Zum Inhalt:

Part I

Principles of lyric and drama

1 Kleist' puppets

2 Language as poetry

3 The smallest world theater

4 Death and the fools

5 Idea, reality and play-acting in Der Tor und der Tod

6 Theatrical philosophy: from Der Tor und der Tod to Theater in Versen

Part II

Language and society

7 Chandos and his neighbors

8 Werther and Chandos

9 Hofmannsthal's return

10 Missed meetings in Der Schwierige

11 Hans Karl's return

12 Society as drama

Part III

Culture and collapse

13 Art by accident

14 The allomatic

15 The rôle of "Vorwitz" in Das Salzburger Große Welttheater

16 Salzburg as a theater

17 Goethe, Nietzsche, Thomas Taylor and Der Turm

18 A tower in ruins: the tragedy of a tragedy

Conclusion

Hofmannsthal's development