The Beginning of the End: Metaleptic Gestures in Rüdeger von Hinchoven’s ›Schlegel‹

Abstract

Positions in historical narratology that focus on verse novellas have often called for an extension of narratological models in order to consider the communicative character of this text form. This article uses the verse novella ›Der Schlegel‹ to test a narratological analysis that aims to illuminate the mixture between narration and epimythion in its narrative and performance-theoretical complexity. As a methodological innovation, it is therefore proposed to describe the implied availability of the narrative levels by means of metaleptic gestures, which exhibit the narrator’s power of disposal over the narrative.