Pamphlet

A pamphlet or a pamphlet is a writing in which someone is involved, exaggerated and polemical expresses a scientific, religious or political issue. The factual argument recedes into the background here; the passionate partisanship against one thing, however, predominates in the argument. The reduction of another person is this considered acceptable or even the actual goal of the pamphlet. This goal will be reasoning, language style and especially the rhetorical aspect subordinated to the reduction of the opponent's serve as diminutives or animal metaphors. Nevertheless, the designation pamphlet ' originally meant as a value-neutral description of a genre of political and religious pamphlets.

Word history

The origin of the word pamphlet is not released. Maybe it is derived from the Latin name of Pamphilus, the protagonist of the very popular in the 13th century love poem Pamphilus seu de amore. The Latinized form of the name is likely to panfletus the root for the English words pamphilet or panflet and his French pamphillèt.

The epic poem de amore was extraordinarily well known, popular and widespread. Arguably, this was the reason that the name of Pamphilus The inspiration for the extent of small but widespread texts, similar to the non rare procedure that the name of a single product is a generic name. Comparable would be in the literary and linguistic history of the relationship between the proper name of the Pasquino and the designation for a lampoon mockery and lampoon.

In Middle English it was the name given to any printed text that was too short to be bound as a book. Since the 15th century it took the importance of small business or book, only since the 18th century it is becoming increasingly pejorative connotations as polemical and aggressive.

In the current parlance, the term ' pamphlet ' a clearly pejorative, disparaging connotation. With this designation, each expressed in writing committed opinion are irrelevant 'or' mediocre arguing ' denigrated and considered, in a dispute. From a genre name a designation with a negative rating has thus become over time.

Distribution and dissemination

Pamphlets were formerly marketed rather rare in bookshops, but reached their addressees in other ways. Until the 19th century there were itinerant tradesmen, hawkers and street vendors, of which the brochures and pamphlets were brought to the reader. When, in the course pamphlets have been increasingly used as a means of opinion and propaganda in the political struggle and in today's social and cultural issues in the broadest sense, political parties and interest groups increasingly began as a distributor.

Known pamphlets

An example of a pamphlet is Buback - An obituary. In this paper sentenced an unknown at the time of publication author the murder of the Federal Attorney General, but at the same time expresses " secret joy " about the crime.

The most famous pamphlet was by the French writer Émile Zola 1898 Dreyfus Affair as an open letter to the President of the French Republic under the title J'accuse ( " I accuse " ) written. Following this pamphlet, which contained the accusation of anti-Semitism, Zola had to go into exile a long time. Later, the Zola defended in his book, court martial condemned Jewish Captain Alfred Dreyfus rehabilitated. In a way, it is also some works of Friedrich Nietzsche ( for example, The Antichrist ) and Ayn Rand, despite their high levels as pamphlets, within the meaning of pamphlets, classify.

Other important pamphlets are illustrated lampoons the reformer Martin Luther to the Pope. The ten woodcuts were published in book form and created in 1545 in the workshop of Lucas Cranach in Wittenberg. Original graphics in this series were auctioned in March 2006 at an auction at Schloss Burg Hagen at the price of 250,000 euros.