certain context in the general manner of dealing with words in a non-literary text. Shakespeare is called "the greatest Wanderer" on the basis of Goethe's recognition of the sheer scope and range of Shakespeare's imagination. Indeed, a consideration of the etymology of "Wanderer" reveals that the verb from which it is derived could with equal facility convey the senses of turning (cf Gm..wenden), changing (cf. Gm. Wandel) as well as moving physically (cf. Engl. went) and acquired (in an age when every transformation could be attributed to a magical or spiritual influence) mythological and religious connotations that gave rise to references to Odin as the Wanderer and to the appellation of "wanderer" applied to such figures as those of Cain, the Israelites and the archetypal spiritual pilgrim.

Even in common idioms the abstract notions of progress and the sweeping range of mental powers are expressed in what has all too often become lack-lustre figures of speech such as "to make great strides" or "leaps of the imagination" and it is on the basis of such commonplace imagery that the essay presents the dominant and vital image of a giant bestriding the globe. Same usage is found in Goethe's poetic homage to his late friend and literary co-protagonist Friedrich Schiller in the lines of "Epilog zu Schillers Glocke" (65-68)

Ihr kanntet ihn, wie er mit Riesenschritte / den Kreis des Wollens, des Vollbringens maß, durch Zeit und Land, der Völker Sinn und Sitte, Das dunkle Buch mit heiterm Blicke las:

(You knew him as one who measured the ambit (circle) of the will, of consumate achievement, with giant steps across time and land, across the mind and custom of peoples)

In this citation the metaphor conveyed by a reference to "giant steps" is not far removed from common usage of the kind just mentioned. Through force of habit one tends to apply figures of speech unconsciously, overlooking their original metaphorical core. Even common and conventional metaphors may be refurbished by a poet, as the Speech gives ample proof. The image of a striding giant in this case occupies centre stage and totally emancipates itself from the reasoning it is ostensibly meant to clarify. It merges the classical figure of Prometheus (for Shelley no less than for Goethe a symbol of rebellion against tyranny) and a giant in seven-league boots, representing the world of folklore and popular legends, a world which enthused young Goethe, having been mediated to him under Herder's influence. It was also Herder who led Goethe to an awareness and appreciation of Shakespearean drama. This fusion of cultural references anticipates, almost prophetically, Goethe's ability to intertwine evocations of Classical Greece and expressions of patriotic sentiments inspired by the hope of German cultural unity in his epic poem, Hermann und Dorothea , the very title of which reflects the selfsame project..

The reference to Prometheus in the Speech recalls the mythical Titan, both as the creator of mankind, therefore a fitting symbol of artistic originality, and as the rebel seeking freedom from the oppressive rule of Zeus, reflecting a desire for greater liberty in the realms of politics, society and the arts.. In short, the word "Wanderer" forms the nexus of multiple references and images contained in the essay and thus gains a supercharged meaning or value in much the same way that words in poetry do.

As Professor Willoughby pointed out in his article entitled "The Image of the 'Wanderer' and the 'Hut' in Goethe's Poetry", (1) there is a further implication of the word "Wanderer" to consider. The immediate circle of those who first heard or read the "Speech" recognised in the word "Wanderer" a reference to Goethe himself, celebrated for his habit of taking long walks between the wooded countryside between his native Frankfurt and Darmstadt lying to the south. His feelings and experiences during these walks are captured in his early poem "Wandrers Sturmlied"..

The word "Wanderer" poses a nodal reference connecting "Shakespeare", in the "Speech" the epitome of the poetic genius, with Goethe himself, not in some abstract sense but as a living and walking person. This fusion of identities carries very profound implications concerning the nature of the modern poet's identity and self-understanding, for unlike earlier poets, the modern poet has no comforting assumptions about the guidance of the Heavenly Muse. Goethe was evidently a pioneer among poets in recognising the dilemma of the modern poet in an age when assumptions concerning inspiration, the sanctity of language, the relation of time and eternity no longer accorded with the spirit of a new secular age.

In the terms presented in Goethe's "Speech", the "Wanderer" refers both to a principle informing poetry, Shakespeare's dramatic genius, and to Goethe - a poet and also a full-blooded human being. In ages when a religious outlook had prevailed, the Muse was understood to be the creative force working in or through the poet. As the relationship between Muse and poet was thought to be supernatural in nature, poets did not need to spend time sorting out their ideas about the Poet-Muse relationship. They first dedicated their work to the Muse and then felt free to get on with the job of composing poetry.

However mysterious the Muse was believed to be, this being was evidently perceived as one that had human attributes, allowing the poets to think of themselves as junior partners in a personal relationship. The modern poet has no such assurance. Is the "Wanderer" a process, a mode of creativity, or is he/she/it a personality? In the one case, the poet and poetry are taken to be impersonal, and indeed certain modern critics like Northrop Frye (Fables of Identity)assume that they are. (2)

If there is thought to be a close identity uniting the "wandering" principle and "the poet" in a biological and biographical sense, poets are likely to enjoy - and endure - feelings of intoxication alternating with those of horrific isolation, as manifested in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Goethe's Die Leiden des jungen Werther. Goethe contended with the threat and challenge posed by his Wander-Poet equation by dramatising and allegorising the figure of the Wanderer in such a way as to interpose a healthy distance between the Wanderer as depicted in poetry and himself as the "Wanderer". Goethe and the Romantic poets were thrown back on their last resource, language itself, and only in their wandering in the medium of language could they discover and recognise whatever should assume the rôle once ascribed to the Muse and the poet's prophetic mission.

Geoffrey H. Hartman paints a very similar picture of the modern poet's situation in an essay entitled "Romanticism and 'Anti-Self-Consciousness'". (3), an article primarily concerned with the English Romantic poets. He suggests that the Romantic poets adopted the term "Wanderer" as an epithet for themselves. Here is further evidence that the word "Wanderer", in poetic language at least, transcends the divide that otherwise distinguishes English from German. I conclude therefore that Goethe was the first to formulate the equation making the Wanderer a synonym for the Poet and this equation, along with its basic implication, was recognised and adopted by the Romantic poets in the German-speaking world and, in less obvious ways, in England.





ANNOTATIONS

1). L.A. Willoughby, "The Image of the 'Wanderer' and the 'Hut' in Goethe's Poetry", (Etudes Germaniques, 3, Autumn 1951).
2). Northrop Frye, Fables of Indentity, (New York, 1963).
3). Geoffrey H. Hartman, "Romanticism and 'Anti-Self-Consciousness'" Romanticism and Consciousness Essays in Criticism, ed. Harold Bloom (New York, 1970).

More articles >>