The conciousness of he who writes. Reflection about writing in Tristram Shandy, by Laurence Sterne, and in Sokratische Denkwürdigkeiten, by Johann Georg Hamann

Abstract

Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, gentleman and Sokratische Denkwürdigkeiten were both published in 1759 and can be read as different responses to the enlightened thinking that dominated the intellectual discussions in Europe. This paper will study comparatively both textes, in which the reflection about writing becomes literary stuff. In this way, contents and form mix together to create disruptive products, which put in check the traditional narrative and philosophical elements. Both works review the postulates of the Enlightenment and propose new ways of representing reality.