{"id":788,"date":"2020-08-22T01:18:24","date_gmt":"2020-08-22T08:18:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theliteraryarts.com\/?p=788"},"modified":"2022-08-10T09:48:58","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T16:48:58","slug":"a-mysterious-singer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theliteraryarts.com\/fr\/a-mysterious-singer\/","title":{"rendered":"Un chanteur myst\u00e9rieux"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here is a summary of the recent weekly Section for Literary Arts & Humanities meeting of the local group in Fair Oaks, CA. This meeting occurred on August 22, 2020 via Zoom. At this meeting we continued our consideration of Hymns to the Night<\/em> by Novalis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Meeting Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

At this meeting we read aloud and discussed sections five and six of Hymns to the Night<\/em> by Novalis. Section five is longer than sections one through four combined, and in this lengthy section, the poem changes tone and emphasis. We discussed thematic parallels with the fairy tale in chapter nine of Heinrich von Ofterdingen<\/em>. I drew attention to Friedrich Schiller\u2019s<\/strong> poem The Gods of Greece<\/em> (1788, 1800) in which Schiller presents a theme very similar to the themes and ideas in section five. Schiller\u2019s poem gives us an early example in the late eighteenth century of the trope of the \u201cvanished gods\u201d \u2014 a thought that we hear expressed also in a verse by Rudolf Steiner, \u201cThe stars once spoke to the human being,\u201d and in other places.<\/p>\n

For Schiller, the disenchantment of the world brought on by this \u201ctwilight of the gods\u201d (not Schiller’s term, but of similar fabric) leaves the human being with the responsibility to \u201cworship the one\u201d (Schiller\u2019s phrase) \u2014 in other words, to forge out of the forces of free and moral spiritualized human heart-thinking a new relationship to the spirit. This is, for Schiller, largely a turn to philosophy, however. Novalis, who was a devoted and enthusiastic student of Schiller, develops this idea poetically in Hymns to the Night<\/em> but adds a Christic dimension that is lacking in Schiller. In notes written on the manuscript copy of section five of Hymns, Novalis scribbled these key reminders to himself \u2014 it is a kind of quick sketch of the thematic territory he wished to traverse in section five:<\/p>\n

\u201cAlte Welt. Der Tod. Xstus \u2014 neue Welt. Die Welt der Zukunft \u2014 Sein Leiden \u2014 Jugend \u2014 Botschaft. Auferstehung. Mit den Menschen \u00e4ndert die Welt sich. Schluss \u2014 Aufruf.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The words italicized were given that emphasis by Novalis. Since we have been working with Novalis now for many weeks, what leaps out as of special significance in this fragment are indeed the italicized words, most especially \u201cMit den Menschen \u00e4ndert die Welt sich.\u201d Holding this in view, what one might find in reading the Hymns is an early-romantic poetic gospel of Christ \u2014 a magical idealist gospel of the Christ deed as metaphor for the inner spiritual challenge of transformation confronting the human being at this time \u2014 a theme which Schiller also presents in his poem, but from the metaphor-standpoint of German-Classicist Greece.<\/p>\n

In another famous fragment that I\u2019m sure most of us know quite well (\u201cthe world must be romanticized\u201d), Novalis writes: \u201cthus is Christ from this perspective the key to the world.\u201d It is tempting to read this fragment and the Hymns as theology rather than poetry. Would this accord with Novalis? If we place Hymns to the Night<\/em> side by side with Heinrich von Ofterdingen<\/em>, we might come away with a comparative reading that deepens understanding of both texts in the direction of poetry \u2014 taking poetry here in the sense that Novalis understood the practice and calling of the poet. As noted earlier: for Novalis, the spirit world is less a \u201cwhat\u201d than a \u201chow\u201d \u2014 and the means by which this \u201chow\u201d can be accomplished is found through the practice of poetry \u2014 that is to say, magical idealism<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

From this perspective, a window appears to open to a more literary understanding of what Novalis might mean when he says, for example, in those italicized words mentioned above: \u201cMit den Menschen \u00e4ndert die Welt sich.\u201d Once more, the key to this pronouncement is \u201cmagical idealism,\u201d a phrase that Novalis first uses explicitly in the Teplitz Fragments<\/em> written after the initiatory experience at Sophie\u2019s grave in 1797 \u2014 a phrase which for Novalis is indeed by self-admittance “key\u201d to his life, his philosophy, his poetry, his destiny. He calls this a \u201cvery great idea,\u201d a very great discovery, in a letter written in 1798 to Friedrich Schlegel.<\/p>\n

Freiberg. May 11, 1798.<\/em>
\nFriedrich von Hardenberg to Friedrich Schlegel in Berlin.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI am rather industrious and rather rich in insights. There is one idea that I am seeking now to develop, of whose discovery I am rather proud. As soon as something is understandable about it, you will immediately receive an update. It strikes me as a very great, very pregnant idea, which throws a light of greatest intensity upon the whole system of Fichte\u2014a practical idea \u221e. Please forgive me that I pique your curiosity without satisfying it. \u2013 I cannot yet offer you true satisfaction and yet at the same time I must share my joy\u2014since it touches nothing less than the possible, evident realization of the bravest, most daring wishes and intuitions of all time\u2014upon the realization of the highest art of analogy and understanding in the world.\u201d [most daring: \u201ck\u00fchnsten\u201d; note the word play here on Sophie\u2019s last name, “von K\u00fchn\u201d \/ \u201cevidente Realisirung der k\u00fchnsten W\u00fcnsche\u2026\u201d]<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A Mysterious Singer<\/strong><\/p>\n

