Title: Constructing German National Identity within the Language Community: On the Political Significance of Klopstock’s Poetic Thoughts

Abstract: The 18th-century German writer Klopstock proposed relevant suggestions on orthography in his poetic writings. He pointed out that German words should be spelled according to phonetic rules and the principle of frugality. In addition, based on the pronunciation features of German language, Klopstock modified the epic rhythm rules originated from ancient Greece, which achieved the coordination and unity between the poetic form and content, and thus promoted the national and innovative development of German literature. Meanwhile, he advocated reciting poetry in public places. Starting from the perspective of reception aesthetics, he used the sound of poetry to establish patriotic emotional resonance with the audience. Through standardizing the language and localizing the poetic rhythm, Klopstock aimed to build a language community that conforms to the national characteristics and construct German national identity at the cultural level.

Keywords: Klopstock, poetics, language community, poetic rhyme, German nation

Author: Lu Zheng, Ph.D. Candidate, School of Foreign Languages, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China.