Wolf Gerhard Schmidt

Kommentierte Neuausgabe wichtiger Texte zur deutschen Rezeption Wolf Gerhard Schmidt Reprint 2012 edition

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, James Macpherson's Ossian was regarded as one of the most important works of world literature. The Celtic bard was elevated to the status of "Homer of the "North" (Madame de Stael), and his poetry to the "Mother of Romanticism" (Uhland, Jean-Paul). At the same time, he presents the prototype of the sentimental poet by looking back to the past with "sweet sorrow" and providing aesthetic compensation for the distance from the ideal. The present study undertakes the first comprehensive account of German "Ossianomania" and provides access to important textual material. The theoretical basis is provided by a post-structuralist take on models of receptive aesthetics and discourse analysis. Volume 1 deals with the Poems of Ossian, contemporary discourses and the early stages of the reception of Ossian's work. Volume 2 deals with the main and late stages of the reception. Volumes 3 and 4 present the German translations underlying the reception and the most important reader testimonies.