This thesis will show that Walter Moers’ novel Der Schrecksenmeister, published in 2007, challenges the convention of the academic canon discussion. Der Schrecksenmeister is a work of fantasy literature; this is not a prestigious genre in the German academic field, and as a result, fantasy literature is not considered part of the literary canon. Due to its high level of intertextuality, however, I believe that this novel makes a claim for its own canonization. One of my research questions is therefore – Which pretexts, or intertextual precursors, are inscribed into Moers’ novel? This intertextuality connects Der Schrecksenmeister with already canonical authors and novels, and is the key that serves to open the literary canon. To begin with, the phenomenon of intertextuality must be defined. Due to the fact that this phenomenon is the subject of a major debate, intertextuality is a murky concept. After a short survey of the various definitions, I will then classify the phenomenon and narrow the definition down for the purpose of this thesis. I use two major works on intertextuality: an anthology by Ulrich Broich and Manfred Pfister entitled Intertextualität. Formen, Funktionen, anglistischen Fallstudien, and Peter Stocker’s work on intertextuality, Theorie der intertextuellen Lektüre. In my opinion, these works define intertextuality very clearly, work against the inaccuracy of the concept in general and provide a consistent definition. Furthermore, in order to make the concept of intertextuality useful for the analysis of this novel, the form and function of the phenomenon are formulated. Additionally, the term “canon” is defined. This concept is also the object of a contentious discussion. For this reason, the general definition of canon is the starting point and must be subsumed under the definitions of the main canon types which are important for this thesis – the “Muster- oder Spitzenkanon” (main or high canon) and “Subkanon” (subcanon). Following this, the connection between intertextuality and canon is discussed. In the analysis, three themes in the novel are chosen to show the form and functions of the intertextuality present in Moers’ text. First, I discuss the motif of talking animals, then the motif of trees, and last but not least the theme of adaption or pastiche of Gottfried Keller’s story Spiegel das Kätzchen. The aim of my analysis is to show the variety of forms and functions of intertextuality, and therefore its importance in this novel. Moreover, the authors and works inscribed into Moers’ story must be classified in order to make a statement about their membership in the academic canon. The result of this analysis is important for the discussion of the canon in the thesis. The last part of this thesis deals with the relationship between intertextuality and canon in this novel. The results of the analysis clearly show the basis of Der Schreckensmeister’s close ties to already canonized works. All of the older works discussed inscribed into Moers’ novel and discussed in the thesis are established classics. Thus it can be argued that Der Schrecksenmeister makes a claim for its own membership in the literary canon.

This thesis will show that Walter Moers’ novel Der Schrecksenmeister, published in 2007, challenges the convention of the academic canon discussion. Der Schrecksenmeister is a work of fantasy literature; this is not a prestigious genre in the German academic field, and as a result, fantasy literature is not considered part of the literary canon. Due to its high level of intertextuality, however, I believe that this novel makes a claim for its own canonization. One of my research questions is therefore – Which pretexts, or intertextual precursors, are inscribed into Moers’ novel? This intertextuality connects Der Schrecksenmeister with already canonical authors and novels, and is the key that serves to open the literary canon. To begin with, the phenomenon of intertextuality must be defined. Due to the fact that this phenomenon is the subject of a major debate, intertextuality is a murky concept. After a short survey of the various definitions, I will then classify the phenomenon and narrow the definition down for the purpose of this thesis. I use two major works on intertextuality: an anthology by Ulrich Broich and Manfred Pfister entitled Intertextualität. Formen, Funktionen, anglistischen Fallstudien, and Peter Stocker’s work on intertextuality, Theorie der intertextuellen Lektüre. In my opinion, these works define intertextuality very clearly, work against the inaccuracy of the concept in general and provide a consistent definition. Furthermore, in order to make the concept of intertextuality useful for the analysis of this novel, the form and function of the phenomenon are formulated. Additionally, the term “canon” is defined. This concept is also the object of a contentious discussion. For this reason, the general definition of canon is the starting point and must be subsumed under the definitions of the main canon types which are important for this thesis – the “Muster- oder Spitzenkanon” (main or high canon) and “Subkanon” (subcanon). Following this, the connection between intertextuality and canon is discussed. In the analysis, three themes in the novel are chosen to show the form and functions of the intertextuality present in Moers’ text. First, I discuss the motif of talking animals, then the motif of trees, and last but not least the theme of adaption or pastiche of Gottfried Keller’s story Spiegel das Kätzchen. The aim of my analysis is to show the variety of forms and functions of intertextuality, and therefore its importance in this novel. Moreover, the authors and works inscribed into Moers’ story must be classified in order to make a statement about their membership in the academic canon. The result of this analysis is important for the discussion of the canon in the thesis. The last part of this thesis deals with the relationship between intertextuality and canon in this novel. The results of the analysis clearly show the basis of Der Schreckensmeister’s close ties to already canonized works. All of the older works discussed inscribed into Moers’ novel and discussed in the thesis are established classics. Thus it can be argued that Der Schrecksenmeister makes a claim for its own membership in the literary canon.

Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher (A cidade dos livros sonhadores) é um extenso romance escrito em 2004 por Walter Moers. A narrativa se passa no mundo fantástico de Zamonien um lugar habitado por dragões e outras criaturas curiosas e concentra-se na jornada do protagonista Hildegunst von Mythenmetz, um jovem dragão-escritor, o qual encontra um misterioso texto, que seria, segundo sua opinião, a melhor obra já escrita no continente fictício. Ele sai, então, à procura do autor desconhecido daquelas palavras. Sua busca o leva a Buchhaim, a cidade dos livros sonhadores, onde muitas aventuras mas também perigos o aguardam. Moers finge ser apenas o tradutor da língua zamônica e o ilustrador da biografia de Hildegunst von Mythenmetz, que seria o verdadeiro autor de Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher. Logo após a publicação do romance, os fãs de Moers ocuparam-se em decifrar charadas que fazem referência a obras literárias e autores conhecidos. O livro tornou-se, então, uma narrativa fantástica sobre a literatura e o mundo literário. O presente trabalho pretende analisar a estrutura narrativa de Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher, especialmente o aspecto da metaficcionalidade. Para tanto, será apresentado, primeiramente, um breve resumo do enredo. Em seguida, ocuparemo-nos com as principais características do gênero da Fantasy, procurando encontrar exemplos no romance dos aspectos constitutivos desse gênero. Por fim, serão analisados diferentes elementos metaficcionais encontrados na obra, com o intuito de demonstrar o jogo que o autor faz com a ficcionalidade. O romance de Moers lida de forma irônica e parodística com a questão do limite entre ficção e realidade, que ocupa parte da crítica literária. Essa temática desenvolve-se em um jogo, no qual um dinossauro é autor de um bestseller e concede entrevistar à mídia alemã (FAZ e ZDF). O humor é, sem dúvida, a característica mais marcante de Walter Moers. O principal objetivo desse trabalho consiste, por fim, em investigar a relação entre a metaficcionalidade e o sucesso que o romance encontrou entre um público tão diversificado. / Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher (The city of dreaming books) is a novel written in 2004 by Walter Moers. The narrative takes place in the fantastic world of Zamonien a place inhabited by dragons and other curious creatures and focuses on the journey of the protagonist Hildegunst von Mythenmetz, a young dragon-writer, who finds a mysterious text, which would be, according to his opinion, the best book ever written on the fictional continent. He starts a journey looking for the unknown author of those words. His quest leads him to \"Buchhaim\", the city of dreaming books, where many adventures but also dangers wait for him. Moers pretends to be only the translator of the \"zamonia language\" and the illustrator of the biography of Hildegunst von Mythenmetz, which would be the true author of Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher. Shortly after the publication of the novel, fans of Moers tried to decipher the riddles of literary pieces and unknown authors references within the story. The book became, then, a fantastic narrative about the literature and the literary world. This work intends to analyze the narrative structure of Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher, especially the aspect of metafictionality. Therefore, will be presented, firstly, a brief resume of the story. Then we will analyze the main characteristics of the genre of Fantasy, trying to identify examples in the novel which establishes this genre. Finally, we will analyze distinctive metafictional elements found in the work, in order to demonstrate the tricks that the author makes with fictionality. Moers\'s novel deals in an ironic and parodistic way with the question of the boundaries between fiction and reality, which occupies part of the literary critic. This theme takes its course in a game in which a dinosaur is the author of a best-seller and agrees to be interviewed by German media (FAZ and ZDF). The humor is undoubtedly the most remarkable characteristic of Walter Moers. The main purpose of this work is to investigate the connections between the metafictionality and the huge success of the novel, which reached such a diversified audience.

Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher (A cidade dos livros sonhadores) é um extenso romance escrito em 2004 por Walter Moers. A narrativa se passa no mundo fantástico de Zamonien um lugar habitado por dragões e outras criaturas curiosas e concentra-se na jornada do protagonista Hildegunst von Mythenmetz, um jovem dragão-escritor, o qual encontra um misterioso texto, que seria, segundo sua opinião, a melhor obra já escrita no continente fictício. Ele sai, então, à procura do autor desconhecido daquelas palavras. Sua busca o leva a Buchhaim, a cidade dos livros sonhadores, onde muitas aventuras mas também perigos o aguardam. Moers finge ser apenas o tradutor da língua zamônica e o ilustrador da biografia de Hildegunst von Mythenmetz, que seria o verdadeiro autor de Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher. Logo após a publicação do romance, os fãs de Moers ocuparam-se em decifrar charadas que fazem referência a obras literárias e autores conhecidos. O livro tornou-se, então, uma narrativa fantástica sobre a literatura e o mundo literário. O presente trabalho pretende analisar a estrutura narrativa de Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher, especialmente o aspecto da metaficcionalidade. Para tanto, será apresentado, primeiramente, um breve resumo do enredo. Em seguida, ocuparemo-nos com as principais características do gênero da Fantasy, procurando encontrar exemplos no romance dos aspectos constitutivos desse gênero. Por fim, serão analisados diferentes elementos metaficcionais encontrados na obra, com o intuito de demonstrar o jogo que o autor faz com a ficcionalidade. O romance de Moers lida de forma irônica e parodística com a questão do limite entre ficção e realidade, que ocupa parte da crítica literária. Essa temática desenvolve-se em um jogo, no qual um dinossauro é autor de um bestseller e concede entrevistar à mídia alemã (FAZ e ZDF). O humor é, sem dúvida, a característica mais marcante de Walter Moers. O principal objetivo desse trabalho consiste, por fim, em investigar a relação entre a metaficcionalidade e o sucesso que o romance encontrou entre um público tão diversificado. / Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher (The city of dreaming books) is a novel written in 2004 by Walter Moers. The narrative takes place in the fantastic world of Zamonien a place inhabited by dragons and other curious creatures and focuses on the journey of the protagonist Hildegunst von Mythenmetz, a young dragon-writer, who finds a mysterious text, which would be, according to his opinion, the best book ever written on the fictional continent. He starts a journey looking for the unknown author of those words. His quest leads him to \"Buchhaim\", the city of dreaming books, where many adventures but also dangers wait for him. Moers pretends to be only the translator of the \"zamonia language\" and the illustrator of the biography of Hildegunst von Mythenmetz, which would be the true author of Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher. Shortly after the publication of the novel, fans of Moers tried to decipher the riddles of literary pieces and unknown authors references within the story. The book became, then, a fantastic narrative about the literature and the literary world. This work intends to analyze the narrative structure of Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher, especially the aspect of metafictionality. Therefore, will be presented, firstly, a brief resume of the story. Then we will analyze the main characteristics of the genre of Fantasy, trying to identify examples in the novel which establishes this genre. Finally, we will analyze distinctive metafictional elements found in the work, in order to demonstrate the tricks that the author makes with fictionality. Moers\'s novel deals in an ironic and parodistic way with the question of the boundaries between fiction and reality, which occupies part of the literary critic. This theme takes its course in a game in which a dinosaur is the author of a best-seller and agrees to be interviewed by German media (FAZ and ZDF). The humor is undoubtedly the most remarkable characteristic of Walter Moers. The main purpose of this work is to investigate the connections between the metafictionality and the huge success of the novel, which reached such a diversified audience.

In this thesis, I examine three works of modern German fantasy fiction for young adults, their common grounding in the Romantic aesthetic framework and in particular the Romantic notion of creativity, and the implication of their unique fantasy fiction paradigm in our modern day. The novels are Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story (1979), Inkheart (2003) by Cornelia Funke and The City of Dreaming Books (2006) by Walter Moers. They represent a Germany-specific narrative paradigm which can be seen in the protagonist readers’ transformation from mere readers into storymakers/storytellers, and in the conflict between a book-loving hero and antagonists who are against literature. The protagonists embody the Romantic notion of creativity that involves the sublimation of a poet’s crisis into an exploration of the self. The mundane is infused with fantasy, thereby elevating reality to an idealised state. These Romantic storytelling readers act as tricksters, a fairy tale archetype that shares similarities with the figure of the Romantic poet. I employ the theoretical frameworks of German Romanticism, Frankfurt School critical theory, and postmodern models, including those by Deleuze and Guattari. I argue for a modern version of the trickster archetype which explains how a complacent, passive reader becomes an active storyteller. / Graduate