Abstract

Manuscripts (1955-1969) of Sigurd Burckhardt, literary scholar specializing in Shakespeare, Goethe, and Kleist, and founding member of the University of California, San Diego, Literature Department. Burckhardt published widely in German and English literary journals, and taught at both Ohio State University and the University of California, San Diego. Materials include published and unpublished essays and articles, reprint copies, chapbooks, drafts, relevant notes, Burckhardt's dissertation entitled "Sprache als Gestalt in Goethes Blankversdramen", SHAKESPEAREAN MEANINGS, and a transcript of Michael Kohlhaas. The collection consists of two series: 1) MISCELLANEOUS MANUSCRIPTS, and 2) BOOK-LENGTH STUDIES.

Biography

Sigurd Burckhardt was born on November 21, 1916, in Bielefeld, Germany. He received his secondary education at the Friedenauer Gymnasium, Berlin, from which he graduated in 1935. After absolving two years of compulsory military service, he emigrated to the United States. Burckhardt's family was relatively large and had long been working to earn enough money to send one of the children to America. When that sum had been accumulated, Sigurd seemed the most worthy recipient due to his scholarly inclinations and ambitious intellect. In the autumn of 1938, Burckhardt matriculated at the University of California at Berkeley, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in German in 1940 and, after some interruptions of his graduate studies by employment in a war industry and as a high school teacher, received his Master of Arts degree in English in 1945.

Burckhardt was employed from 1947 to 1953 as an instructor and assistant professor at Saint Mary's College in California. In the autumn of 1953, he entered Ohio State University to resume his study of German language and literature while simultaneously teaching as an assistant instructor from 1953 to 1954 and as an instructor from 1954 to 1956. At practical odds with the "New Critics" such as Brooks and Leavis, Burckhardt straddled the ground between traditional scholarship and "close reading" methodology.

In 1963, Burckhardt left his position at Ohio State and became a professor at the University of California, San Diego. A posthumous collection of his essays on Shakespeare has been co-edited and published (1967-1968) under the title SHAKEPEAREAN MEANINGS by Pearce and Elliott. This was the first and only book to be published under Burckhardt's name. His preferred form of writing was the long essay, and he claimed to be intimidated by the scale of the book-length study. Sigurd Burckhardt died on December 15, 1966.

Scope and Content

Accession Processed in 1995

The Sigurd Burckhardt collection contains manuscripts and typescripts of published and unpublished essays, articles, chapbooks, drafts, notes and book-length studies. Essays and notes related to Shakespearean plays in Series 1 can often be found in finished form in the manuscript, SHAKESPEAREAN MEANINGS, located in Series 2. The collection is organized into two series: 1) MISCELLANEOUS MANUSCRIPTS, and 2) BOOK-LENGTH STUDIES.

SERIES 1: MISCELLANEOUS MANUSCRIPTS

The MISCELLANEOUS MANUSCRIPTS series contains typescripts, reprints, chapbooks, and holograph drafts. This series is arranged alphabetically, and a number of manuscripts have been annotated by Robert Elliott. In many cases, each folder contains several versions of a particular study. Within each folder, manuscripts are arranged chronologically, that is, in order of refinement, with rough notes and other "groundwork" at the beginning of each folder, and the finished product at the end.

SERIES 2: BOOK-LENGTH STUDIES

This series contains three book-length studies arranged alphabetically. The first study is the manuscript of SHAKESPEAREAN MEANINGS, a collection of Burckhardt's essays on Shakespeare, edited by R. Pearce and R. Elliott in 1967-1968. Press release forms and reviews, as well as some holograph notes from Elliott are included after the manuscript proper. The second study (exclusively in German) consists of the numerous preliminary drafts for Burckhardt's dissertation, "Sprache als Gestalt in Goethes Blankversdramen" as well as the completed dissertation. The third study is a transcript of Michael Kohlhaas (From an Old Chronicle).

MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS

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11 Bloom, Allan, replies to, reprints from "The American Political Science Review", 1960. Includes two reprints from "The American Political Science Review", vols. LIV, nos. 1 and 2, March and June, respectively. No. 1 is entitled "English Barbs and APSR Reviewers", No. 2 is entitled "On Reading Ordinary Prose: A Reply to Allan Bloom".
12 Brutus and Hamlet: The Dramatist Within. Holograph, two drafts, circa 1962.
13 DIE NATUERLICHE TOCHTER: GOETHES IPHIGENIE IN AURELIUS?, 1960. Reprint from the journal, "Germanisch=Romantische Monatsschrift."
14 EGMONT AND PRINZ FRIEDRICH VON HOMBURG: EXPOSTULATION AND REPLY, 1963. Reprint from "The German Quarterly", vol. XXXVI, no. 2, March.
15 GERMAN MADE EASY, 1966. Reprint from "The Hudson Review", vol. XIX, no. 2, Summer.
16 Hamlet and Julius Caesar: Two Plays in Search of a Plot. Holograph, two drafts, circa 1962.
17 Hamlet and Julius Caesar, untitled writings. Circa 1961-2. Holograph, two drafts.
18 Heinrich von Kleist: Fall und Ruckfall, Vorwort. Holograph on notecards. Two sub-headings: "Einfuhrung: Der Zusammenbruch" and "Der Dramatiker als Tater".
19 Homburgs Pferde. Holograph.
110 HOW NOT TO MURDER CAESAR, 1963 - 1964. Chapbook version of inaugural lecture, given October 31, 1963, at the University of California, San Diego.
111 I am but a Shadow of Myself: Ceremony and Design in I Henry VI, 1966. Typescript.
112 I am but a Shadow of Myself: Episode and Design in I Henry VI, 1966. Typescript.
113 Julius Caesar and Hamlet: Lofty Scenes and Casual Slaughters. Holograph, three drafts.
114 KING JOHN: THE ORDERING OF THIS PRESENT TIME, 1966. Reprint from "ELH, A Journal of English Literary History", vol. 33, no. 2, June.
115 KING'S LANGUAGE: SHAKESPEARE'S DRAMA AS SOCIAL DISCOVERY, 1959 - 1960. Reprint from "The Antioch Review", photocopy.
116 KING LEAR: THE QUALITY OF NOTHING. Reprint from "The Minnesota Review", photocopy with author's editions.
117 Kleist, general notes. Holograph, two drafts. Covers: Marquise von O., Amphitryon, Verlobung und Penthesilea, Der Findling, Der Zweikampf, Zebrochene Krug. German.
118 Kleist, notes on Prinz Friedrich von Homburg. Two holographs, one loose-leaf, one spiral bound notebook. German.
119 Kleist, reprints of essays regarding, 1961 - 1963. Reprint from "The Hudson Review", vol. XIV, no. 2, Summer 1961, "The Stories of Heinrich von Kleist. Reprint from "The Modern Language Quarterly", vol. 24, no. 1, March 1923.
120 Kleist's Hermannsschlacht: the Lock and the Key. Typescript, 54 pages.
121 LIMITS OF REPRESENTATION. Reprint from "The Hudson Review", photocopy. Regards Rolf Hochhuth's "The Deputy".
122 Mann, Thomas, drafts for an untitled essay on the critical treatment of. Holograph. Deals particularly with Marxist criticism.
123 MERCHANT OF VENICE: THE GENTLE BOND, 1962. Reprint from "ELH, A Journal of Engish Literary History", vol. 29, no. 3, September. Photocopy. Read in April of 1962 as the annual Tudor and Stuart Lecture at The Johns Hopkins University.
124 METAPHORICAL STRUCTURE OF GOETHE'S "AUF DEM SEE". Two drafts. Holograph with footnotes, and reprint from "The Germanic Review", photocopy.
125 Name of Caesar. Holograph, three drafts.
126 POET AS FOOL AND PRIEST, 1956. Reprint from "ELH, A Journal of English Literary History", vol. 23, no. 4, December. Photocopy. Inscribed by the author to Roy Pearce.
127 POETRY OF HUGO VON HOFMANNSTHAL, 1961. Reprint from "The Hudson Review", vol. XIV, no. 3, Autumn.
128 Precision of the Poet's Language. Typescript with author's corrections.
129 Rhyme or Reason?. Holograph, two drafts.
130 Shakespeare and Goethe. Typescript, two drafts.
21 SPRACHE ALS GESTALT IN GOETHES "PROMETHEUS" UND "PANDORA". Photocopy reprint from unidentified journal. German. This article is a pared-down synthesis of what figure as the two discreet chapters "Prometheus" and "Pandora" in Burckhardt's dissertation, "Sprache als Gestalt in Goethes Blankversdramen".
22 Strategy of Interpretation. Holograph
23 Swoll'n with Some Other Grief: Shakespeare's Prince Hal Trilogy, 1966. Typescript, 67 pages. Though unpublished in his lifetime, this essay appears in his posthumous collection "Shakespearean Meanings".
24 Time in Julius Caesar II.i: or For Whom the Clock Strikes. Circa 1961-62. Typescript with author's editions. This essay is the "scholarly version" (as R. Elliott phrased it) of the essay "How Not To Murder Caesar", which appears in the posthumous collection, "Shakespearean Meanings".
25 What Color Was Homburg's Horse? or the Method of Interpretation. Holograph.
26 Who Was Shakespeare?, 1964. Typescript of lecture given on March 13, 1964 at the University of California, San Diego.
27 Zum Fall Des Prinzen von Homburg. Typescript with author's editions and notes. German.
28 Zur Theorie der Werkimmanenten Deutung and Appendix. The appendix is entitled "Notes on the Theory of Intrinsic Interpretation" and is in English. "Intrinsic Interpretation" is the term Burckhardt uses for "Werkimmanente Deutung". Both works are typescript with author's editions.

