Aesthetic Dilemmas

Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874–1929) is frequently portrayed in cultural histories as an aloof writer with a precious style, out of step with modern sensibilities. In Aesthetic Dilemmas Marlo Burks reassesses Hofmannsthal’s oeuvre and its place in twentieth-century European modernist aesthetics. Through an examination of a diverse range of Hofmannsthal’s ekphrastic writings – including poetry, essays, opera libretti, fiction, and letters – Burks argues that Hofmannsthal’s work aims to engage the consciousness and sensibility of readers, listeners, and viewers by way of dynamic encounters with works of art. Aesthetic Dilemmas thereby corrects a long-standing, flawed characterization of Hofmannsthal’s work as escapist and demonstrates how his place in the Modernist movement has been misunderstood in most scholarship. The book is in dialogue with a broad range of critical voices and treats a variety of themes, from aestheticism to money, interpersonal relationships, suffering, poverty, labour, futurity, legacy, and hope. Translating numerous passages into English for the first time, Aesthetic Dilemmas gives English-speaking readers the chance to evaluate Hofmannsthal’s literary merit and his contributions to the enduring conversation about art’s relation to ethics.

Hugo von Hofmannsthal is frequently portrayed as an aloof writer, out of step with modern sensibilities. Aesthetic Dilemmas re-evaluates his place in twentieth-century European Modernism by arguing that his work is not escapist but instead engages the consciousness of readers through dynamic encounters with works of art.

“Clear, sensible, effective, and persuasive. Burks is exceptionally skilled in her readings of Hofmannsthal’s work, pointing out specific structural and rhetorical features in the texts while simultaneously drawing on wider generalities and theoretical observations to place her sensitive and convincing close readings into a larger literary and cultural context.” Vincent Kling, La Salle University

Marlo Alexandra Burks is writer and editor for the Literary Review of Canada.