Nachttraum, Tagtraum und Rausch bei E.T.A. Hoffmann

Abstract

Night-time dreams, day dreams and alcoholic intoxication in the work of E.T.A. Hoffmann are usually narrated coherently and often inspire aesthetic production, but only if the dreamer/drinker already possesses creative genius and aesthetic experience. Dream and intoxication characterize above all the dreamer/drinker and guide the reader to critically evaluate their perspective. While the borderlines between the narration of these three states of mind are fluid (a day dream may be narrated like a night-time dream, a day dreamer may be perceived as drunk), there is a tendency to present alcoholic intoxication above all satirically, to foreground the difference between an artist’s perception from that of ordinary citizens in a day dream, and to explore a relationship between dreamer and cosmos in a night-time dream.