This study developed from an initial interest in the literature of the German exiles in which canon Klaus Mann's work between 1933 and 1945 figured prominently. This in turn evoked a curiosity toward this still relatively unknown son of Thomas Mann, intensified not least by the pathos of a life characterised by early promise, fame and prominence that ended in obscurity, despair and suicide. Yet these aspects of Klaus Mann's life appeared to have been overlooked by British scholars and with them the early and later years of Mann's career. The years of Mann's exile have been well documented and researched and place Mann's fiction of this time within the canon of Exilliteratur. Those texts which went before, however, have received only scant attention. Yet it is precisely in the novels and essays from the Weimar Republic that Mann developed and refined the techniques and themes that would define his later works. To overlook them is to suggest that the decisive moment of exile represented a caesura in Mann's career, thus masking the underlying continuity within Mann's oeuvre. For this reason, this study concentrates primarily on the early years of Mann's career, on the period from 1924 to 1933, to illustrate the progression and development within his work that would culminate in the novels of his exile. While Mann's prose dictates the approach I have taken, this is not exclusively 'literary' to the exclusion of all other concerns and potential external influences on his work. It assesses the complementary characteristics of Mann's fiction and his essayistic prose, much of which has only become readily available in the last five years, against the context of their creation during the Weimar Republic. In consequence, this work embraces the cultural, political and social context of this age, embracing its contradictory nature where progression and experimentation battled against the endemic regression and reaction of the Republic's institutions. However, it does not intend to provide a detailed discussion of the complexities that underlie this period of German history. For this I refer the reader to the body of research which deals specifically with this topic.

This thesis focuses on the novels of Hermann Burger. It considers the experimental nature of Burger's writings as a form of opposition, or 'Verweigerung', to the restrictive discourses of Swiss nationhood expressed in the notion of 'Enge'. A central tenet of the argument advanced here is that Hermann Burger is both a very self-consciously Swiss author, and, at the same time, very self-consciously experimental; a constant tension between these two aspects of his writing is manifest in all his work. Burger was not a provincial Swiss writer. Rather, he was an eclectic writer, and this thesis will examine the manner in which his work is framed by a broad spectrum of literary and philosophical ideas current in the wider international context of literary debate which serve to challenge the narrowness of intellectual discussion and forms of representation in Switzerland. To extend the discursive possibilities of the individual within the cultural space of the nation, Burger's novels involve a radical play with form and language which blurs the boundaries between the real, the unreal and the surreal, in order to challenge notions of the 'real'. A conflict between normative modes of expression and the desire for self-expression develops which is thematically central in Burger's work. His novels present the reader with a complex set of inter-related issues: national identity; national culture; Art; nature; literature and representational strategies; art and life. The methodology adopted in this thesis reflects the belief that Burger's work is best appreciated as an eclectic mix of ideas. As Burger engages with the multifarious aspects of life and seeks to give them form, so his work is considered in relation to a broad range of theories which, taken together, provide insights into his work.

This thesis is concerned with Siegfried Kracauer’s response to the challenges of modernity as exemplified by the Weimar Republic and its culture. A consideration of the literary dimension of Kracauer’s work is a central aspect of my approach. Beginning with a brief examination of Kracauer s early, epistemological writings, which adopt an anti-modem tone, my thesis then examines his shift towards a materialist critique of modernity. Using his essay 'Das Ornament der Masse' as a key example, I argue that Kracauer assumes the stance of a flâneur vis-à-vis the culture he examines. While this is consistent with his role as a Feuilleton journalist, the flâneur's detachment compromises Kracauer's political position. Here, and throughout the thesis, Kracauer's narrative approach and its effects are drawn out through comparisons with contemporary literary texts. In the remaining three chapters of my thesis, I analyse the novels Ginster and Georg, as well as the sociological study Die Angestellten. Here, I suggest, Kracauer attempts to transcend the limitations imposed by the flâneur's detachment. In Ginster he critically reflects on his own personal and political development while Die Angestellten is an attempt at social intervention. In Georg, finally, Kracauer returns to exploring crucial factors of Weimar (political) culture and considers his own role, as a journalist, within them.

