Hofmannsthal's Prologue Analysis

Art as Refuge in Hofmannsthal’s “Prologue”
In Fin-de siècle Vienna, Carl E. Schorske outlines how the hegemony of classical liberalism in Austria became challenged and consequently eroded by the emergence of new social groups, which eventually gained political dominance over the liberals. As these new social groups had strongly opposing ideas to the liberal class, the loss in political power quickly evolved into a psychological defeat. The liberal culture no longer had conviction of their “legacy of rationality, moral law, and progress”.
As the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal came to age during this “crisis of liberal polity”, he became concerned with how the liberal bourgeoisie increasingly sought refuge in art, which Schorske notes had become

This explains the historical and mythical setting of his garden in “Vienna of the seventeen-sixties” (line 9), inhabited by “Sphinxes” (line 3), “tritons” (line 6) and “water-nymphs” (line 12). This suggests the idea of escaping to past and fictional glories. Moreover, he references the artistic movement “Rococo” (line 7), and the artists “Canaletto” (line 9) and “Watteau” (line 55). By referring to the garden as a deliberate work of art, Hofmannsthal underscores the ideas of illusion and escapism. When the reader enters Hofmannsthal’s garden, he/she, like the liberal bourgeoisie class, temporary leaves the exigencies of his/her life. However, Hofmannsthal puts forth the idea that this escapism has led to life becoming “drained of vitality”. This can be seen in his use of diction in line

The mysterious “we” could be Hofmannsthal’s acknowledgement of his participatory role in using art as an escape. Additionally, the oxymoronic juxtaposition of “early-ripe and sad and tender, /The commedia of our spirit” (lines 65-60) indicate the uncertain and anxious mood plaguing the liberal class. Moreover, Hofmannsthal reiterates the deficiencies of the garden, where the beautiful veneer of the garden wears down over time – “Ugly facts in pretty guises” (line 62). Additionally, “Half-felt feelings sensed in secret” (line 64) provides a link to Anatol, as it encapsulates the titular character 's half-involvement with