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Lessing's "Aesthetica in Nuce": An Analysis of the May 26, 1769, Letter to Nicolai

Book
Victor Anthony Rudowski
1971
Published by: The University of North Carolina Press
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summary
This letter contains Lessing's most explicit observations on the distinction between poetry and prose as well as a unique proposal for emending Aristotle's interpretation of the dramatic method. Although both arguments are formulated in terms of Abbé Dubos' theory of signs, Lessing significantly modifies Dubos' doctrine by ideas derived from Alexander Baumgarten, Moses Mendelssohn, and Edmund Burke. An analysis of these modifications provides the framework for a critique of Lessing's aesthetic philosophy as a whole.

Table of Contents

open access

Cover

Half-Title Page

pp. i

Series Page

pp. ii

Title Page

pp. iii

Copyright

pp. iv-vi

Dedication

pp. vii-viii

Acknowledgment

pp. ix-x

Contents

pp. xi

I. Lessing’s Argument to Nicolai

pp. 1-8

II. The Aesthetic Theories of the Abbé Dubos

pp. 10-17

III. Lessing’s Concept of Poetry

pp. 20-27

IV. Aristotle and the Necessity for Theatrical Performance

pp. 34-48

V. The Nature of Illusion

pp. 51-61

VI. The Superiority of the Drama

pp. 64-76

VII. Poetry as a Mimetic Art

pp. 79-89

Appendix A: Lessing’s Letter to Nicolai Dated May 26, 1769

pp. 93-95

Appendix B: Aristotle’s Arguments on the Superiority of the Drama

pp. 97-99

Appendix C: Mendelssohn’s “Von Der Illusion”

pp. 100-102

Notes

pp. 103-126

Bibliography

pp. 131-144
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