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RITUAL AND AESTHETIC PRESENTIVITY clearly. Stefan George heavily populates his life and work with religious semantics, 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 characteristics 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, important aspect is made possible by the bleakest poem by Trakl or the most unwieldy 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 justification 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 person says that something means this or that, this person is referring to fixed, nameable content, possibly in addition to many other aspects (validity, appearance). 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 “transition 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 swaying 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. + 23 +
