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Through an examination of a diverse range of Hofmannsthal’s ekphrastic writings – including poetry, essays, opera libretti, fiction, and letters – Burks argues that Hofmannsthal’s work aims to engage the consciousness and sensibility of readers, listeners, and viewers by way of dynamic encounters with works of art. Aesthetic Dilemmas thereby corrects a long-standing, flawed characterization of Hofmannsthal’s work as escapist and demonstrates how his place in the Modernist movement has been misunderstood in most scholarship. The book is in dialogue with a broad range of critical voices and treats a variety of themes, from aestheticism to money, interpersonal relationships, suffering, poverty, labour, futurity, legacy, and hope. Translating numerous passages into English for the first time, Aesthetic Dilemmas gives English-speaking readers the chance to evaluate Hofmannsthal’s literary merit and his contributions to the enduring conversation about art’s relation to ethics.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9780228016656","publication_date":"20230615","publisher":"McGill-Queen's University Press","slug":"aesthetic-dilemmas","subtitle":"Encounters With Art in Hugo Von Hofmannsthal's Literary Modernism","title":"Aesthetic Dilemmas"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"LIT004170","confidence_band":"medium","label":"German Literary Criticism","score":0.8193,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"LIT004130","confidence_band":"medium","label":"European Lit Crit","score":0.7939,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"LCO008030","confidence_band":"medium","label":"German Literary Collections","score":0.7801,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"LIT004170","confidence_band":"medium","label":"German Literary Criticism","score":0.8193,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"LIT004130","confidence_band":"medium","label":"European Lit Crit","score":0.7939,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"LCO008030","confidence_band":"medium","label":"German Literary Collections","score":0.7801,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"LIT004170","confidence_band":"high","label":"German Literary Criticism","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"PHI016000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Modern Philosophy","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"German Literary Criticism","score":0.8193,"slug":"german-literary-criticism"},{"label":"European Lit Crit","score":0.7939,"slug":"european-lit-crit"},{"label":"German Literary Collections","score":0.7801,"slug":"german-literary-collections"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy German Literary Criticism","Good for readers interested in century","Good for readers who enjoy German Literary Criticism and European Lit Crit."],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Eda Sagarra","Peter Skrine"],"book_id":"9780631171225","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780631171225.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":17.904,"title":"A Companion to German Literature","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780631171225"},{"authors":["Brian Melican"],"book_id":"9781566569682","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781566569682.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":15.8893,"title":"Germany: a Literary Anthology","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781566569682"},{"authors":["Edgar Landgraf","Elliott Schreiber","Christian P. 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