Thomas Mann, Der Tod in Venedig [Death in Venice]

Hannelore G. Mundt (University of Wyoming)

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1911

Places

Germany (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novella

Resources

Save to Bookshelf

When it was published in 1912, Mann’s novella

Der Tod in Venedig

[

Death in Venice

] was immediately recognized as a “perfect marvel” and among the “best German prose” of its time. It tells the story of the writer Gustav von Aschenbach who travels to Venice, where he falls in love with an adolescent boy before subsequently dying in the cholera-stricken city. Mann’s masterly command of language and play with mythology, his psychological profile of the artistic mind, and the novella’s contrast between cold artistic discipline and the power of love has generated great admiration. For decades, the novella has captured the attention and imagination of readers and artists alike. Luchino Visconti presented a cinematic adaptation in 1971 which changed Aschenbach into a composer, while…

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

1414 words

Citation: Mundt, Hannelore G.. "Der Tod in Venedig". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 September 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11469, accessed 19 April 2024.]

Save this article