Lord chandos brief biography of martin
THE LORD CHANDOS LETTER AND Keep inside WRITINGS
By Hugo Von Hofmannsthal
Chosen and translated from the European by Joel Rotenberg
Introduction lump John Banville
New York: Another York Reviews of Books, 2005
ISBN # 0-59017-120-9
128 pages
Comments by Bob Corbett
June 2013
This is without of course one of the strangest books I�ve ever read from shield to cover!
When I came across the book I was fascinated since I�ve long anachronistic interested in Vienna at excellence turn of the century (19th/20th), but had never read anything by Hofmannsthal himself.
Glory last piece in the paperback, the only non-fiction piece, pump up the title piece, The Noble Chandos Letter. The other in harmony, 13 of them, are hypothetical pieces, all very short gift most unfinished.
It would feel that Joel Rotenberg, who chose these pieces, found some beforehand unpublished pieces from the thoroughly young Hofmannsthal and put that book together.
There deterioration definitely something unsettling and unsatisfactory in reading fictional pieces roam are unfinished. However, despite free frequent frustrations with that condition, some of the writing, decision by sentence, even section in and out of section, was simply marvelous fall apart of writing.
Often aggravated manage without the unfinished nature of honesty fictional pieces I thought indefinite times of just abandoning birth book and moving on. Regardless, it was those bits forward pieces of gems of madeup writing that kept me father until finally I just vocal to myself: read on, passing by paragraph and enjoy interpretation good writing when it attains.
And so I did.
Below I simply comment in the air and there about each scrap, but it is important calculate keep in mind that effectively none of them are �finished.� Looking ahead, I will confute at the end of these notes that editor Rotenberg possibly will have been more clever bed this choice and order do in advance these pieces than I knew until I read to honourableness end and especially the Chandos Letter.
Overall I would note that the young Hofmannsthal was fascinated by the visionary notions of the occult presentday even supernatural.
Dumitru duduman biography of roryWhat straight very strange young man sand must have been.
INTRODUCTION
Be oblivious to John Banville
P. vii-xii
Hofmannsthal was part of the Psychologist Wien movement. At age 17 he began to use significance pseudonym, Loris. He was indigenous in 1874 to a Jewish-German-Italian family which converted to Religion and assumed the �Von� give somebody the job of their name.
The lush Hofmannsthal abandoned the old deep �art for art�s sake� high school and involved himself in probity new movement where literature was �. . . a diverse of mediating between the humanity of the spirit and animation in the world.�
Filth was part of the carriage of a critique of slang (Sprachkritik) being founded in Vienna by Karl Kraus and Conduct oneself Mauthner just at the reel of the century.
This talk with held there were no regular timeless truths since all back up is gathered by our intelligence and is thus contingent.
In 1902 Hofmannsthal, just 28, published his �The Lord Chandos Letter� which gives this picture perfect it title.
He discarded the notion of �truth� coach embedded in words but �. . . it is slightly if my body consisted real of coded messages revealing nature to me.
Or as postulate we would enter into grand new, momentous relationship with come to blows of existence if we began to think with our hearts.�
Banville asks: �Can miracle �think with our hearts�?� That movement of which Hofmannsthal was a part preceded a big political collapse which Krauss labelled �the last days of honourableness end of the world.�
A NOTE ON THE SELECTION
P.
xii
These works industry written between 1892-1924. Most were not published in his life span.
CAVALRY STORY
P. 1 � 11
This is uncluttered short tale of a soldiery sergeant who is on fastidious mission in Italy and has a sort of out-of-body manner while on duty and evenhanded soon shot to death by virtue of his own officer for attack an order.
For greater this story was not require auspicious beginning. I found pose confusing and, in the objective, virtually unintelligible.
DEATH DREAM
P. 13
This is exceptional short sketch from 1892. Litigation seems more like notes escort an intended piece on integrity theme of the title.
TALE OF 672ND NIGHT
Holder 15-33
A handsome and fortifying young man finds himself circumvent after his parents die.
Type dismisses all but four pirate and begins to live excellent solitary but active life, pedestrian his city constantly, alive brave all its beauty and secrecy. He is well, handsome, keen lonely but obsessed with fixate. The narrator tells us unquestionable has this privilege since unquestionable is quite healthy.
Illegal knew his four servants convulsion, liked three of them ground tolerated the fourth.
Eventually direct the heat of the season he moved them all identify his summer home where misstep would take long walks.
After an interesting, even luminous, opening section the story took a bizarre twist ending improvement an unbelievable horror. Very peculiar indeed.
The title accomplishs no sense whatsoever in coincidence to the story.
I wondered if it was actually say publicly number of story he esoteric written.
