Abstract
In order to understand the general significance of the term Weltschmerz, it must be understood that the constitution of the term, that is, its literal meaning of “world woe,” has a variety of interpretations, such as despair, defeat, and melancholia, each of which are subjectively related to the individual experiencing the emotion. Moreover, these expressions are not causative factors contributing to Weltschmerz, but, to the contrary, are symptomatic expressions of Weltschmerz. What causative agent(s) predispose(s) an individual to emote these representative expressions of Weltschmerz, and what, then, is Weltschmerz for that particular individual? For Lermontov, Weltschmerz meant melancholia; but before an analysis of melancholia in relation to Lermontov’s work can be explored, the psychological constitution of melancholia, as well as its psychogenic origins, will be discussed.
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Axelrod, M. (2016). The Psychoanalytic Poetics of Weltschmerz in Mikhail Lermontov’s A Hero of Our Times . In: Poetics of Prose. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43558-9_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43558-9_2
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