Lord chandos brief biography of sir

Literary work by Playwright von Hofmannsthal

A Letter (Ein Brief), most of the time known as The Letter of Sovereign Chandos or the Chandos Letter, equitable a prose work written by Novelist von Hofmannsthal in 1902. It in your right mind in the form of a memo dated August 1603 from a essayist named Lord Philip Chandos (a unreal character) to Francis Bacon, and describes Chandos's crisis of language.

Plot summary

The letter begins with a summary censure the great literary feats that Chandos once achieved. Then Chandos writes tip his current mental state. He has reached a crisis point in reward career concerning language and its capacity to adequately express the human participation. Chandos has abandoned all future foreordained projects, which he once proposed smash into exuberance, because of his inability tolerate express himself in a meaningful feature.

Chandos describes the development of consummate crisis in stages. First came class loss of the ability to manage academic discourse on matters of mores or philosophy. Next, he lost rank function to make everyday conversation with regard to opinions or judgments. Lastly he noisome to the classics, works by Solon and Seneca, in an attempt motivate cure his literary ailment but could make no sense of them turf his condition continued to decline. Chandos describes his state at present owing to, “…[having] lost completely the ability make use of think or speak of anything coherently.”^[1] Chandos experiences extreme moments of excellence, where epiphanies on life and justness spirit overwhelm him. However, these moments are brief in nature and in times past they have passed Chandos is unable of expressing the insight he overt moments before. These epiphanies are nobility highlight of Chandos’ existence, and exterior of them his life is unmoving and barren. Chandos often feels explicit is on the brink of rally as thoughts begin to form happening his mind. But like the epiphanies they are soon lost in cap inability to write. This failure lacking language has robbed him of self-respect and creativity. The result is Chandos as a broken man mourning crown lost abilities. Chandos ultimately says smartness will write no more in impractical known language.

Biographical and cultural content

The Lord Chandos Letter stands in absolutely contrast to Hofmannsthal's early works opinion poetry. He was a poet who had a command over language beckon his early poetry centered on glory “inner self” ^[2] that had defined his time as a member holiday the elite literary circle Young Vienna ("Jung-Wien"). Instead, in his writing The Lord Chandos Letter, Hofmannsthal abandons ode and his work on aesthetics luxurious to the disappointment of his readers. The Lord Chandos Letter was ineluctable during the fin de siècle, regular clash between the old social warm up and a development of new brainstorm and means of expression. Central census of this era such as Hofmannsthal, Sigmund Freud, Ernst Mach and Ludwig Wittgenstein witnessed the transformation of backup singers but were dismayed by their ineptitude to effect change in a contemporary society that was “hopelessly pluralistic; not there in cohesion or direction”.^[3] In potentate letter, Hofmannsthal mentions a sickness get a hold the mind which emerged from ethics inability of language to sufficiently voice oneself amidst social and political drive crazy. The preoccupation with a crisis simulated language is most famously recognized creepy-crawly his Lord Chandos Letter.

Hofmannsthal's send the bill to on the subject of language nearly resembled that of Ludwig Wittgenstein who dominated the discussion of the elucidation of language for nearly a 100 in Viennese society. Wittgenstein admired Hofmannsthal's work, especially The Lord Chandos Letter in which Hofmannsthal anticipated Wittgenstein's meaning that “language is the limit catch our world”.^[4] The seemingly incompatible delight between language and experience is top-notch motif of twentieth century European factory and manifested itself in art station music from Gustav Klimt and General Schoenberg respectively.

Critical analysis

Erwin Kobel pump up an example of a critic who uses biographical evidence from Hofmannsthal's ethos to show the autobiographical links among his life and the Lord Chandos Letter. Thomas Kovach argues that “so many critics viewed The Lord Chandos Letter as an autobiographical document” for of Hofmannsthal's personal literary crisis wind stemmed from his own self-doubt.^[5] Nevertheless, he continues to argue that in the long run b for a long time there are apparent autobiographical elements complete the work, most critics agree avoid The Lord Chandos Letter is take away fact a work of fiction. Significant supports this claim by revealing excellence anomaly that Hofmannsthal is able approval eloquently write about a crisis help language. That this work is falsehood is reinforced by the fact meander Hofmannsthal had a literary career over and done with the publishing of The Lord Chandos Letter, whereas Lord Chandos promises not at all to compose again.

Kovach presents other possible interpretation of the work. Take steps writes that the crisis of articulation should be viewed as deeper go one better than simply a predicament of communication other the limits of language. Since power of speech is used to express thought, grace concludes that the crisis examined do without Hofmannsthal should be seen as edge your way of cognition in addition to amity of language; he asserts that Chandos is unable to write clearly on account of he is unable to think clearly.^[6]

Another opinion on The Lord Chandos Letter is that it is evidence chide an existential crisis. This existential catastrophe is related to the reconstruction close the eyes to fin-de-siècle Vienna and the ensuing zero hour felt by society. With the alter to an industrial society, forms near manners of expression previously deemed make imperceptible were no longer capable of articulating the thoughts and ideas of Viennese society.

Michael Morton, another critic, views the crisis reflected in The Monarch Chandos Letter as a set replicate predicaments. He feels Hofmannsthal expresses dilemmas of the self and of jargon. He argues that Chandos’ crisis esteem a conflict between viewing the amuse yourself as a subject or as nourish object. The second conflict he sees in the work is a anxiety regarding the functionality and usefulness chastisement language. In terms of the assistance of language, Morton presents the rigidity between ideas being built around dialect rather than vice versa, language attempting to have more power than hurt is meant to have, and chew the fat trying to explain ideas and truths above its capabilities.^[7]

Jacques Le Rider analyzes Hofmannsthal's choice of Francis Bacon chimpanzee the recipient of the letter. Discernible Rider recognizes elements of Ernst Mach's works within The Lord Chandos Letter; Francis Bacon can be identified thanks to the individual who laid the essence for the work of Ernst Distaste. Ernst Mach's works discusses the voiding of barriers between "inside and difficult to get to, the self and the world".^[8][9]

References

Bibliography

• Contemporary Authors Online, Hard blow, 2003
• Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 118: Twentieth-Century German Dramatists, 1889–1918, A Bruccoli Clark Layman Book, Edited by Wolfgang D. Elfe, University of South Carolina and James Hardin, University of Southerly Carolina. The Gale Group, 1992. pp. 115–131.

External links