This thesis examines plays written in the period from 1923 to 1933, whose subject matter is the rise of right wing radical forces and ultimately the rise of Hitler. Twelve plays, including those of well known authors such as Ernst Toller, Georg Kaiser, and Oedön von Horväth, as well as plays of minor authors, were chosen solely on the grounds of their antifascist stance. An attempt was made to interpret and analyse their contribution to the theory of fascism. The economic, socio-political and psychological issues raised in each individual play are examined in close reference to the historical events of the Weimar Republic and related to current thoughts on fascism. Although individual plays attack different outward signs of a rising tide of right wing radicalism and judge from different political view points, some common factors could be established. The rise of Hitler is largely seen as the culmination of an active counter-revolutionary movement starting the day the Republic was created. The driving force behind counter-revolution and National Socialism is seen as the economic interests specifically of the former privileged social groups and industry. Those plays which acknowledge a mass following of National Socialism see it again as motivated by economic considerations. On the whole both Hitler as Führer and National Socialism as a mass movement were underestimated. The inability of the Weimar Republic to create a just economic climate and democratically orientated institutions, specifically in the judiciary and the army, are seen as factors contributing to the rise of Hitler.

Ernst Toller (1893-1939) wrote a substantial body of poetry which has received negligible critical attention. This thesis argues that the poetic styles he adopted enabled him not only to examine past experiences but also to evolve strategies for the challenges he faced. His early poetry (1908-1915) shows his attempts to come to terms with love and his enthusiasm to participate in the First World War. The poetry provided him with emotional models which were then revised in the light of experience. The early Expressionist poetry (1915-1919) documents his disillusionment with the war and furnishes insights into his growing political awareness. Toller then adopted the sonnet form (1919-1921), principally in order to express the vicissitudes of prison experience in a controlled manner, and this contributed to his adjustment to incarceration. Das Schwalbenbuch (1922-1924) combines this formal control with a growing sensitivity to the potential of Expressionist verse and delivers insights into his metaphysical thinking. Vormorgan (1924) summarises his experience of war, revolution and imprisonment, in verse of considerable richness and suggestivity, indicating the positive values he intended to apply to his life on release. After its publication, Toller practically ceased to write poetry except for a very few isolated examples, one of which ('Am Fluss, an unpublished poem) points to the possibility of a sixth and masterful poetic phase of which, apart from this one poem, there is no record. This study puts forward explanations for the apparent cessation of his poetry writing after 1924, arguing that his lyrical tendencies nonetheless found expression in his writing in other genres. The thesis provides an index of Toller's entire poetic production and a collection of the unpublished poems and those no longer easily accessible.

This thesis examines forms of autobiographical writing in the 21st century which are located at the intersection of autobiography and fiction. The literary sources selected question established genre boundaries, while also reflecting contemporary cultural discourses and creating particular images of their authors. My analysis investigates the new literary strategies emerging in Charlotte Roche’s Schoßgebete (2011), Stephan Wackwitz’s Ein unsichtbares Land (2003), Felicitas Hoppe’s Hoppe (2012) and David Wagner’s Leben (2012) in order to identify how texts such as these combine autobiography and fiction. Using a range of literary theories my textual analysis shows that autobiographical writing in the 21st century is more extensive than critical approaches such as ‘autofiction’ and ‘life writing’ suggest. The thesis demonstrates how genre hybridisations, intertextual combinations and inter-discursive conjunctions in the texts also move beyond Philippe Lejeune’s differentiation between autobiography and the novel. By combining characteristics of fictional narratives with features of factual texts such as the essay, the parody of academic biography or specifically context-related factual, in this case medical texts, these life stories reflect our understanding of identity in significantly new ways. Moreover, my investigation proves that the new forms of autobiographical writing engage with contemporary issues such as the role of the media and celebrity culture, national history and memory discourses, transculturalism and the significance of writing in the 21st century, medical developments and their consequences. The texts’ contribution to these discourses also constructs the authors’ self-presentation. Strategies and techniques identified range from provocative self-staging through positioning within a framework of national and family history, to outlining autobiographical poetics, or presenting different private and public facets of the author’s persona. My thesis addresses not only the effects of the increasing (public) interest in the private life of authors in contemporary autobiographical writing but also contributes to wider research on autobiography, genre and intertextuality.

