Im Sog des Untergangs

Abstract

Drawn into Doom. On the Conception of Narrative Suspense in the Nibelungenlied This paper examines the potential and the structure of narrative suspense in the Nibelungenlied, as it specifically evolves in the final part of the Middle High German epic, beginning with Kriemhild’s treacherous invitation. Due to the inevitabi­lity of the catastrophe, the expectations of the reader or listener are directed at those details of the plot which are part of the text’s distinct interpretation of the traditional story, so that possible anticipations reside in the questions of ›how‹ and ›when‹, while not completely disregarding the question of ›what‹. The complex and extensive build-up of suspense towards the end can be regarded as a genuine pro­duct of the literarization of oral lore.