Clemens Lugowski

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Clemens Lugowski (born February 22, 1904 in Berlin ; † October 26, 1942 in Ropscha near Leningrad ) was a German specialist in German .

life and work

Lugowski was the son of a Berlin station master. He first studied mechanical engineering in Berlin from 1922 , then later German, history and philosophy. From around 1928 he turned exclusively to the field of German studies, in which he aspired to an academic career. In 1931 he received his doctorate in Göttingen with a study of German prose narration, which is his most important work. Lugowski examines the peculiarities of early modern literature, with a special focus on the novels of Jörg Wickram . Lugowski's idea of ​​the mythical analogue plays a central role . He uses this term to describe an analogy he has assumed between premodern literature and ancient myth. The work is mainly influenced by the writings of Ernst Cassirer . In 1935 Lugowski completed his habilitation in Göttingen with studies on Heinrich von Kleist . Since these were well received by his colleagues, the first professorships were replaced in Heidelberg and Königsberg . In 1938 he married Mathilde Gietet in Nuremberg , with whom he had two daughters. Together with Karl Hunger , Lugowski published the “ Journal for German Education ”. In 1939 he became associate professor for older German literature at the University of Kiel and in 1942 full professor for modern German literature, also in Kiel. In the same year he volunteered as a soldier and died shortly afterwards in the war against the Soviet Union . He last held the rank of lieutenant.

reception

Lugowski's first work, The Form of Individuality in the Novel, found little response among contemporary German scholars , as it did not fit into the common thought patterns of literary studies of the time. After the war, Lugowski was viewed with suspicion by many German scholars because of his proximity to National Socialism . On the other hand, in the course of the rationalization of literary studies since the 1960s, there was more and more confrontation with Lugowski and his main work. Even if the concept of the mythical analogue is largely negated by German studies today, some theorems from Lugowski's work have found their way into the fixed concept canon of literary studies. These include B.

  • Final motivation (with Lugowski motivation from behind ): The action is motivated from the end. Everything that happens serves the purpose of leading the story to a certain end that is fixed from the start.
  • How and if tension (with Lugowski how and whether tension at all ): The tension as to how something happens or the tension as to whether something will happen at all.
  • linear plot: there are no flashbacks or parallel plots.

Fonts (selection)

  • The form of individuality in the novel. Studies on the inner structure of early German prose narration (= New Research. Work on the intellectual history of the Germanic and Romanic peoples, Volume 14), Junker and Dünnhaupt : Berlin 1932, Olms reprint: Hildesheim / New York 1970, 2 editions as Volume 151 of the Suhrkamp series - Taschenbuch Wissenschaft , Suhrkamp: Frankfurt am Main 1976 and 1994.
  • Reality and Poetry. Investigations into Heinrich von Kleist's conception of reality , Diesterweg: Frankfurt a. M. 1936.
  • with Gerhard Fricke , Franz Koch (ed.): Of German Art in Language and Poetry (7 volumes), Kohlhammer: Stuttgart et al. 1941.

Secondary literature

personal data
SURNAME Lugowski, Clemens
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Germanist
DATE OF BIRTH February 22, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH October 26, 1942
Place of death Ropscha near Leningrad