Andreas Gryphius: War Poetry for Peace

Essay from the year 2020 in the subject Literature - Comparative Literature, , language: English, abstract: About 8000 words in length the essay is a critical study of and an introduction to some of Andreas Gryphius' sonnets about the terrors on war in English translation. It considers whether it is worthwhile reading Gryphius, who is barely known among English speakers, in English at all and if so why? That question is explored with reference both to current wars in the Middle East and to ancient Greek tragedy, notably the role of Cassandra.

Some emphasis lies on the Shakespearean quality of Gryphius' sonnets. Gryphius' poem Freystadt is compared with Satire III by John Donne, the leading English Metaphysical poet one generation ahead of Gryphius.

Whereas Donne finds refuge in his Faith, Gryphius, after all the horrors he witnessed and recorded struggles to do so, finally appearing to lose security within his Faith before coming to a point of inner decisiveness and obduracy which makes him go on to work at peace. His war poetry is at is full of distaste and recoil but it is above all intense protest building on the belief in a readership which affected by his abhorrence, will join in his rejection of the atrocities and dehumanization of individuals in war.