Gerd Fritz

gerd.fritz@germanistik.uni-giessen.de

For modern readers, subjectivity is probably not the most striking feature of contributions to 17^th century controversies. On the contrary, in this period controversies seem to be very much guided by traditional rules and principles, not the least of which is the principle that one should deal with realia and not with personalia. In judging potential loci of subjectivity, we have to take into account the typical rhetoric of contemporary genres (e.g. dedications and prefaces), contemporary rules of etiquette and principles of text construction. So what could be seen as subjectivity seems to be hidden behind a veil of rules and routines. However, on closer inspection, we find many remarkable passages where authors mention personal experiences, voice personal opinions, and make personal reflections.

Although, obviously, the use of the first person singular is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition of the expression of subjectivity, this grammatical form is a useful guide to places where possible candidates for expressions of subjectivity might be found. In my paper, I shall discuss various functions and contexts of use of the first person singular in several controversies, mostly German and English, in order to find indicators of what may be considered the role of subjectivity in 17^th century controversies.