Polyphones Erzählen. Zum Phänomen der Erlebten Rede am Beispiel deutscher Romane der Jahundertwende

The German narrative technique Erlebte Rede has been mostly carried out at a theoretical level in linguistic and literary analysis. As a consequence, its polyphonic character is often overlooked. The current text-based study addresses the polyphonic narration in German Literature at the turn of the past century. It explores the boundaries and possible convergence of two linguistic levels: on the one hand, the subjective level of the character and the objective one of the narrator; on the other hand, the simultaneous emergence of different voices. This technique requires answering questions about experiencing consciousness: Who does experience the narrated events? Only the subject directly involved in them, or also the narrator? To what extent may Erlebte Rede be considered as part of the narrative discourse and seen as a whole with it? Through a linguistic and a content-based analysis this empirical study offers an example of the ‘impressionistic’ duality of this phenomenon. According to Bakhtin’s theory of the novel it also argues that polyphony is an important prerequisitefor a deeper study of different typologies of texts, which deal with this narrative technique - Erlebte Rede.