De anatomische les: Marsman’s ‘Poetics’ 1926 — with a Sidelong Glance at Coenen, Gorter, Emants, and the Movement of Tachtig

Abstract

In 1926, Hendrik Marsman published a sequence of essays under the title De anatomische les. In these, Marsman takes the intimate relationship between an intensely lived life and art as a given, and evaluates the work of, among others, Novalis, Büchner, Trakl, and Rilke, in light of it. In an Appendix, Marsman presents what might be called his poetic programme, stressing three main topics: the relation between life and art, a definition of the work of art, and finally the effect of art (poetry) on the reader. In the case of the effect of poetry, however, Marsman shifts into a discussion of lyric poetry as a symptom of individualism; this in turn leads to an assessment of contemporary poetry, with a look back at the Tachtigers. In that movement Marsman sees a positive side to the all-pervasive individualism of modern times, leading him eventually to change his poetic practice, moving from an at times shrill ‘expressionism’ or ‘vitalism’ to a symbolist organic style, whilst continuing his defence of poetry against those who would question art’s autonomy.