Das Schöne in der kritisch-philosophischen Poetik Ingeborg Bachmanns

Abstract

The paper aims to reconstruct Bachmann’s most important poetological principles on the basis of her critical writings and the Frankfurt lectures. In doing so, the concept of beauty, which is constitutive for her understanding of literature and language, comes into focus. An interpretation of this concept from the perspective of existential philosophy makes it possible to combine questions of literary theory related to contemporary poetics on the one hand, and philosophical questions related to personal authenticity (and hence identity) and to the justification of the author’s existence on the other, and thus to advance to Bachmann’s poetological credo.