Aesthetics

"The Metaphysical Poets" that was published by T. S. Eliot in 1921 is as well-known as his essay "Tradition and the Individual Talent". If "Tradition and the Individual Talent" is an essay on art and "Reflections on Vers libre, " "Prose and Verse" and so on are essays on a form of poetry, it seems that "The Metaphysical Poets" is an essay on the essence of poetry. It is said that in recent times the manner of the metaphysical poets has been effectively revived in England and America, especially by T. S. Eliot and his disciples, and in fact a good deal of recent poetry may be described as a fusion of the metaphysicals of the 17th century with the Erench symbolists of the late 19th. Therefore, I intend to elucidate the essential qualities of the metaphysical poetry and to consider the relations between Dante and T. S. Eliot and between the metaphysicals and the symbolists.

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In the sphere of music aesthetics, since the Renaissance, the problem of expression has become a subject of considerable controversy. Several theories have emerged affirming the existence of expression as one of the basic components of music, but these so called heteronomy theories, when examined carefully, can not be sustained. Music, different from other kinds of art, has no objective expression. The essence of music does not consist in its expression, but in its construction. From this point of view, the autonomy theory is superior to the heteronomy theory. The autonomy theory deals with expression as an independent entity, but in doing so unfortunately loses sight of the vital relation between the artist and his works of art. In this respect the theory needs to be revised. In conclusion, it is emphasised that since works of art spring from the personality of the artists who create them, even the pure abstract music retains the basic outlook of the personality of the artist.

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In Kate Hamburgers Kritik gegen R. Ingarden sind zwei bedeutendeste Probleme gehalten : 1 die Wesensbestimmung muss nicht tautologisch sein, 2 die Kunst soll in bezug auf die Wirklichkeit betrachtet werden. Um sich in Tautologie nicht aufzulosen, will Hamburger "nicht nur die Sprache selbst anschauen, sondern hinter oder unter sie sehen." In dem standigen Vergleich der dichtenden mit der nicht-dichtenden will sie die Struktur der Dichtung erarbeiten. In Zusammenhang mit der Stellung der Werkinterpretation wie E. Staiger, W. Kayser will ich die Bedeutung von Hamburgers Methode betrachten, und die Richtung nach zusammenhangende Interpretation in dieser Methode erfinden.

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From the beginning of the 20th century the various arts began to break away from one other, each seeking to become autonomous. Although this tendency, which was caused by the specialization of our century, exerted an enormous influence on the development of modern art and architecture, it must not be ignored that such isolation of the arts has made us lose sight of the total vision of man and the world. Today, aware of the implicit dangers in this tendency, many artists and architects are searching for a way to attain a new synthesis of the arts. They are convinced that modern art and design must be brought together in a universal conception of the world that would once again unite thought and feeling. In order to find the fundamental thought to arrive at a new synthesis, here I will take up three problems-the idea of the "Konkrete Kunst", some ways of conbining art and architecture, and the social function of art. Through these problems we shall find that it is the important task of art and design to "express a clear vision of true reality" (P. Mondrian), or to realize the "Umgestaltung" through the "Konkrete Kunst" (M. Bill).

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