German Romanticism and Science: The Procreative Poetics of Goethe, Novalis, and Ritter (Routledge Studies in Romanticism)

232 Pages·2009·1.3 MB·English

by  Jocelyn Holland

German Romanticism
and Science
Routledge Studies in Romanticism
1. Keats’s Boyish Imagination 9. Thomas De Quincey
Richard Marggraf Turley New Theoretical and Critical Directions
Edited by Robert Morrison and
2. Leigh Hunt Daniel Sanjiv Roberts
Life, Poetics, Politics
Edited by Nicholas Roe 10. Romanticism and Visuality
Fragments, History, Spectacle
3. Leigh Hunt and the London Sophie Thomas
Literary Scene
A Reception History of his Major 11. Romanticism, History,
Works, 1805–1828 Historicism
Michael Eberle-Sinatra Essays on an Orthodoxy
Edited by Damian Walford Davies
4. Tracing Women’s Romanticism
Gender, History and Transcendence 12. The Meaning of “Life” in
Kari E. Lokke Romantic Poetry and Poetics
Edited by Ross Wilson
5. Metaphysical Hazlitt
Bicentenary Essays 13. German Romanticism
Uttara Natarajan, Tom Paulin and and Science
Duncan Wu The Procreative Poetics of Goethe,
Novalis, and Ritter
6. Romantic Genius and the Jocelyn Holland
Literary Magazine
Biography, Celebrity, Politics
David Higgins
7. Romantic Representations of
British India
Edited by Michael Franklin
8. Sympathy and the State in the
Romantic Era
Systems, State Finance, and the
Shadows of Futurity
Robert Mitchell
German Romanticism
and Science
The Procreative Poetics of
Goethe, Novalis, and Ritter
Jocelyn Holland
New York London
First published 2009
by Routledge
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Simultaneously published in the UK
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Holland, Jocelyn, 1973–
German romanticism and science : the procreative poetics of Goethe, Novalis, and
Ritter / Jocelyn Holland.
p. cm. — (Routledge studies in romanticism ; 13)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 1749–1832—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Novalis,
1772–1801—Criticism and interpretation. 3. Ritter, Johann Wilhelm, 1776–1810—
Criticism and interpretation. 4. German literature—18th century—History and criticism.
5. Romanticism—Germany. 6. Human reproduction in literature. 7. Literature and
science. I. Title.
PT2213.H65 2009
830.9'145—dc22
2008044843
ISBN 0-203-87901-5 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN10: 0-415-99326-1 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0-203-87901-5 (ebk)
ISBN13: 978-0-415-99326-5 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-203-87901-6 (ebk)
Bianca Theisen, in memoriam

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
1 Introduction 1
2 Poetic Procreation and Goethe’s Theory of Metamorphosis 19
3 Friedrich von Hardenberg and the Discourse of Procreation 56
4 The Poet as Artisan and the Instruments of Procreation 85
5 Johann Wilhelm Ritter and the Writing of Life 113
6 Procreative Thinking—Scientifi c Projects 134
Conclusion 157
Notes 165
Bibliography 209
Index 219

Acknowledgments
I cannot express the extent of my gratitude to those who helped me com-
plete this manuscript. To my parents, John and Jeanne Holland; to my dis-
sertation advisors, Rüdiger Campe and Bianca Theisen; to my colleagues at
UCSB, to my friends, and to Gil: thank you!