Paul Celans 'Zähle die Mandeln', a critical commentary

Essay aus dem Jahr 2001 im Fachbereich Germanistik - Komparatistik, Vergleichende Literaturwissenschaft, Note: 75 (entspricht eins), University of Canterbury (School of European Culture and Languages), Veranstaltung: Seminar, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: The poem Zahle die Mandeln ( Count the almonds ) comes last in Paul Celan s first official publication Mohn und Gedachtnis. Published in 1952 the collection is divided into four parts "Der Sand aus den Urnen," the single poem Todesfuge ( Death Fugue ), "Gegenlicht" and "Halme der Nacht." It is my favourite collection of poems by one of my favourite authors. My choice of poem is not necessarily a conscious decision against all other 55 in this collection, although I did indeed decide against the Death Fugue as this - Celan s most famous poem - has already been discussed so many times over, that I felt there was not much room for my own ideas left. Otherwise, my choice was non-academic. I have selected Zahle die Mandeln simply because I was fascinated by its language and images.