BOOK-LENGTH STUDIES

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29 SHAKESPEAREAN MEANINGS, part one, 1967. First half of the manuscript (up to page 118). Typescript, with holograph note entitled "Sigurd Burckhardt's Discourse on Method", by R. C. Elliott. This note, along with the book's foreword by Pearce and Elliott, provides incisive insight about the construction of the posthumous manuscript.
210 SHAKESPEAREAN MEANINGS, part two, 1967. Second half of manuscript (pages 119-299). Consists of original typescripts, photocopy reprints from literary journals, and versions of original text edited by Pearce and Elliott.
211 Book reviews on and publicity documents for SHAKESPEAREAN MEANINGS, 1968 - 1969. Clipping from "Publishers' Weekly", letter from the promotion department of the Princeton University Press to Roy Pearce, list of complimentary copies, list of journals and persons to receive copies of the manuscript for review purposes, photocopy of review from the "Quarterly Journal of Speech", April 1, 1969.
212 Sprache als Gestalt in Goethes Blankversdramen (Drafts)--Abstract, 1955 - 1956. Typescript. Description of the project to be taken on as Burckhardt's dissertation.
213 Sprache als Gestalt in Goethes Blankversdramen (Drafts)--Autobiography and Misc., 1956. Typescript. Misc. refers to a page numbered 223 which cannot be found to correlate with any of the Burckhardt collection. It refers to FAUST I.
214 Sprache als Gestalt in Goethes Blankversdramen (Drafts)--Bibliographie, 1956.
215 Sprache als Gestalt in Goethes Blan...--IV. Dichter und Sprache: Goethe's Tasso, 1955 - 1956. Although the drafts are numbered chapter IV, they do not appear as such in the final dissertation. Two typescript drafts with author's notes and editions, holograph footnotes.
216 Sprache als Gestalt in Goethes Blankversdramen (Drafts)-Die Natuerliche Tochter, 1955 - 1956. Two typescript drafts with author's editions, holograph footnotes.
217 Sprache als Gestalt in Goethes Blankversdramen (Drafts)--III. Iphigenie, 1955 - 1956. Two typescript drafts with author's editions.
218 Sprache als Gestalt in Goethes Blankversdramen (Drafts)--VI. Pandora, 1955 - 1956. Two typescript drafts with author's editions, plus holographic insert.
31 Sprache als Gestalt in Goethes Blankversdramen (Drafts)--Prometheus, 1955 - 1956. Two typescript drafts with holograph footnotes.
32 Sprache als Gestalt in Goethes Blankversdramen (Drafts)--Vorwort, 1955 - 1956. Two typescript drafts with author's notes, holograph footnotes. On the latter of the drafts, the title "Vorwort" is crossed out by the author and EINLEITUNG is written over in pencil.
33 Sprache als Gestalt in Goethes Blankversdramen--The Completed Dissertation, 1956. Presented to the Ohio State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree. Contains six chapters: Einleitung, Prometheus, Iphigenie, Tasso, Die Natuerliche Tochter, and Pandora, and a bibliography. In German.
34 Transcript of Michael Kohlhaas (From an Old Chronicle). Dates unknown. Typescript, 126 pages.



Finding aid generated: 2005-10-28