SOURCE: Boswell, Von Patricia. “The Hunt as a Literary Image in Hebbel's Die Nibelungen.” Hebbel-Jahrbuch 1977 (1977): 163-94.

In the following essay, Boswell finds Hebbel's linguistic abilities unsuitable for adapting the medieval epic The Nibelungs, focusing on the hunting scene as evidence of her theory.

So viel ist gewiß, ich habe nie so viel Arbeit auf ein Werk verwendet, wie auf dieß: ich kann noch nicht fertig werden … ich bin ängstlich, wie je in meinem Leben, und prüfe jeden Vers genauer, wie der Geldwechsler einen Ducaten.¹

These words, written by Hebbel to his publisher as he was engaged in correcting the proofs of Die Nibelungen, bear witness to the particular care and attention to detail he expended on the trilogy. Always a very conscious artist in all aspects of his work, it is the language of his plays especially which has drawn much critical interest, and the infinite complexity...