Nietzsche's Poetics

Catalog description

Should Nietzsche’s theory of the lyric be understood in both the objective and subjective genitive? In what way and to what extent can the textual genesis of his poems be read as a radically open-ended thought process and engagement with the linguistic and epistemic premises of writing? In the seminar we will first investigate a selection of Nietzsche’s early writings on Greek poetry, his genealogy of tragedy, and his analysis of the origin of art, and then turn to a careful study of individual poetic texts. We will address questions of doubling, the “mechanics” of art, friendship and interpretation, skepticism, metaphor, hospitality, and self-analysis in their historical context, and also consider Nietzsche’s legacy for current debates on philology, philosophy, and the humanities.