Oedipus complex made in Germany

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Oedipus complex made in Germany. Occasional poems Dead Days Landscapes 1965–1980 contains a collection of poems and texts by the German writer Helmut Heißenbüttel (1921–1996), which were written between 1965 and 1980. The compilation was published in 1981 by Klett-Cotta Verlag , Stuttgart. The title of the compilation corresponds to the first poem listed in the book.

Heißenbüttel's self-image

For Heißenbüttel, language was not just a mere instrument, he saw it as a plaything for artistic speech. The limits and possibilities of literature were redefined between 1950 and 1970. To Heißenbüttel, traditional forms of poetry seemed inappropriate. Instead, he used lines and fragments. Language material was used, assembled or joined together in a cool and objective manner. The texts in Oedipus Complex made in Germany are an example of this. Heißenbüttel himself used the term text often and with pleasure, as it leaves it open whether it is poetry, drama or prose.

Texts in the collective work

(List true to the table of contents, chronologically by year of origin)

  • Oedipus complex made in Germany 1965
  • Rondeel with doorbell lines for Hans Hermann Steffens (1968)
  • an Antigone for HAP Grieshaber on February 15, 1969
  • Three stroke for Esther Blecher on October 31, 1969
  • the sacred grove (1970)
  • what matters (1970)
  • Hegel in Bonn (1970)
  • Negative Dialectic (1970)
  • Memories of 1955 (1971)
  • The very latest treatise on the human mind for Armin Sandig (1970/1971)
  • Poem about the television declaration (1972)
  • something else (1972)
  • Schlagerantike (1972)
  • Wisdom of Age (1972)
  • Love poem for all cases and various occasions 71 (1972)
  • 10 lessons about empire for Valerio Adami (1973/1974)
  • small cantata on alienation dedicated to Clytus Gottwald
  • Looking back at 1974 (1975)
  • Occasional poem on the anniversary of Marie Luise Kaschnitz's death (1975)
  • Attempt in Greek (1975)
  • Disturber Suppressor Disturber for Walter Stöhrer (1976)
  • First casual poem on myself in 1976
  • Second casual poem on myself in 1977
  • Third occasional poem on myself in the subjunctive 1980 dedicated to Ernst Jandl

Reviews

Compared to other works by Heißenbüttel (e.g. the text books), so far only little secondary literature has appeared on the individual works in this text collection.
Some works are still available. For example, Gisela Lindemann dealt with Heißenbüttel's text "third poem of opportunity on myself [...]". The article on this was published in January 1981 in the magazine TEXT + KRITIK.

Renate Kühn on "the holy grove"

Another work entitled On the occasion of a topos. Heißenbüttel's occasional poem No. 13 deals with the poem the sacred grove . This essay by Renate Kühn was published in 1991 in Schrift, écriture, written, read , a commemorative publication on the occasion of Heißenbüttel's 70th birthday.

The holy grove of Heißenbüttel is a "special kind of cabinet piece". At first glance, there is no need for an interpretation, as there is a discrepancy between the expectations generated by the title and the actual content, a text designed as a parody.

The subject of a parody are mostly literary works, especially those that are considered "classic". This is also the case with Heißenbüttel. From a literary perspective, the word grove refers to a very specific place, more precisely a historical topos, namely that of an ancient ideal landscape. Heißenbüttel breaks down this literary-historical idea of ​​the grove into its conceptual components, so that the particular is reduced to the general: A grove is nothing more than a small forest. A small forest is just a collection of trees. So a grove is nothing more than: tree and tree and tree and tree and tree and tree and tree.

A closer look at the text on the structural-compositional level shows that it is based on a fixed numbering scheme. In contrast to the noun Hain , the adjective holy from the title is not subjected to any semantic analysis, but rather placed in a specific context of use. The poem contains elements of the sacred number seven. It consists of seven verses. The first verse again contains seven repetitions of the basic word tree , which is also linked to new compounds. The repetitions increase steadily from verse to verse. However, the number of compound words formed decreases, so that in the seventh verse only one monstrous word composition can be found: baumbaumbuambaumbaumbaumbaum.

The meaning of holy is to be demonstrated using this procedure as an example. A holy rite is characterized precisely by such a repeated, constant procedure according to a fixed order. So Heißenbüttel parodies in a certain way because he dissolves the grove into mere trees, but in return he translates the word sacred into sensual and vivid. What at first seems like a mere parody, on closer inspection, turns out to be a demonstration of the process underlying the topos.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Heißenbüttel. In: Harenberg's Lexicon of World Literature. Vol. 3. 1994. pp. 1302-1303.
  2. ↑ Helmut Heißenbüttel: Oedipus complex made in Germany. 1981, p. 104.
  3. ↑ Gisela Lindemann: On Helmut Heißenbüttel: third poem of opportunity on myself. 1981.
  4. ↑ Renate Kühn: On the occasion of a topos. Heißenbüttel's occasional poem No. 13. 1991, p. 45.
  5. ↑ Renate Kühn: On the occasion of a topos. Heißenbüttel's occasional poem No. 13. 1991.

literature

  • Heißenbüttel. In: Harenberg's Lexicon of World Literature. Authors, works, terms. Volume 3. Harenberg-Lexikon-Verlag, Dortmund 1994, pp. 1302-1303.
  • Heißenbüttel. In: Kindlers New Literature Lexicon. Volume 7. JB Metzler Verlag, Munich 1900, pp. 616-625.
  • Helmut Heißenbüttel: Oedipus complex made in Germany. Occasional poems Dead Days Landscapes 1965–1980. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1981.
  • Renate Kühn: On the occasion of a topos. Heißenbüttel's occasional poem No. 13. In: Christina Weiss (Hrsg.): Scripture, écriture written, read: for Helmut Heissenbüttel on his seventieth birthday. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1991, pp. 45-50.
  • Gisela Lindemann: On the way between two situations. On Helmut Heißenbüttel: third occasional poem about myself in the subjunctive 1980 dedicated to Ernst Jandl. In: TEXT + KRITIK. Journal of Literature. 1981, issue 69/70.