Ballad Genre as J. W. Goethe’s Experimental Field
https://doi.org/10.18384/2949-5008-2025-5-86-93
Abstract
Aim. To explore the poetics of the ballads “The Fisherman” and “Erlkönig” and reveal why they differ markedly from similar works by other poets while maintaining a visible external genre basis.
Methodology. The analysis considers the principles of descriptive, cultural-historical, historical-typological, comparative methods.
Results. Arguments are given regarding the fact that the lyrical element of Goethe’s ballad has a special property, it motivates the reader to an inductive-deductive perception of the poem, in which the energy of the plot is either centripetal (ballad) or centrifugal (parable); specificity is replaced by generalization. Thus, Goethe’s ballads take on the features of other genres, which are not always related to it.
Research implications lie in revealing the features of the lyrical element of the Goethe’s ballad and clarification of the technical side of this phenomenon. The results obtained can be used both for scientific purposes and in the field of teaching.
About the Author
A. A. Kozin
Federal State University of Education
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Alexander A. Kozin – Cand. Sci. (Philology), Assoc. Prof., Assoc. Prof., Department of Russian and Foreign Literature
Moscow
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