Nietzsche-Wagner: Pre-eminence of poetry in the total work of art

Abstract

This article examines Nietzsche's criticism to the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk – total work of art – within the Wagnerian aesthetics and considers its impact upon modernity. It begins from the Classical genesis of this artistic concept, then considers the elements of its composition – poetry, theatre, music, – and the supposed pre-eminence of the poetic text, and finally ends with a debate on the consequences to modernity, especially in relation to the Cultural Industry.