Friedrich Spee's Trutnachtigall

Bok av G. Richard Dimler S.J.
This work is the most complete and exhaustive treatment of Spee's masterpiece, the Trutznachtigall, to date. Dimler examines all aspects of Spee's poetry: emblemata, Jesuit spirituality, classical and medieval motifs, Petrarchan influences, to name a few. He takes into account practically every major influence on Spee and seeks a synthesis. Moreover, no previous study has investigated in detail the impact of Spee's earlier work, Güldenes Tugend-buch on the Trutznachtigall. This correlation constitutes one of the major aims of the book. Finally, two all-important questions are discussed: how does Spee fuse secular and spiritual motifs in his poetry, and to what extent does he employ the typical baroque imagery of his time as a vehicle for his poetic ideas?