NIETZSCHE - A CHRONOLOGICAL EXEGESIS OF HIS PUBLISHED WORKS - SECOND SESSION: CHAPTER ONE OF 'THE BIRTH OF TRAGEDY'

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In today’s audio recording I have tried to push on at least a few lines into the text of the first chapter of ‘The Birth of Tragedy’. The density of Nietzsche’s allusions, however, mean that exegesis is slow going and, toward the end of this circa 160-minute talk I find myself running up against the necessity of a long excursus situating the short excerpt cited by Nietzsche from ‘Die Meistersinger’ within the deep and complex structure of the Wagner opera as a whole. The third session, then, to be posted in audio form in a few days, will likely be devoted to this ‘situation’ - i.e. to a reading of ‘Die Meistersinger’ - alone. In other words, it looks like the pace of working through Nietzsche’s 1872 text will be very slow. Nevertheless, I intend to persist, if audiences do not fall off too badly.

I will be publishing here already today a set of ‘guidance notes’ whose oral presentation looks likely to stretch out over the next wo or three sessions. They may, however, be useful already for purposes of comprehension of what has already been orally delivered.