What are the various atmospheres or moods that the reading of literary works can trigger? Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht has long argued that the function of literature is not so much to describe, or to re-present, but to make present. Here, he goes one step further, exploring the substance and reality of language as material component of the world - impalpable hints, tones, and airs that, as much as they may be elusive, are no less matters of actual fact. The Geman word Stimmung is crucial to his project. It designates an inner feeling so private that it cannot be circumscribed and something objective that surrounds people and exercises a physical influence; it also evokes voice and the tuning of instruments. Through an analysis of a wide range of texts from medieval to modern times, this book investigates the meanings that Stimmung calls to mind.
