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Document Details : Title: Literary Autobiography and Mystical Vision Subtitle: Heinrich Seuse's Contribution to the History of German Literature Author(s): CLASSEN, Albrecht Journal: Studies in Spirituality Volume: 10 Date: 2000 Pages: 182-204 DOI: 10.2143/SIS.10.0.505267 Abstract : Altough previous scholarship on Heinrich Seuse (ca. 1295-1366) has often pointed out the literary and spiritual significance of his autobiography, few studies have indeed carefully analyzed the autobiographical process of the rapprochement of the mystically influenced author to the ineffable Godhead. Seuse was a powerful writer and succesfully managed to describe in impressive details and highly expressive poetic imagery how the mystical experiences allowed him to remove himself from his human-material identity and slowly to become part of the divine Godhead. The autobiographical discourse is here identified as an intriguing combination of literary genres, narrative strategies, and retorical elements which all contribute to the search for the inner life where a breathtaking transformation of the self takes place. |
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