dehumour1-3, Exercise 2: Heine and irony

Model answer (check the details):

Why Heine used irony and indirection:
1. Censorship. The German states in the early and middle 1800s limited what could be printed, particularly on politics, religion and the monarchy, so direct attack risked a ban or prosecution. Irony allowed a writer to say what could not be said plainly, and readers to understand it.
2. Exile. Heine lived in Paris from 1831 (check), and some of his works were banned in German states, so he wrote for an audience that knew how to read between the lines.
3. Style. His poems often build a mood and then undercut it, with a sudden, deflating turn. This is the technique of the romantic poet laughing at his own romanticism.
4. His position. As a baptised Jew writing in a society that discriminated against Jews, he stood a little outside the official culture, which suited an ironic view.

What a modern reader needs to know: the political situation after 1815 and the censorship; the Romantic style he was both using and mocking; the references to Prussia and German nationalism; and the point that his tone is often playful when his target is serious. A good edition with notes helps.

Result: Heine shows that German irony was a developed art, and that political reasons shaped its form.