Imagery in Conrad Ferdinand Meyer’s Prose Works: Forms, Motifs and Functions

This study examines in detail the role of imagery in Conrad Ferdinand Meyer’s prose works. It shows how intricately formed patterns of imagery impart to Meyer’s prose its characteristic flavor and set him apart among the poetic realists of his period. To start, the linguistic forms of Meyer’s metaphorical language are analyzed. Seperate chapters then probe the rich clusters of imagery and focus on their characterizing and structural functions. They reveal how images produce oblique perspectives that give rise to an ironic shadow play between appearance and reality. The conclusion concentrates on Der Heilige, the single work that best exemplifies how images are instrumental in creating the complex weave of Meyer’s narrative. The nature of Meyer’s imagery points to the new wave of symbolism which was soon to make its impact on German literature.