Adorno's Poetics of Form

Josh Robinson

Description

Adorno's Poetics of Form is the first book-length examination of the elusive deployment of the concept of form in Adorno's writings on art and literature, and the first monograph to offer a comprehensive account of the relation of these writings to his broader philosophical project. It examines form within the constellation of concepts that exist around it, considering how it appears when seen in conjunction with and in opposition to content, expression, genre, and material. Illuminated from these angles, form is revealed as the site of a complex web of dynamic conceptual interactions. The book thus offers a resolution to a problem in Adorno's work that has remained unsolved for several decades, and in doing so sets out the consequences of Adorno's poetics for literary and critical theory today.
Abbreviations of Works by Adorno
Acknowledgments

Introduction

Form
Adorno
Poetics
Philology
Constellation

1. Form and Content

Adorno and Heidegger: The Form of the Thing
‘Parataxis’
Parataxis and Linguistic Form
Form as Sedimented Content
Parataxis in Adorno’s reading of ‘Der Einzige’
Consequences for Form and Content

2. Form and Expression

The Mediation of Form and Expression
Literary and Musical Expressionism
Expressionism and Surrealism
Kafka
Mimesis
Consequences for the Theory of Form

3. Form and Genre

The Fraying of Borders
The Genesis of the Forms
Universal and Particular
Nominalism and its Discontents
Bourgeois Art and the Culture Industry
The Novel as Form
Theory of the Essay

4. Form and Material

Material and Content
Technique and the Mastery of Material
Language and Poetry
The Literary Manifestation of Form and Material
Consequences for the Theory of Form

5. Artistic Form and the Commodity Form

Social and Abstract Labor
Abstraction and Exchange
Mediation and Form
Purposiveness, Communication, Language
Poetry and Reconciliation
Art Beauty and Natural Beauty
Priority of the Object
Coda
Lyric
Engaging Form
Beyond the New Formalism
Conclusion

Notes
Works Cited
Index

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Esthétique et philosophie de l'art
• Philosophie générale
• Literary theory
• History of philosophy
• Philosophy

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 22 mai 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438469850
• Langue: English

Extrait

Adorno’s Poetics of Form
SUNY Series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy

