HISTORICAL MEMORY AS AN ARTIST’S PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE POETIC PRACTICE OF HEINER MULLER

Abstract

The article analyzes the poetic works of Heiner Muller “Television” (1989-1990) and “For example Ajax” (1994), which are primarily the author’s reaction to the unification of Germany, characteristic of most representatives of the older generation of poets from the former GDR. It is concluded that the author’s historical and philosophical reflections on the fate of twentieth-century Germany, coinciding with the reflection of his own creative path, on the one hand determine the choice of artistic form and its significant transformations in the traditions of postmodern writing (referring to the lyric-epic genre of the poem “For example Ajax”), and on the other, the specifics of artistic imagery. In conclusion, it is noted that historical memory in the worldview of Heiner Muller is inextricably linked with cultural, so in both works the problem of personal responsibility of the artist comes to the fore.