One of the most famous literary works of the 20th century, the novella “Death in Venice” embodies themes that preoccupied Thomas Mann (1875–1955) in much of his work; the duality of art and life, the presence of death and disintegration in the midst of existence, the connection between love and suffering, and the conflict between the artist and his inner self. Mann’s handling of these concerns in this story of a middle-aged German writer, torn by his passion for a Polish youth met on holiday in Venice, resulted in a work of great psychological intensity and tragic power.

Death in Venice is a novella written by the German author Thomas Mann and was first published in 1912 as Der Tod in Venedig.[1] The work presents a great writer suffering writer's block who visits Venice and is liberated, uplifted, and then increasingly obsessed, by the sight of a stunningly beautiful youth. Though he never speaks to the boy, much less touches him, the writer finds himself drawn deep into ruinous inward passion; meanwhile, Venice, and finally, the writer himself, succumb to a cholera plague.

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Joseph in Egypt (Vol. 2)" by Thomas Mann. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

Clayton Koelb's masterful translation improves upon its predecessors intwo ways: it renders Mann into American (not British) English, and itremains true to Mann's original text without sacrificing fluency. ForAmerican readers, this is the translation of choice. "Backgrounds and Contexts" includes Mann's working notes, which allowstudents to observe the author's creative process. The notes areavailable here for the first time in English. Illuminating selections from Mann's essays and letters are alsoreprinted, as are period maps of Munich, Venice, and the Lido. "Criticism" includes six essays—by Andre von Gronicka, Manfred Dierks, T.J. Reed, Dorrit Cohn, David Luke, and Robert Tobin—sure to stimulateclassroom discussion. A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.

Study of the critical reception of one of the most famous and widely read works of modern literature. Thomas Mann's 1912 novella Death in Venice is one of the most famous and widely read texts in all of modern literature, raising such issues as beauty and decadence, eros and irony, and aesthetics and morality. The amount and variety of criticism on the work is enormous, and ranges from psychoanalytic criticism and readings inspired by Mann's own homosexuality to inquiries into the place of the novella in Mann's oeuvre, its structure and style, and its symbolism and politics. Critics have also drawn connections between the novella and works of Plato, Euripides, Goethe, Schopenhauer, Platen, Wagner, Nietzsche, Gide, and Conrad. Ellis Shookman surveys the reception of Deathin Venice, analyzing several hundred books, articles, and other reactions to the novella, proceeding in a chronological manner that allows a historical perspective. Critics cited include Heinrich Mann, Hermann Broch, D. H. Lawrence, Karl Kraus, Kenneth Burke, Georg Lukàcs, Wolfgang Koeppen, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Thomas Mann himself. Particular attention is paid to Luchino Visconti's film, Benjamin Britten's opera, and to other more recent creative adaptations, both in Germany and throughout the world. Ellis Shookman is associate professor of German at Dartmouth College.

Mirroring the social and political upheaval following the fall of Nazism, Koeppen offers the story of four members of a German family reunited by chance in the decaying beauty of postwar Rome.

Gustav von Aschenbach is a successful but ageing writer who travels to Venice for a holiday. One day, at dinner, Aschenbach notices an exceptionally beautiful young boy who is staying with his family in the same hotel. Soon his days begin to revolve around seeing this boy and he is too distracted to pay attention to the ominous rumours that have begun to circulate about disease spreading through the city.

Thomas Mann nannte seine Novelle die Tragödie einer Entwürdigung: Gustav von Aschenbach, ein berühmter Schriftsteller von etwas über fünfzig Jahren und schon länger verwitwet, hat sein Leben ganz auf Leistung gestellt. Eine sommerliche Erholungsreise führt ihn nach Venedig. Dort beobachtet er am Strand täglich einen schönen Knaben, der mit seiner eleganten Mutter und seinen Schwestern samt Gouvernante im gleichen Hotel wohnt. In ihn verliebt sich der Alternde. Er bewahrt zwar stets eine scheue Distanz zu dem Knaben, der späte Gefühlsrausch jedoch, dem sich der sonst so selbstgestrenge von Aschenbach nun willenlos hingibt, macht aus ihm letztlich einen würdelosen Greis.

What is it about irony - as an object of serious philosophical reflection and a literary technique of considerable elasticity - that makes it an occasion for endless critical debate? This book responds to that question by focusing on several key moments in German romanticism and its afterlife in twentieth-century French thought and writing. Rather than provide a history of irony, it examines particular occasions of ironic disruption, thus offering an alternative model for conceiving of historical occurrences and their potential for acquiring meaning.

Gladius Dei; Schwere Stunde by Thomas Mann