''Dinggedicht'' (orig.

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: literally, 'poem of things' or 'thing poem'; plural, ''Dinggedichte'') is a poetic form, referring to a specific focus and mood in the choice of a poetic theme. Developed during the second half of the 19th century, the focus in a ''Dinggedicht'' rests on an animate or inanimate object that is described in a distanced, often dissociated and objectified way. The poet aims at finding the language that is specific and supposedly indigenous to the thing in view. The poet attempts to let the very object itself speak in its own language. It is supposed to express the inner being of the object in focus. In this tradition, objects from the arts have often been taken up, but more recently poets have also sought out objects from every-day life. Furthermore, the Dinggedicht needs not necessarily aim at a physical object, but also recapture abstract notions in an objectified fashion. The voice in the Dinggedicht is frequently the third person. The poetological technical terms has been coined by the German literary scholar Kurt Oppert.

Notable ''Dinggedicht'' poets or poems

Eduard Mörike Eduard Friedrich Mörike (8 September 18044 June 1875) was a German Lutheran pastor who was also a Romantic poet and writer of novellas and novels. Many of his poems were set to music and became established folk songs, while others were used by ...

(e.g., ''Auf eine Lampe'') *

Conrad Ferdinand Meyer Conrad Ferdinand Meyer (11 October 1825 – 28 November 1898) was a Swiss poet and historical novelist, a master of literary realism who is mainly remembered for stirring narrative ballads like "Die Füße im Feuer" (The Feet in the Fire). Biogr ...

(e.g., ''Der römische Brunnen'') *

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recogni ...

(e.g., ''Archaischer Torso Apollos'', '' Der Panther'', ''Das Karussell'') *

Paul-Henri Campbell Paul-Henri Campbell (born 1982) is a German-American author. He is a bilingual author of poetry and prose in English and German. He studied classical philology, with a concentration on ancient Greek, as well as Catholic theology at the National U ...

(e.g., ''The Spacewalk Sutra'')

Notable ''Dinggedicht'' poets or poems

Further reading