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Chapter 37 - Postscript

Oracle Bones

from Part VI - Goethe’s Lasting Significance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2024

By
Frederick Amrine
Edited by
Charlotte Lee
Charlotte Lee
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
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Summary

This chapter is a meditation on Goethe’s 1826 poem ‘Im ernsten Beinhaus’ (‘On Contemplating Schiller’s Skull’). The chapter moves from poetic form (Dante’s terza rima), to weaving, to wisdom, to mystery. It emphasises the resonance between Goethe’s reflections here and the use of oracle bones for divination in ancient China, and closes with the famous non-closure of Goethe’s poem.

Keywords

Goethe‘Im ernsten Beinhaus‘terza rimaoracle bonesWilhelm Meister
Type
Chapter
Information
Goethe in Context , pp. 360 - 366
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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