ABSTRACT
This book of works by Martin Opitz, Gottfried August Burger and Joseph von Eichendorff illustrates classical rhetoric's protean relationship to the changing needs of German poets. The codifications of the ars shift and re-assemble in response to the great historical changes in poetic ideals which take place during the eighteenth century. Rhetorical precepts come to life when they are related to poetic practice. In composition, poetry recombines techniques and figures that are held apart by the codifications of theory. The rhetorical ars maintains its validity through time because it is the codification of natura. The codifications of rhetoric describe the universal dynamics of poetic composition. The book explores the ars in this first major vernacular poem testifies both to the flexibility of rhetoric and to the range of Opitz's skills, revealing the innovatory vigour of his talent. It outlines the gradual assimilation of the classical ars into German theory and German practice.
