“Aber Poesie und Sprache ist Nation”. L’esilio nella scrittura di Rudolf Borchardt

Abstract

Borchardt spent in Italy most of his life, in what he initially considered to be a voluntary exile. This article aims to investigate how his displacement affected his literary work. Moving from his close connection with German Bildung, it will focus on the emblematic alter-ego that the author seeks in Dante and Virgil, to exiled writers whose views Borchardt shares. The article discusses to what extent Borchardt’s displacement plays a significant role in his interpretation of the Aeneid and the impact his relocation in Italy produced on his own works.