Brecht's book burning

Contents - Request for book burning to distance oneself from the Nazi regime

In terms of content, Brecht gives the floor to a fictional author in his statement on "book burning".

• Although his poem is based on the real circumstances of the time, Brecht is not speaking here. An intratextual person is never the real author, but always a fictional person. In this case, it is a fictional author who may well share the opinion of the real author. When analyzing the text, you must not confuse the fictional world of the poem and the real world in which Brecht exists as an extra-textual person. Not even if there is an overlap.
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• The lyrical self in Brecht's "Book Burning" practically begs for his works to be burned from exile. The request is formulated in the form of a letter, which is apparently addressed to those in power. The author pleads for cremation because he obviously wants to be against the regime. If his pieces are not burned, he feels that it is an insult, since in this case they seem to contain too little criticism of the regime.
• In terms of content, the focus of the work is the desire to distance yourself from Nazi poetry. Solidarity with the victims of the regime and with fellow poets to whom the regime is doing terrible things is also discussed. What all three main components have in common is the overarching longing for justice.

Formal consideration - "The Burning of Books" as an express letter

The formal side of the "book burning" gives the content of Brecht's poem an urgent framework.

• The work is composed of a single stanza of 14 verses. The fact that Brecht does not make any further subdivisions of stanzas gives the content a stronger effect. The action is coherent in its entirety. The topics dealt with are closely linked. For Brecht, solidarity with the victims, with outcast authors and self-sacrifice for it are clearly related issues.
• The verses live on enjambements. This cross-line style also supports the dependency of the content components. In addition, Brecht makes the fictitious lawsuit more tangible and real in this way. The reader can imagine how it gushes out of the fictional author. This expresses the anger of the writer and the urgency of his complaint.
• This formal framework is rounded off by verses of different lengths and the lack of a continuous rhythm or rhyme scheme. This also reflects the haste and angry rush of the writer. In addition, Brecht supports his illusion of reality with this form. Apart from that, the features just mentioned are typical of a modern poem.

Stylistic analysis - Brecht's metonymy for justice

Stylistically, Brecht generates a second level of meaning behind the meaning of the mere words in his poem.

• Most noteworthy here is the metonymy "Burn me!", Which is repeated several times. On the level of meaning, the opinion is expressed here that the author as a person is only as good as his work as such is. Here he creates an inseparable connection between the person behind a text and the content of the text.
• The call to burn the lyric self is also the highest level of solidarity with the victims of the Nazi era. Better to be burned than a Nazi poet emerges through metonymy as a climax of correctness and justice.
• The text can even be interpreted as an allegory to a limited extent due to the described image. The burning of the works extends as the picture just described of the burning of the poet even on the overall context of the poem, so that one speaks of an allegory of solidarity can.
• In addition to the allegorical metonymy, Brecht uses a very adjective language. The use of semantically negative adjectives, on the other hand, has an emotionalizing effect on the reader. This makes the anger of the lyrical self all the more tangible.
• With the metaphor "with a flying pen", Brecht's style once again supports the urgency and urgency of the facts described. As an image, the metaphor also ensures that the emotions of the lyrical self become more real and tangible for the reader.

In an analysis of the "book burnings", emphasize the real connection with the book burnings in 1933 and work out the poem as a cry for justice. You can round off your analysis with a conclusion that connects Brecht's real person with the fictional author of the express letter. This way, little can go wrong with the task.