Revolutionary Socialism in the Work of Ernst Toller
Author | : Richard Dove |
Publisher | : Peter Lang Incorporated, International Academic Publishers |
Total Pages | : 524 |
Release | : 1986 |
ISBN-10 | : WISC:89015702558 |
ISBN-13 | : |
Rating | : 4/5 (58 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: Ernst Toller's dramas are the product of reflection on his political experience. This study analyses his ideology of revolutionary Socialism and its articulation in his literary work. It adopts a chronological approach, placing great importance on primary sources. It also takes a synoptic view of his work, in which his public speaking, political journalism and documentary prose are shown to complement and clarify the better-known dramas. It demonstrates that the creative tension in Toller's work, often consciously transposed into the dialectic of dramatic conflict, is one of political ideas - of Anarchism and Marxism, idealism and materialism, voluntarism and determinism.