TRADITION AND TRANSFORMATION: ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF TRADITIONAL IMAGERY IN GERMAN POETRY

Madiyeva Adiba Dovudovna

Authors

Madiyeva Adiba Dovudovna Associate Professor, Department of World Literature, UzSWLU

Keywords:

German poetry, Romanticism, Modernism, nature imagery, mythopoetics, Paul Celan, Sarah Kirsch, Heinrich Heine, Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, historical memory, geological metaphors, literary symbolism.

Abstract

This article explores the evolution and transformation of traditional imagery in German poetry, spanning from the late Romanticism of Heinrich Heine and Annette von Droste-Hülshoff to the modernist poetics of Paul Celan and Sarah Kirsch. Drawing on the scholarly insights of Gertrude Eva, Heike Kristina Behl, and Barbara Mabee, the study analyzes how elements of nature, spatial symbols, and geological metaphors serve as profound vehicles for philosophical, socio-psychological, and historical reflection.

The first section contrasts the dynamic, freedom-seeking landscapes of Heine with the restrained, dualistic mythopoetics of Droste-Hülshoff. The second section examines Paul Celan’s transition toward a "geological" language, where crystals, stones, and mines symbolize the depths of memory and the search for truth in the post-war era. Finally, the research highlights Sarah Kirsch’s innovative use of winter and nature imagery to confront the tragic legacy of history and the fragility of human existence. The analysis concludes that the system of natural imagery in German literature is not merely decorative but functions as an essential mirror of the human spirit’s spiritual and historical development.

References

Keilbach-Sabath, G. E. (2001). Natur und Kunst in Heinrich Heines Reiseschriften und in Annette von Droste-Hülshoffs Prosa. [Nature and Art in Heinrich Heine’s Travel Sketches and Annette von Droste-Hülshoff’s Prose].

Behl, H. K. (1995). Die Suche nach dem Anderen: Der Weg als zentraler Aspekt in der Lyrik Paul Celans. [The Search for the Other: The Way as a Central Aspect in the Lyrics of Paul Celan].

Mabee, B. (1998). Die Poetik von Sarah Kirsch: Erinnerungsarbeit und Geschichtsbewußtsein. [The Poetics of Sarah Kirsch: Memory Work and Historical Consciousness].