Dennis J. Schmidt, editor
Adorno’s Poetics of Form
JOSH ROBINSON
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2018 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Robinson, Josh (Lecturer in English Literature), author.
Title: Adorno’s poetics of form / Josh Robinson.
Description: Albany, NY : State University of New York, 2018. | Series: SUNY series in contemporary Continental philosophy | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017030300 | ISBN 9781438469836 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438469850 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Adorno, Theodor W., 1903–1969. | Form (Aesthetics)
Classification: LCC B3199.A34 R63 2018 | DDC 193—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017030300
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Abbreviations of Works by Adorno
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Form
Adorno
Poetics
Philology
Constellation
1. Form and Content
Adorno and Heidegger: The Form of the Thing
‘Parataxis’
Parataxis and Linguistic Form
Form as Sedimented Content
Parataxis in Adorno’s reading of ‘Der Einzige’
Consequences for Form and Content
2. Form and Expression
The Mediation of Form and Expression
Literary and Musical Expressionism
Expressionism and Surrealism
Kafka
Mimesis
Consequences for the Theory of Form
3. Form and Genre
The Fraying of Borders
The Genesis of the Forms
Universal and Particular
Nominalism and its Discontents
Bourgeois Art and the Culture Industry
The Novel as Form
Theory of the Essay
4. Form and Material
Material and Content
Technique and the Mastery of Material
Language and Poetry
The Literary Manifestation of Form and Material
Consequences for the Theory of Form
5. Artistic Form and the Commodity Form
Social and Abstract Labor
Abstraction and Exchange
Mediation and Form
Purposiveness, Communication, Language
Poetry and Reconciliation
Art Beauty and Natural Beauty
Priority of the Object
Coda
Lyric
Engaging Form
Beyond the New Formalism
Conclusion
Notes
Works Cited
Index
Abbreviations of Works by Adorno
References to the Gesammelte Schriften , the Nachgelassene Schriften , and the English edition of the Notes to Literature consist of the relevant abbreviation followed by a volume number, a colon, and then the page number; references to other works consist of the abbreviation followed by the page number. Unless otherwise stated, all translations are my own; where possible I have also provided references to the corresponding pages of the English translations. GS Gesammelte Schriften , ed. by Rolf Tiedemann et al., 20 vols (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1972–86) NS Nachgelassene Schriften , ed. by Theodor W. Adorno Archiv (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1993– ) 3SH Drei Studien zu Hegel , Gesammelte Schriften 5 (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1971), 247–381 ÄT Ästhetische Theorie , Gesammelte Schriften 7 (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1970) B Berg. Der Meister des kleinsten Übergangs , Gesammelte Schriften 13 (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1977), pp. 321–494 BPdM Beethoven. Philosophie der Musik. Fragmente und Texte , ed. by Rolf Tiedemann, Nachgelassene Schriften 1.1 (Frankfurt/Main: Suhrkamp, 1993) D Dissonanzen. Musik in der verwalteten Welt , Gesammelte Schriften 14 (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1973), pp. 7–167 DA (with Max Horkheimer) Dialektik der Aufklärung. Philosophische Fragmente , Gesammelte Schriften 3 (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1981) E Eingriffe. Neun kritische Modelle , Gesammelte Schriften 10.2 (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1977), pp. 455–594 EM Einleitung in die Musiksoziologie. Zwölf theoretische Vorlesungen , Gesammelte Schriften 14 (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1973), pp. 169–433 M Mahler. Eine musikalische Physiognomik , Gesammelte Schriften 13 (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1977), pp. 149–319 ME Zur Metakritik der Erkenntnistheorie , Gesammelte Schriften 5 (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1971), pp. 7–245 MM Minima Moralia. Reflexionen aus dem beschädigten Leben , Gesammelte Schriften 4 (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1980) ND Negative Dialektik (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1967) NzL Noten zur Literatur , Gesammelte Schriften 11 (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1974) OL Ohne Leitbild , Gesammelte Schriften 10.1 (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1977), pp. 289–453 P Prismen , Gesammelte Schriften 10.1 (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1977), pp. 9–287 PnM Philosophie der neuen Musik , Gesammelte Schriften 12 (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1975) QF Quasi una fantasia , Gesammelte Schriften 16 (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1978), pp. 249–540 S Stichworte. Kritische Modelle 2, Gesammelte Schriften 10.2 (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1977), pp. 595–798 VW Versuch über Wagner , Gesammelte Schriften 13 (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1977), pp. 7–148
Translations AB Alban Berg: Master of the Smallest Link , trans. by Christopher Hailey and Juliane Brand (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994) AE Against Epistemology: A Metacritique , trans. by Willis Domingo (Cambridge: Polity, 2013) Ashton Negative Dialectics , trans. by E. B. Ashton (London; New York: Routledge, 1973) AT Aesthetic Theory , trans. by Robert Hullot-Kentor (London: Continuum, 1997) BTPoM Beethoven: The Philosophy of Music , trans. by Edmund Jephcott (Cambridge, UK: Polity, 2002) CF (with Hans Eisler), Composing for the Films (London and New York: Continuum, 2005) CI The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass Culture , ed. by J. M. Bernstein (London: Routledge, 1973) CM Critical Models: Interventions and Catchwords , trans. by Henry W. Pickford (New York: Columbia University Press, 2005) COL Can One Live after Auschwitz? A Philosophical Reader , ed. by Rolf Tiedemann, trans. by Rodney Livingstone et al. (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2003) DE (with Max Horkheimer) Dialectic of Enlightenment: Philosophical Fragments , ed. by Gunzelin Schmid Noerr, trans. by Edmund Jephcott (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2002) EoM Essays on Music , ed. by Richard Leppert, trans. by Susan H. Gillespie et al. (Berkeley; Los Angeles; London: University of California Press, 2002) H3S Hegel: Three Studies , trans. by Shierry Weber Nicholsen (Cambridge, MA; London: MIT Press, 1993) ISM Introduction to the Sociology of Music , trans. by E. B. Ashton (New York: Seabury, 1976) Jephcott Minima Moralia: Reflections from Damaged Life , trans. by E. F. N. Jephcott (London: Verso, 1978) Livingstone Quasi una Fantasia: Essays on Modern Music , trans. by Rodney Livingstone (London; New York: Verso, 1998) MMP Mahler: A Musical Physiognomy , trans. by Edmund Jephcott (Chicago; London: University of Chicago Press, 1992) NM Night Music: Essays on Music, 1928–1962 , ed. by Rolf Tiedemann, trans. by Wieland Hoban (London; New York; Calcutta: Seagull, 2009) NtL Notes to Literature , ed. by Rolf Tiedemann, trans. by Shierry Weber Nicholsen, 2 vols. (New York; Chichester, UK: Columbia University Press, 1991) PMM Philosophy of Modern Music , trans. by Anne G. Mitchell and Wesley V. Blomster (New York; London: Continuum: 2004) SW In Search of Wagner , trans. by Rodney Livingstone (London: New Left Books, 1981) WWN Prisms , trans. by Samuel and Shierry Weber [Samuel Weber and Shierry Weber Nicholsen] (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1983)
Acknowledgments
For support institutional and material I am grateful to the School of English, Communication and Philosophy, Cardiff University; the President and Fellows of Queens’ College, Cambridge; the Faculty of English, University of Cambridge; and the Peter Szondi–Institut für allgemeine und vergleichende Literaturwissenschaft and the Institut für deutsche und niederländische Philologie of the Freie Universität Berlin. Funding was provided by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst.
Claudia Albert, Sabine Mainberger, and Winfried Menninghaus enabled my visiting research at the FU Berlin and provided me with institutional homes. While there my research benefited immeasurably from the help of the staff at the Walter Benjamin Archive in Berlin: my particular thanks go to Michael Schwarz, Ursula Marx, and Gudrun Schwarz for their patience, advice and warm hospitality.
The development of this book during its long period of gestation has been greatly enhanced by the contribution of a great many friends, colleagues, and students, and I am profoundly grateful to all those, in Cambridge, Berlin, Cardiff, and elsewhere, whose critical insight has helped make those homes places of intense and warm-spirited discussion and debate. I should particularly like to thank Theodora Becker, Harry Gilonis, George Oppitz-Trotman, and Karen Robertson. The project has been shaped by many opportunities to present and discuss parts of it with a diverse range of audiences, and I am delighted to be able to thank the following, who enabled these exchanges to take place: Jonna Bornemark, Pete de Bolla, Tom Eyers, David Hillman, Jen Gaffney, Ted George, Aaron Hodges, Mary Jacobus, Anna Kornbluh, Rob Lehman, Mary Mullen, Liz Pender, Sara Upstone, Audrey Wasser, and John Wilkinson.
For his intellectual advice, guidance, and criticism through a large portion of the conception, writing, and revision of what became this book, I remain unspeakably and immeasurably grateful to Simon Jarvis.
Ian Patterson’s mentorship, support, and encou