This thesis attempts to consider all important translations of a literary character from the German in the period. It suggests that these were far more important in establishing the principles and popularising the mood of neo-Classicism in Britain than in conveying any Gothic themes. It gives reasons for the failure of the Sturm und Drang to make much impact on British writing. The limits of the thesis are chosen to emphasise the unity of this period of translation. This has been distorted by earlier emphasis on Mackenzie's Address of 1788. The reception of translations in the 1790s was conditioned by translations of the 1760s and 1770s. The two chapters on Gessner are connected by one on Winckelmann, and the three study the way in which neo-classical theory was delivered in this country and provided with popular literary models to establish it in the public taste. The importance of this for 19th century Romantic poetry is assumed. The connection of these translations with experiments in 'poetic prose' is traced and the Radical implications of the German pastoral before 1798 are outlined. The next chapters on Holcroft, Mackenzie and Fuseli suggest that, by their circumstances and by their natures, they failed to introduce effectively the new German writing, in particular drama, to Britain. The ill-acknowledged influence of the French is stressed, so is the fact that Mackenzie's Address was more of a defence against an attack than an introduction. The remaining chapters consider the shallow nature of German influence at its apparent height in the 1790s. The Speculator's flawed critical approach was not corrected over the next nine years. Goethe's lack of success is explained by the sequence and merit of his translations. Schiller's absence from the public stage is examined and related to the political climate. Kotzebue, it is proposed, was as popular as he and the contemporary theatre deserved. The first of the two chapters on William Taylor considers the source and the limitations of his brilliance as a translator; the second his inflated reputation as a critic. Finally the relationship between the German novels translated before 1794 and the 'German Gothic' novels is discussed and an attempt made to estimate the reality behind the myth of the latter.

An analysis of the religious and social factors contributiong to the motivation of authors of German-Swiss literature, 1850-1940.

Botho Strauß, source for polemic and target of vitriol over three decades, proposes an unsettling understanding of the poetic in his prose works, from his earliest writing to most recent publications. The thesis contends that this understanding of the poetic is deeply indebted to the late thought of Martin Heidegger: it investigates the nature of the debt, highlighting Strauß’ adoption and adaptation of ideas central to the philosopher, including his thinking on the work of art, technology, language and poetry. The body of the thesis examines Strauß’ views through detailed exegeses of Beginnlosigkeit, Wohnen Dämmern Lügen and Fragmente der Undeutlichkeit, while drawing extensively on other works and writing. The readings identify and elucidate a number of key terms critical to Strauß’ proposed poetic. Underpinning these terms, the thesis contends, and bound to the understanding of the poetic, is an ontological concern for philosophical truth derived from Heidegger. The thesis concludes that far from a retreat by Strauß into obscurantist mysticism and resignation from a putative cultural, social and political collective, accusations repeatedly levelled at him and here grouped under the rubric of fatalism, Strauß offers in and through his works a dynamic engagement with this conception of truth, which the thesis hypothesises as a poetics of dwelling.

Images of movement represent a ubiquitous element in Kafka’s writings. This study explores the role of these images as a form of patterning in the fictions. With an eye to continuity and evolution, the study explores the patterns of movement pervading Kafka’s early collection Betrachtung and a selection of texts written between 1915 and 1917. What emerges is a persistent concern with the condition of restlessness, its origins and consequences. The condition emerges from a conflict between the protagonists’ desire for stability and purposive activity and their experience of dynamic forces that escape or resist any form of containment. This conflict results in an oscillating motion that dominates the physical, mental and narrative movements shaping Kafka’s stories. Analysing the relation between early and later texts, the thesis argues that Kafka deploys this central conflict productively to capture a wide spectrum of states of mind. As he explores restlessness in ever wider circles of life, he explores psychological, social and ideological structures, as well as some of the grand narratives of life, death and myth. This differentiated view on the inner dynamics of Kafka's narratives provides a fruitful perspective on questions concerning the development of the oeuvre as a whole.