Heine's relationship to Goethe has long been the subject of critical debate, much of it stormy. This is the first major study which seeks to reconcile the seemingly contradictory aspects of Heine's psychological, theoretical, and artistic reaction to Goethe - from his vehement condemnation of Goethe's apolitical stance to his covert desire to accede to Goethe's greatness. Four levels of reception are delineated: Heine's programmatic pronouncements on Goethean art; his deep-seated resentment of the senior poet; and his creative resolution of the dilemma, the dismantling and restructuring of Goethe's poetic models.
"Professor Peters' work on the Goethe-Bild in the mind and works of Heinrich Heine is a masterful study of a rare sort because its engaging style reveals and informs rather than veils and confuses the account of a confrontation of literary giants. The wit and verve of this study is worthy of its incandescent subject." ( A. Leslie Willson, The University of Texas at Austin)
"(Peters hat) ein Buch vorgelegt, an dem sich die internationale Heine-Forschung in puncto Heine-Goethe nicht wird vorbeimogeln können." (Volker Kaukoreit, Heine-Jahrbuch)
"Professor Peters succeeds in capturing the high drama of the complex personal and literary confrontation of these two luminaries of the cultural landscape of Germany. Heine's reaction to Goethe is unraveled in eight supremely absorbing chapters of uncanny literary detective work... What Peters has said of the precursory work of Jeffrey Sammons applies equally well to his won effort: It is 'a model of impeccable scholarship, lucid style, and reasoned assessment of Heine and his work'(X). Reading this jewel of literary analysis, as captivating and enjoyable as a first-rate mystery thriller, was a real treat." (Ronald H.D. Nabrotzky, German Studies Review)
"Peters accomplishes admirably the aim he states in his preface, which is 'to shed light on a topic that has at times been obscured by ideological rancor, at times oversimplified, at times colored by the bias of even the most astute critics' (ix). His book is a fine complement to that of Michael Perraudin on 'Buch der Lieder', another study of intertextuality in Heine that appeared in 1989." (Jocelyne Kolb, Monatshefte)
"(Peters hat) ein Buch vorgelegt, an dem sich die internationale Heine-Forschung in puncto Heine-Goethe nicht wird vorbeimogeln können." (Volker Kaukoreit, Heine-Jahrbuch)
"Professor Peters succeeds in capturing the high drama of the complex personal and literary confrontation of these two luminaries of the cultural landscape of Germany. Heine's reaction to Goethe is unraveled in eight supremely absorbing chapters of uncanny literary detective work... What Peters has said of the precursory work of Jeffrey Sammons applies equally well to his won effort: It is 'a model of impeccable scholarship, lucid style, and reasoned assessment of Heine and his work'(X). Reading this jewel of literary analysis, as captivating and enjoyable as a first-rate mystery thriller, was a real treat." (Ronald H.D. Nabrotzky, German Studies Review)
"Peters accomplishes admirably the aim he states in his preface, which is 'to shed light on a topic that has at times been obscured by ideological rancor, at times oversimplified, at times colored by the bias of even the most astute critics' (ix). His book is a fine complement to that of Michael Perraudin on 'Buch der Lieder', another study of intertextuality in Heine that appeared in 1989." (Jocelyne Kolb, Monatshefte)