French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Le Berre, Pouvoir de l'illusion - Moi lyrique et theatrum mundi dans la poésie baroque allemande et chez J. C. Günther
Poetry and Poetics
Bibliographic reference: A. Le Berre, Pouvoir de l'illusion - Moi lyrique et theatrum mundi dans la poésie baroque allemande et chez J. C. Günther, Presses universitaires de Limoges, 2012. EAN13: 9782842875558.
Aline Le Berre, Pouvoir de l'illusion - Moi lyrique et theatrum mundi dans la poésie baroque allemande et chez J. C. Günther
Presses universitaires de Limoges, 2012.
390 p.
EAN 9782842875558
23.00 EUR
Publisher's overview:
Illusion lies at the very heart of Baroque poetry. It manifests itself antithetically in the penchant for celebration yet also in its denunciation, in the development of a frivolous lyricism eager to strike the imagination through its formal inventiveness, as well as in the obsession with death, the omnipresence of the vanitas, and the evocation of the vanity of honors, glory, and earthly pleasures. Thus, the motif of the "theater of the world", which became a constant, extends into the realms of entertainment, society, love, and even nature—conceived as a vast charnel house camouflaged behind the brilliant colors of life.
Günther, too, confronted the theatrum mundi, precisely because he fell victim to it. Incapable of adapting to social conventions and standing as a forerunner of Romanticism, he placed his lyrical "self" at the center of his art and, for this reason, encountered the incomprehension of most of his contemporaries. Yet, while he rejects the false pretenses of high society and the artifices of an overly elaborate style, he nonetheless succumbs to another form of illusion: that of shaping his own image for posterity, yielding to the temptation of self-justification and self-pity.
Table of Contents
PART I: GÜNTHER'S ORIGINALITY IN BAROQUE POETRY: THE EMERGENCE OF A LYRICAL "SELF"
CHAPTER I - THE BAROQUE: AN AESTHETIC OF EXCESS
CHAPTER II - GÜNTHER'S FRAGILITY
CHAPTER III - IDEOLOGICAL OPPOSITION
CHAPTER IV - THE CONCEPTION OF MAN
CHAPTER V - GÜNTHER'S RATIONALISM
PART II: THE LYRICAL "SELF" FACING THE THEATRUM MUNDI
CHAPTER I - BAROQUE ILLUSION AND THEATER
CHAPTER II - RELIGIOUS AND METAPHYSICAL BACKGROUND OF ILLUSION
CHAPTER III - TRUTH AND SINCERITY IN GÜNTHER
CHAPTER IV - NATURE ASSIMILATED TO ILLUSION
CHAPTER V - NATURE, THE FLIP SIDE OF THE DECOR
PART III: LOVE BETWEEN CONVENTION AND SINCERITY
CHAPTER I - THE DOMESTICATION OF THE WORLD OF FEELINGS
CHAPTER II - LOVE AND THE SOCIAL ORDER
CHAPTER III - LOVE AND PLAY
CHAPTER IV - THE ROLE OF LOVE IN GÜNTHER'S LIFE
Aline Le Berre is Professor of Germanic Language and Literature at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Limoges. She holds the agrégation in German, a doctorate in Germanic studies, and the habilitation à diriger des recherches (professorial qualification). Her research focuses on German literature, particularly Romanticism, fantastic tales, Sturm und Drang drama, and Baroque poetry. She has published articles and books on, among others, Hoffmann, Kleist, Fouqué, Fontane, Goethe, and Grimmelshausen.
This scholarly study examines the complex relationship between poetic form and philosophical themes in seventeenth-century literature, focusing on the pervasive motif of the theatrum mundi. Aline Le Berre explores how German Baroque writers balanced celebratory excess with stark reminders of mortality, such as the vanitas tradition. By analyzing the structural tensions within this aesthetic, the book illuminates how artifice and illusion shaped both collective cultural expression and individual artistic identity during a period marked by profound historical and religious transformation.
A central focus of the volume is the transition toward a more personal poetic voice through the trajectory of Johann Christian Günther. Often viewed as a precursor to Romanticism, Günther placed his own subjectivity at the center of his work, clashing with contemporary social norms and stylistic conventions. This examination will interest students and researchers of German literature, cultural history, and poetic theory seeking a deeper understanding of subjectivity, illusion, and the origins of modern lyrical expression within the European Baroque tradition.