The Poetic Experience of Sound and Meaning: Hans-Georg Gadamer's Philosophy of Literature

This thesis aims for a systematic and theoretical construction of Hans-Georg Gadamer's philosophy of literature within the framework of philosophical hermeneutics, emphasizing the unique ontological structure of the literary work. Gadamer's hermeneutical aesthetics clarifies the mode of existence that is common to all arts as the performative, dynamic, and cognitive presentation. His philosophy of literature contains three main dimensions, i.e., the poetic language, reading, and dwelling in poetry. The unique ontological structure of the literary work consists in the interplay of meaning and sound. This study also critiques Gadamer's philosophy of literature, revealing ambiguities regarding the formal properties of the sound structure and the interpretation justification problem.