The carnivalesque in W. G. Sebald

What is it about?

The carnivalesque can be defined as temporary suspensions of social order, marked by transgression, laughter and inversions of normal relationships. In this article, I identify carnivalesque elements in Sebald's writing, and argue that these are central to what he was trying to achieve in his writing.

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Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Sebald's work has generally been read as a pessimistic or melancholic comment on the modern world. The carnivalesque elements of his writing have, in my view, so far been under-acknowledged. For this reason, in this article, I have attempted to show why these episodes of his work are important to his whole artistic project.