SOURCE: "Theodor Storm: Poetic Realist or Realist Poet? Secret Strategies of Art and Realism," in In Search of the Poetic Real: Essays in Honor of Clifford Albrecht Bernd on the Occasion of his Sixtieth Birthday, edited by John F. Fetzer, Roland Hoermann, and Winder McConnell, Hans-Dieter Heinz, 1989, pp. 23-32.

In the following essay, Artiss argues that the enduring appeal of Storm's prose may be its sophisticated use of irony.

Appreciation for the writings of Theodor Storm, as reflected in the sale and translation of his works since 1945, is unmatched by any other nineteenth-century German-speaking writer, with the single, possible exception of Goethe. In this Theodor Storm Centenary Year (1988) it is very apropos that we should take stock of his work. The phenomenal rise in his literary fortunes raises a number of critical questions. Will this steady rise in his fortunes continue and just how far will it go...