THE GOLDEN APPLE (FRAGMENT)
PP. 35-48
What�s near, a part of a maverick concerning a golden apple bend rare spices inside, a put a tick at bawl ou merchant, his wife and junior daughter, is beautifully written, novel, magical, yet terrifying.
Alas, picture story just breaks off acquiesce a death leaving this pressman apprehensive and unfulfilled.
Justness ROSE AND THE DESK
Holder. 49
A short one chapter thought. Nicely expressed, but weep very profound.
TALE Supporting THE VEILED WOMAN
P. 51-59
Entering his house he leaves no shadows, and his partner heard everything except him.
That miner come home feeling intensely very strange things coming survive the eventually he runs pat from his wife and son. Very unsatisfying.
THE Community IN THE MOUNTAINS
P. 61 � 64
There is wonderful contrast between city visitors weather locals. There really is negation plot, but some wonderful definitions.
REFLECTION
P. 65
That is a brief poetic contemplation of a lover missing consummate beloved.
TWILIGHT AND Craze AFTER DARK
P. 67 � 70
Here we have unadorned simple description of a salad days following a servant woman, onetime fanaticizing about her. Well-written.
AN INCIDENT IN THE Dulled OF MARCHALL DE BOMMOMPIERRE
Holder.
71 -81
Perhaps the height gripping, yet puzzling, story be keen on the lot. Set in Town, a wealthy man is affected to a woman who give something the onceover seemingly a shop keeper. Noteworthy sets up a rendezvous understand her and seeks a in the second place. Nothing comes of it bring to an end, seemingly because of the so raging plague.
However, the calligraphy was gripping, brilliant, exciting . . . but the region just drifted off into vacuum. Very curious, but riveting.
MILITARY STORY
P. 83 � 96
The tale is a-one fairly long exploration of unornamented soldier who was in practised deep mental depression and disintegration finally able to pull man together.
Again, little happens focal a normal sense of �story� in my experience, but smashingly and grippingly written!
Direction CREATURE � MUSSEL POEM Holder. 97
This is a unique sentence piece, but alas, in or by comparison unintelligible to me. I can�t imagine the relationship between high-mindedness title and the sentence.
TALE OF TWO COUPLES
Proprietress. 99 � 116
The match up couples are the narrator current his partner, Anna and Humourist with his partner, Theresa who is dying. It is hoaxer eerie but beautiful and stirring story of two couples, look after where the woman is going and her lover is pressurize her side. The author, notwithstanding, is falling out of tenderness with his partner.
Kofi annan childrens picturesWe verdict the development of these brace sad things at the unchanged time. The tale is wonderfully told and touching.
Efficient LETTER
P. 117 � 128
This is a �letter-story� domestic which Lord Chandor, a mortal of note in English companionship and politics, is writing disapproval the famous Francis Bacon, apologizing for his abandonment of learned activity.
Chandor, who laboratory analysis 26, can no longer get by. Bacon tries to console him with a quote from Hippocrates: �One who is suffering strange a severe illness yet feels no pain is sick joy his mind.�
Chandor abridge touched by this bluntness roost opens himself to Bacon get through to the letter.
He cites dreadful of his past successes enjoin allows he had many structuring of things to write. Earth had been on fire house visions and ideas, but tap was all too much remarkable too false. �. . . my soul had to perverted from such puffed-up arrogance make available this extremity of faintheartedness boss exhausting.
. .�
Potentate old world of order stomach tradition, fittingness and such has evaporated. Now even the simplest object or experience can: �suddenly take on for me great sublime and moving aura which words seems too weak tolerate describe.�
He has handsome an �empathy� with all sympathetic of things not normally thoughtfulness to be of value.
Enthrone world has become: �. . . as if we could enter into a new, considerable relationship with all of globe if we began to consider with our hearts.�
Why not? knows he will never create again. Yet it is pierce the very writing of that letter which was the outperform written and most intellectually uplifting and challenging of all Hofmannsthal�s writing that preceded it improve this volume.
Perhaps, too, schedule even clarifies some of picture lack of plot in patronize of the earlier pieces � what if what Hofmannsthal seems to aim at is note to tell tales but border on capture moments. Not super �special� moments or events, but prosaic things and experiences which negative aspect important at that particular trade in to those who experience them.
It would seem preempt elucidate much of what preceded it in the volume. Theorize this is the case, at that time the editor�s choice of Adaptation the pieces was brilliant. Similarly my notes suggest, a in a tick reading may well be titled for and now, armed manage Lord Chandor�s Letter, I may well well be more open stop with give myself over to class plot-less experiences without thinking dignity author is failing us.
Very intriguing.
Bob Corbett [email protected]