Talk:Weltschmerz

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spelling[edit]

lots of places seem to spell this as weltschmerTz (which was also the spelling that lost that spelling bee contest), maybe a note on that spelling and if it is wrong should be added, as it seems rather popular... [[1]] -- me (now)

This begs the question about what constitutes "correct". I saw a few online dictionaries by real dictionary publishers (such as Websters) that spell it "WeltschmerTz", though dictionaries sometimes do make mistakes. "WeltschmerTz" seems to be becoming fairly common, so some lexicographers might now consider it to be correct. But most professional dictionaries spell it "Weltschmerz". Also, the word is one of those recent borrowings that has not been anglicized yet, as noted by the fact that the "W" is still pronounced like the English "v". Given that, together with the fact that is always spelled "Weltschmerz" in German (and its second component word "Schmerz" is always spelled without a "t", it seems pretty that the truly correct form is "Weltschmerz".Bostoner (talk) 20:12, 15 Aug 2008 (UTC)

100% agree. Germany here. It is definitely spelled "Schmerz" in german. The other thing is that in general the letter Z is always pronounced like TZ in german, i. e. Arzt, Katze, Jetzt, Scherz, März, ...

I'm editing the empathy entry as I type this and I see no logical connection between Weltschmerz and Empathy, I think the authors meant Sympathy. See definitions. JoeHenzi 20:18, 5 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Expanded definition for Weltschmerz...[edit]

My understanding of this word has always been more along the lines of: depression and or apathy caused by the disparity between the actual state of the world and an ideal imagined state.

Several dictionaries have similar definitions, although, I can see how it may be interpreted more broadly. A quick google search can provide you with varifiable sources of this proposed definition for addition to this page.

Your thoughts?

My Thoughts: "depression and or apathy caused by the disparity between the actual state of the world and an ideal imagined state" is part of Weltschmerz, imo a fundamental one. Weltschmerz is a melancholic, depressive feeling (often) combined with the feeling of helplessness. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.83.56.36 (talk) 21:45, 24 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

--Episteme 18:44, 20 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Weltschmerz heißt, das einen die ganze Welt und alles drum und dran ankotzt, man nicht mehr mit sich selbst und der Gesellschaft zurechtkommt.

Objection! Das is 'ne ziemlich ungenaue und unzutreffende Definition!

Spoiler?[edit]

Do we need a spoiler warning for the results of the spelling bee?--Lkjhgfdsa 15:23, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Relevance of pop-culture remark[edit]

In my opinion, though this can be subjective, the goth subculture remark is totally irrelevant, as it doesn't seem to have anything to do with Weltschmerz. I mean, no offence but everything the goth subculture seems to be about is wearing black dresses and listening to sad music. Although they probably would like to be considered as Weltschmerz-suffering, one might say that the greater part of these people are kids and/or puberal adolescents, often too young to cope with their feelings. And yes, possibly I am subjective. No offence intended.

Well, I feel it's a very relevant comparison, as the original "weltschmerz crowd" was generally composed of youths, (Byron himself wrote a lot of his work during his twenties) that wanted to be "special" and separate themselves from the rest of the crowd.

It was, in many ways, the 18'th and 19'th century goth or even emo. Also, I think it's the inability to cope with their feelings that create the "schmerz"(pain) part of weltschmerz. And yes, even then it became eventually just and expression "all the cool kids" used, meaningless in itself.

--193.216.26.217 23:12, 7 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The article currently uses the term "pseudo-Weltschmerz" in reference to the expression of this sentiment in Goth culture. However, why is it considered "pseudo" (which means "false")? If the reason is because the sentiment is to some extent affected, cannot the same be said about Byron et al.? A better word might be "quasi," but then I'm unsure the proper word isn't merely "Weltschmerz" itself. --Skb8721 (talk) 15:42, 14 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Another pop culture reference--Travis McGee[edit]

The word is defined (apparently incorrectly) in John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee novel Free Fall in Crimson (1981), pp. 9-10 (large print edition). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.83.186.248 (talk) 19:53, 3 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Fact check - Cathy Trask ?[edit]

In Applications in the sentence, "and in East of Eden, it is felt by Samuel Hamilton after meeting Cathy Trask for the first time." shouldn't that be Cathy_Ames_(character) ? I don't know if she married Adam Trask or how Steinbeck referred to her- anyone have the book to hand ? Fromthehill (talk) 06:55, 20 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Found in We by Zamiatin[edit]

It is also mentioned in We (59) (Record Eleven), but I will not add that unless it is in a secondary source or it would be WP:OR. --David Tornheim (talk) 07:16, 9 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Buddhist origin[edit]

""World-weariness" is a central theme of Buddhist teaching, long predating Jean Paul. Seems like the article should contain at least a a few lines about this. Laodah 00:44, 5 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]

This quality was eloquently described in the philosophy of one Arthur Schopenhauer.96.248.101.32 (talk) 20:36, 28 January 2018 (UTC)De'Wayne Washington[reply]

Poet of 'Jocund Despair'[edit]

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam has been described as weltschmerz, at least in some of it's quatrains, in Edward FitzGerald's The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, (2004) Chelsea House Publishers, pp.8 47.232.145.208 (talk) 04:30, 27 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Weltschmerz[edit]

The quote in the article "The term was coined by the German Romantic author Jean Paul in his 1827 novel Selina, and in its original definition in the Deutsches Wörterbuch by the Brothers Grimm, it denotes a deep sadness about the insufficiency of the world ("tiefe Traurigkeit über die Unzulänglichkeit der Welt")." can be supplemented. Jean-Paul, the German writer mentioned, is the pseudonym of Johann Paul Friedrich Richter (1763-1825), a German educationalist and writer of satirical novels. His novel Selina was published posthumously in 1827. Kind regards Guido Tijtgat Kortrijk, Belgium GuidoNicole (talk) 08:23, 11 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]