Kommerell, Max 1902–1944
Kommerell, Max 1902–1944
PERSONAL: Born February 25, 1902, in Münsingen, Germany; died July 25, 1944, in Marburg, Germany.
CAREER: Poet, novelist, dramatist, critic, and educator. Professor in Marburg, Germany, 1941–44.
WRITINGS:
Jean Pauls Verhältnis zu Rousseau, nach den Hauptromanen dargestellt, Elwert (Marburg, Germany), 1924.
Der Dichter als Führer in der deutschen Klassik (title means "The Poet as a Leader in German Classicism"), Klostermann (Frankfurt, Germany), 1928, reprinted, 1982.
Die Gefangenen (play; title means "The Prisoners"), Klostermann (Frankfurt, Germany), 1928.
Gespräche aus der Zeit der deutschen Wiedergeburt, Otto von Holten (Berlin, Germany), 1929.
Leichte Lieder (poems; title means "Easy Songs"), Klostermann (Frankfurt, Germany), 1930.
Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Klostermann (Frankfurt, Germany), 1930.
Jugend ohne Goethe, Klostermann (Frankfurt, Germany), 1932.
Michelangelo Dichtungen, Klostermann (Frankfurt, Germany), 1932.
Ein vom Blitz getroffener Jüngling erzähtl: Gott von der Erde: Ode, Fürsteneck (Frankfurt, Germany), 1933.
Jean Paul, Klostermann (Frankfurt, Germany), 1933, reprinted, 1990.
Das letzte Lied, Klostermann (Frankfurt, Germany), 1933.
Schiller als Gestalter des handelnden Menschen, Klostermann (Frankfurt, Germany), 1934.
Dichterisches tagebuch, Klostermann (Hamburg, Germany), 1935.
Das Volkslied und das deutsche Lied, Klostermann (Frankfurt, Germany), 1936.
Mein Anteil (poems; title means "My Share"), Fischer (Berlin, Germany), 1938.
Das kaiserliche Blut: ein Drama im barocken Stil, Klostermann (Frankfurt, Germany), 1938.
Kasperle (poems; title means "Puppets"), 1939.
Beiträge zu einem deutschen Calderon (criticism; includes Etwas über die Kunst Calderons and Das Leben is traum. Die Tocheter der Luft), Klostermann (Frankfurt, Germany), 1940.
Der Lampenschirm aus den drei Teschentüchern (novel; title means "The Lampshade Made of Three Handkerchiefs"), Fischer (Berlin, Germany), 1940.
Lessing und Aristoteles. Untersuchung über die theorie der Tragödie, Klostermann (Frankfurt, Germany), 1940, 1988.
Geist und Buchstabe der Dichtung: Goethe, Schiller, Kleist, Hölderun (essays), Klostermann (Frankfurt, Germany), 1940, 1991.
Die Lebenszeiten, Fischer (Berlin, Germany), 1941.
Gedanken über Gedichte, Klostermann (Frankfurt, Germany), 1943.
Mit gleichsam chinesischem Pinsel, Klostermann (Frankfurt, Germany), 1946.
Kasperlespiele für grosse Leute (novel; title means "Puppet Plays for Grown-ups"), Scherpe (Krefeld, Germany), 1948, Wallstein Verlag (Göttingen, Germany), 2002.
Dichterische Walterfahrung (essays), Klostermann (Hamburg, Germany), 1952.
Hieronyma, Insel-Verlag (Weisbaden, Germany), 1954.
Rückkehr zum Anfang: ausgewählt Gedichte, Klostermann (Frankfurt, Germany), 1956.
Dame Dichterin und andere Essays (essays), DTV (Munich, Germany), 1967.
Briefe une Aufzeichnungen 1919–1944 (bibliography), edited by Inge Jens, Walter (Olten/Freiburg, Switzerland), 1967.
Essays, Notizen, poetische Fragmente: Aus dem Nachlass, edited by Inge Jens, Walter (Olten/Freiburg, Switzerland), 1969.
Gedichte, Gespräche, Übertragungen, Walter (Olten/Freiburg, Switzerland), 1973.
Die Kunst Calderons, Klostermann (Frankfurt, Germany), 1974.
Also author of Hugo von Hoffmannsthal, Klostermann (Hamburg, Germany).
Author's works have been translated into French, Spanish, and Japanese.
SIDELIGHTS: An influential literary figure in Germany's Third Reich, Max Kommerell developed an early interest in the teachings of poet Stefan George, who is credited with revitalizing German poetry in the final years of the nineteenth century. While still a student, Kommerell became a member of the George circle, and his first books, notably Der Dichter als Führer in der deutschen Klassik, reveal his indebtedness to George's ideals. The book, according to a contributor to The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich, is considered one of the "fundamental works of völkisch German studies." A writer for the Columbia Dictionary of Modern European Literature commented that its "penetrating analyses" of such writers as Goethe, Schiller, Klopstock, and Hölderin are "still forceful today." Though Kommerell had, by 1930, moved beyond George's influence, he continued to expound views associating literature with deep moral meaning. An early supporter of some Nazi ideals, he considered himself more an aesthete than a political activist, and distanced himself from the party's concrete policies. Though Kommerell specialized in German literature, he was also interested in classical theory as well as Spanish and French theater.
Among Kommerell's many volumes of poetry, Leichte Lieder and Mein Anteil are considered most significant, as are the novels Der Lampenschirm aus den drei Teschentüchern and Kasperlespiele für grosse Leute. In the latter book and in the collection of lyrics called Kasperle, Kommerell experimented with elements of commedia dell'arte and German folk motifs.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:
BOOKS
Allemann, Beda, and Erwin Koppen, Dieter Gutzen, and Joachim Krause, editors, Teilnahme und Spiegelung: Festschrift für Horst Rudiger, de Gruyter (New York, NY), 1975, pp. 485-498.
Bédé, Jean-Albert, and William B. Edgerton, editors, Columbia Dictionary of Modern European Literature, 2nd edition, Columbia University Press (New York, NY), 1980.
Storck, Joachim W., Max Kommerell, 1902–1944, Deutsche Schillergesellschaf (Marbach, Germany), 1985.
Zentner, Christian, and Friedemann Bedürftig, editors, The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich, translation edited by Amy Hackett, Macmillan Publishing Company (New York, NY), 1991.
PERIODICALS
Hofmannsthal Blatter, Volume 41-42, 1991–92, Maya Rauch and Werner Volke, "Anruf und Gegenruft," pp. 5-49.
Jahrbuch der Deutschen Schiller Sessleschaft, Volume 24, 1980, Dorthea Holscher Lohmeyer, "Das moderne Ich," pp. 399-418.
Marbacher, Volume 34, 1985, Joachim W. Storck, "Max Kommerell, 1902–1944," pp. 1-95, Eva Dambacher, "Max Kommerell-Bibliographie," pp. 96-111.
Merkur, July 40, 1986, Gert Mattenklott, "Mac Kommerell: Vesuch eines Portrats," pp. 541-554.
Ottawa Hispanica, Volume 3, 1981, Henry W. Sullivan, "Calderon's La vida es sueño in Nazi Germany: Hofmannsthal, von Scholz, Max Kommerell," pp. 43-58.