Abstract
The aim of this essay is to show how the most important elements of Albrecht Fabri’s theory of an autonomous work of art have been shaped by the formalisation of two kinds of time experience during war: namely, monotony, and choc. Monotony may create selfreference, yet it needs the Kairos of the choc to allow for an aesthetic experience. It only apparently opens the chance of a reconciliation of antinomies because it may lead to blind acts of exclusion. War letters by Siegbert Stehmann (1912–1945) remind us of the possibility of keeping both sides of an ethical opposition in mind. Nevertheless, Fabri is lead to a purely self-referential aesthetics of literary and artistic material by the formalisation of war experience as is shown by his writings about T.E. Lawrence, in contrast with E.G. Winkler’s. The case of Benn makes one ask in how far the restless production of autonomous art has to be seen as a sublimation of his and other’s decline to explicitly revise their political views from 1933 in later years. Most fundamental theses of Fabri are present in his pre-war essays already and seem just to have been enhanced by war experience.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Zeitschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Linguistik
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
