Nelly Sachs, Eli: Ein Mysterienenspiel vom Leiden Israels [Eli, A Mystery Play of the Suffering of Israel]

Jennifer Hoyer (University of Arkansas)

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 1951

Places

Germany (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play
Poetry (any)

Resources

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Eli. Ein Mysterienspiel vom Leiden Israels

[

Eli: A Mystery Play of the Suffering of Israel

] is the first theater piece written by Sachs after her escape from Germany, and is the most widely-known theater piece she composed.

Eli

has been reprinted in several editions, including the collection of Sachs’ “szenische Dichtungen” (scenic compositions)

Zeichen im Sand

[

Signs in the Sand

, 1962], which includes Sachs’ own short essays on some of the plays, and a special edition of the play with her first two volumes of postwar poetry (1996). It is considered significant as one of the first dramas to have what Sachs refers to as the “martyrdom” of European Jews in the twentieth century as its subject matter.

Eli

has been considered more problematic than Sachs’ poetry because it…

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1438 words

Citation: Hoyer, Jennifer. "Eli: Ein Mysterienenspiel vom Leiden Israels". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 June 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16913, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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