A History of Histories of German Literature : Prolegomena

Batts analyses the kinds of predisposition, or bias, displayed by the authors of these works, and accounts for the persistence of certain biases over a long period of time. Histories of German literature published in other western European countries, Britain, and North America are also evaluated to determine to what extent, if any, a particular (i.e., non-German) attitude towards German literature is characteristic of a given country. The recognition of personal, religious, national, and other biases is important since the stereotypical image of the people of a given country is strongly influenced by the manner in which their literature is portrayed.