Das dämonische als moderne rezeptionskategorie. Dargestellt an goethes egmont und torquato tasso

One of the most important themes in Goethe's work is the demonic force. This force has a paradoxical effect on individuals and society. At first, its influence is destructive. In the end, however, both individual and society benefit from it. In Goethe's Egmonl the main character dies on the scaffold because he did not resist the demonic force. Yet his death is not a tragic one. In prison Egmont loses his sorrows and finds purification. The Dutch people also benefit from the death of their leader, as it inspires them to free their country from the Spanish oppressors. Like Egmont, Torquato Tasso seems to end tragically. But although his friends abandon him, Tasso is a better man at the end of the play. He achieves self-knowledge and becomes reconciled with his enemy Antonio. Here too, the demonic force eventually has a positive impact on life. In modern productions both plays mostly have tragic ends. Egmont dies as a failure and Tasso ends as a madman or a victim of exploitation. Directors like Peter Stein, Claus Peymann and Peter Palitzsch eliminate the demonic force or emphasize only its negative working. The reason for this might be the difference between Goethe's Utopian view of life and today's no-nonsense mentality. © 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers.