Expressionistic elements in Walter Bauer's early works

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dc.contributor.authorWhelan, Michael Paulen_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-08-15T20:15:08Z
dc.date.available2024-08-15T20:15:08Z
dc.date.copyright1997en_US
dc.date.issued1997
dc.degree.departmentDepartment of Germanic Studiesen_US
dc.degree.levelMaster of Arts M.A.en
dc.description.abstractThe German-Canadian writer Walter Bauer (1904-1976, immigrated to Canada in 1952) began his literary career nearly a decade after the literary movement Expressionism had lost its currency, yet his early works of poetry and prose are often reminiscent of the ardent temperament of the Expressionists, of some of the distinguishing themes and motifs of the movement, and, occasionally, of the ex­cited literary style of Expressionism. This thesis examines three of Bauer's early works, Kamerad en. zu euch sprecheich (1929), Stimme aus dem Leunawerk (1930), and Die notwen­dige Reise (1932), for marked expressionistic elements of temperament, theme and style. The chief findings are as follows: running through Kameraden, zu euch sprecheich and imbued with expressionistic pathos are the Expres­sionist theme of the inhumanity of the modern urban and industrial world and the Expressionist watchword of brother­hood with the downtrodden; distinguishing Stimme aus dem Leunawerk is a revolutionary undertone, evident not only in symbolic images of a proletarian socialist rising, but also heard in Bauer's avatar of the working class--"Hiob," or the proletarian Job--who speaks with an expressionistic voice from the heart and for a revolution of the spirit; and, finally, standing out in Die notwendige Reise is the theme of the journey of inner transformation which can be compared with the progressive transformation of the protagonist toward becoming " der neue Mensch " in the typical Expressionist station drama , such as Ernst Toller ' s Die Wandlung (1919), insofar as the journey is a search for a new spiritual reality and for authentically human and morally sensitive community. These early works by Bauer cannot be called Expressionist , yet the many and notable expressionistic elements in them do indicate the important influence of Expressionism on Bauer's literary beginnings.
dc.format.extent166 pages
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/20081
dc.rightsAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.titleExpressionistic elements in Walter Bauer's early worksen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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