Please tell us about your research at LCE, Eugen.
The main aspect of basically all my work is how we respond emotionally to aesthetically appealing objects, including artworks and therein poetic language. Specifically, I am interested in the emotional state of being moved, which is a highly complex and fascinating affective phenomenon. What is intriguing about this state is that it can easily integrate negative emotions like sadness without loosing its attractive power that it exerts on us. How is that possible?
In my work, I will look at structural features in poetic language that facilitate states of being moved. To do so, I will analyze data from a large-scale study with almost 250 participants who came into the lab and listened to recited poetry.
What is your favourite kind of reading experience? Are there any specific literary works that you would like to recommend to us?
Not surprisingly, I love poems and generally all verbal art forms that rely on poetic language, like plays and epics. I appreciate the refined architecture, sometimes utter brevity but at the same time great richness of these verbal artworks. In terms of style, I can relate to almost any epoch starting from antiquity onwards (except probably contemporary poetry, I have to admit, as much of it has overthrown the architectural principles, which traditional poets have struggled to master throughout their lives. Needless to say of course that there is also great contemporary poetry).
A moving poem that I can recommend and which you can read in one go is Schiller’s “The Hostage” (original German title “Die Bürgschaft”). It makes use of and combines everything that is needed to make our body hairs stand on end. Why and how this happens, I will present at the end of my stay at LCE.