The Essays of Christoph Martin Wieland : a Contribution to the Definition and History of the Genre in Its European Context (France, Germany, England, Style).

Abstract

Christoph Martin Wieland (1733-1813) is often cited as one of the principal practitioners of the essay in eighteenth-century German literature. A number of studies on Wieland as an essayist have appeared, but none adequately consider what is meant by the term essay. Thus, past definitions of the genre are reviewed, and a concise functional definition is proposed: i.e., the essay is an artistic prose work of limited length which presents a non-mimetic view of reality and makes limited claims to certitude. A typical essay by Wieland , (')Uber die Ideale der Griechischen Kunstler, is examined in detail to demonstrate how Wiel and 's essayistic prose clearly possesses the key components of this definition. Wieland 's development into an essayist was gradual. During the Swiss period (1752-1760) he was becoming increasingly essayistic, but that he did not yet author any true essays. Essayistic passages in Wieland 's two novels of the following decade, Don Sylvio and Agathon, suggest that these works were the proving ground for his subsequent fully developed essayism. Wieland 's greatest activity as an essayist came later when he was most intensely involved with the Teutscher Merkur. The study explores the essays of this period compared with related nonessayistic works. In contrast to earlier studies on Wieland the essayist, here primary attention is given to matters of form and style, in particular to features which reveal Wieland 's desire to reflect the limits of knowledge--for example, his criticism of dogmatic opinions, his seemingly impromptu, conversational style, his polyperspectivism, and his digressive, often fragmentary approach to writing. For the first time, a clearly defined concept of the genre is used as the basis for an overview of the early history of the essay in France, England , and Germany. In addition to suggesting the need for revisions in our view of the development of the genre, this review shows that Wieland must be seen as one of the most significant essayists in all of eighteenth-century European literature.