We then went on to the final section six of the poem Hymns to the Night<\/em> \u2014 the only section that received a title. The title is \u201cLonging for Death.\u201d We discussed how Novalis presents death in the poem \u2014 and Alice drew attention to the word \u201ctransformative,\u201d which she noted first comes into usage in the way that we presently understand it through Goethe\u2019s writings and thought. The verse of section six is very much in the form and rhythm of song \u2014 such as might be set to music and celebrated in church by a congregation \u2014 that is to say: the \u201cI\u201d of the poem\u2019s beginning, which turns to the night in solitude, now situates itself rightfully within the \u201cI\u201d of community. The \u201cI\u201d does this at the conclusion of a poetic journey of initiation and insight.<\/p>\n

Parenthetically, we posed the question: Is this perhaps a \u201ckey\u201d to the identity of the mysterious \u201csinger\u201d whom we meet only briefly in section five? We hear sympathetic resonance with the Gospel of John, certainly \u2014 but how do we explain the singer\u2019s mission to the east, as briefly sketched in section five? In previous meeting summaries, I reported on Albert Steffen\u2019s reading of Novalis \u2014 where Steffen reminds us that Novalis, unlike Dante, points to the future. Dante is the culminating expression of an age. Novalis is the signatory herald of future time. This, too, is noted by Novalis in the notes to himself for section five: \u201cDie Welt der Zukunft.\u201d Might we then possibly read the \u201csinger\u201d as a herald of a new rapprochement of so-called east and west? \u2014 each world transformed, as it were, by the magical idealist activity of the human? Alice offered very helpful citations from Friedrich Hiebel:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe singer is a mysterious figure. He is given no name. He can be traced to no literary model. He suddenly appears in the fifth hymn, in the middle of the story of redemption, only to vanish again without further mention. He comes from Hellas to Palestine, consecrates himself to the new divine revelation and passes on to India to proclaim the tidings.\u201d (Quoted from the English translation published by UNC Press; in the German edition this quote is found on page 240.)<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Or perhaps another clue to the identity of the mysterious \u201csinger\u201d is to be found if we follow a remark made by Gayle concerning Orpheus and the renewal of the Orphic mysteries. A similar theme of Orphic initiation and renewal\/apotheosis might be discerned in the poetry of Rilke<\/strong> \u2014 for example, in the Sonnets to Orpheus<\/em>, and elsewhere. It is very much a central literary theme of modernism, one might argue. Friedrich Hiebel<\/strong> also mentions Orpheus briefly in relation to the mysterious singer from Hellas, calling this singer the \u201cherald of Orpheus\u201d and pointing us to a fragment in which Novalis wrote these words: \u201cThe reconciliation of the Christian with the pagan religion. The story of Orpheus, Psyche, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n

We have not spent much time on the relationship of Novalis\u2019 poetry to Orpheus \u2014 or for that matter, we did not have time to discuss the Grail or alchemy in relation to the novel HvO<\/em> \u2014 or to the Hymns<\/em>. Perhaps we can return to these topics in the future.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A Mysterious Pause<\/strong><\/p>\n

After recitation and discussion of sections five and six, we paused to spend brief minutes in consideration of what we are going to do next. Hmmm . . .<\/p>\n

I have suggested that we read Hermann Hesse\u2019s<\/strong> novel Narcissus and Goldmund<\/em>. Several members of the group have expressed an interest in this. While it might seem that Hesse is a departure from Novalis, I do not think we will suffer disappointment if we read this book. Rather, I think we will find that Hesse \u201capplies\u201d and \u201camplifies\u201d Novalis throughout his writings \u2014 and that the novel Narcissus and Goldmund,<\/em> much like Heinrich von Ofterdingen<\/em>, is shot through with themes and imaginations that stream directly from the magical idealist universe. Certainly Novalis is a writer with whom Hesse felt a deep spiritual affinity. And \u2014 oh heck, why not? \u2014 we can cycle back and forth and\/or meander as the mood takes us \u2014 or \u201chover\u201d, as Novalis prefers to say \u2014 between authors \u2014 we could cycle back to Sais even? Eh?<\/p>\n

Hesse, like Thomas Mann, saw himself quite self-consciously as one of the last literary artists to inherit and carry forward the spiritual literary lineage of Goethe, Schiller, and Novalis (so important to the birth of anthroposophy, as we know) \u2014 and in this context, Hesse wrote with typical coy humor and a faint ironic smile these introductory words in an autobiographical essay titled A Life Briefly Told<\/em>: \u201cI was born toward the end of modern times, shortly before the return of the Middle Ages . . . \u201c<\/p>\n

Birth Chart of Novalis<\/strong><\/p>\n

Quick reminder: next Saturday Brian Gray will join us to talk about the birth chart of Novalis. Thank you, Brian!<\/p>\n

\u201cThe spiritual worlds is in fact already open to us.<\/em>
\nIt is always open.<\/em>
\nIf we were to suddenly become so alive and supple to perceive it,<\/em>
\nWe would perceive ourselves in the midst of the spiritual world.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u2014 Novalis<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI often see and feel the outer world connected and in harmony with my inner world in a way that I can only call magical.\u201d\u2019<\/em>
\n\u2014 Hermann Hesse<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here is a summary of the recent weekly Section for Literary Arts & Humanities meeting of the local group in Fair Oaks, CA. This meeting occurred on August 22, 2020 via Zoom. At this meeting we continued our consideration of Hymns to the Night by Novalis. Meeting Summary At this meeting we read aloud and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-meeting-summaries","category-novalis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theliteraryarts.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theliteraryarts.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theliteraryarts.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theliteraryarts.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theliteraryarts.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=788"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theliteraryarts.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4213,"href":"https:\/\/theliteraryarts.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788\/revisions\/4213"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theliteraryarts.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theliteraryarts.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theliteraryarts.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theliteraryarts.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}