ENGL 497Senior Seminar
Prof. G. Steinberg
Nietzsche is another theorist who is very difficult to read. But Nietzsche introduced two important new terms into literary theory -- the Apollonian and the Dionysiac. What does Nietzsche mean by these two terms?
What, according to Nietzsche, are the characteristics associated with Apollo? Try to make a list of Apollonian qualities.
What, according to Nietzsche, are the characteristics associated with Dionysos? Try to make a list of Dionysiac qualities.
According to Nietzsche, the Dionysiac elements of our culture have been neglected in favor of the Apollonian elements. But for Nietzsche, both elements must be present to produce truly great literature. So, Nietzsche is very much a champion of the Dionysiac, which he sees as the primary source of literature's power.
But exactly how does Nietzsche think that the Apollonian and the Dionysiac combine to create literature? Try to find a passage in which Nietzsche describes the process of literature's creation in terms of the Apollonian and the Dionysiac.
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