Ralph Müller

• Evaluation in lyrical poetry is mostly uncharted territory, although subgenres such as panegyric or elegy suggest that it has a rich tradition. This contribution proposes a definition of evaluation in lyrical poetry and explores possible forms and functions of such evaluations in selected examples. The analyses suggest that contemporary poetry, although it may be full of evaluative expressions, provides few clues to the actual object of evaluation or the axiology of evaluation, which makes evaluation in poetry appear vague, incomplete or enigmatic. Despite this tendency towards vagueness, evaluation in poetry may help to convey knowledge to its recipients. Among others, poems by Erika Burkart, Daniela Danz and Wulf Kirsten will demonstrate that evaluation may serve as an enhancement of represented experiences, in particular by tapping into a phenomenological knowledge of ‘what-it-feels-like’ to be in such and such a situation.