Seite 25 [25]
RITUAL AND AESTHETIC PRESENTIVITY
clearly. Stefan George heavily populates his life and work with religious se¬
mantics, on the one hand, and, on the other, uses religious and ritual principles
in terms of form."
But how can it be possible to discuss ritual as an aesthetic term which is of
systematic relevance? We have already seen that the general structuring char¬
acteristics of the ritual (see above) are used to construct aesthetic meaning,
both in ritual and artistic practice. The ritual can be understood as a term for
aesthetic organization. The aesthetic experience of the binding, valid, impor¬
tant aspect is made possible by the bleakest poem by Trakl or the most un¬
wieldy poem by Celan. This experience can be illuminated by the participation
of literature in the aesthetics of ritual. Even where literature “only” appears
to be playing with form (for example, in Jandl’s poetry) it does not appear to
be random and coincidental. This is the meaning of form,“ and gives justifi¬
cation for aesthetic affirmation where it does not seem possible to reach an
agreement on a semantic level. Paul Gerhardt’s “Abendlied” and/or Matthias
Claudius’ song of the same title, are there to comfort those who have moved
far away from any form of Christian or Protestant religion. It is hardly possible
to avoid being drawn in by the start of Rilke’s “Ersten Duineser Elegie,” even
if the reader does not set much store by angels themselves. Particularly for
artistic articulation, a more open conception of meaning, namely one which
is not reduced to a semiotic concept, is helpful: one which includes “aesthetic
significance.”
MEANING, SIGNIFICANCE, AND PRESENTIVITY
When talking of a symbol, or, more generally, a cultural philosophy, if a per¬
son says that something means this or that, this person is referring to fixed,
nameable content, possibly in addition to many other aspects (validity, ap¬
pearance). Thus, for example, a white sign made of sheet metal in the shape
of an upended triangle and edged in red, placed at the edge of the road, would
be understood as a symbol for “Warning, give way.” Talking of a graduation
ceremony, one could say that its purpose is to close off one phase of life in an
explicit, definitive manner, and to act as a bridge to the next. It is a “transi¬
tion ritual,” designed to control, and thereby reduce, the uncertainty that this
change of status brings. However, if the traffic sign is bent on one corner, has
indentations from night-time air rifle “exercises,” is greatly faded, or is sway¬
ing in the wind, we “understand” even more. But what do we understand? If, at
the ceremony, the graduates are rapidly assembled together, their certificates
3 Wolfgang Braungart: Ästhetischer Katholizismus: Stefan Georges Rituale der Literatur,
Tübingen, Niemeyer, 1997.
4 Burdorf: Poetik der Form.
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