The article examines the questions of guilt and debt in the Hungarian poetry of the late modern period, notably in the poetry of Attila József. An important characteristic of the concept of guilt in the modern era is that it unites the question of...
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Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Universitätsbibliothek, Jacob-und-Wilhelm-Grimm-Zentrum
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The article examines the questions of guilt and debt in the Hungarian poetry of the late modern period, notably in the poetry of Attila József. An important characteristic of the concept of guilt in the modern era is that it unites the question of morality with that of the economy. This connection is confirmed by a current problem in the field of cultural studies: The German terms Schuld (guilt) and Schulden (debt) are viewed by recent cultural history research as significant driving forces and preconditions for cultural processes (both relate to shortages and errors which must be remedied, evened out, effaced or indeed generated or multiplied) which give rise to social and historical ties and determinations. This research attempts to formulate cultural strategies and solutions for dealing with the problem of unrestrained growth and the moralisation of debt. My article examines these issues as a problem of language (the language of poetry). Whilst Attila József ’s poetry does address the need to search for opportunities to forgive—both morally and financially—and to break the determining ties of moral and financial indebtedness, József believes this is only possible by implementing a certain manner of speech or a type of language whose forgiveness of debt and guilt alike as well as its liberating effect cannot be achieved by strategies, methods or practices. Peer Reviewed
