Poetics of W. G. Sebald’s Historical Fragments in The Rings of Saturn

Historical fragments play a prominent and intriguing role in W. G. Sebald’s The Rings of Saturn, a travelogue recounting the narrator’s exploration of the eastern coast of England. These narrative fragments are the traveler/narrator’s reminiscences, associations, and imaginations triggered by the places he visits. In contrast to Sebald’s overarching focus on the Holocaust and World War II in The Emigrants and Austerlitz, The Rings of Saturn weaves together a plethora of fragments derived from major world historical events ranging over a long span of time. Fragmentary writing is not a new literary convention, but what distinguishes Sebald’s poetics of fragments is how the narrative fragments engage in a unique process of historical reconfiguration, rather than merely serving as components of an assemblage or indicating a nullified sense of history. Sebald’s narrative fragments align with Friedrich Schlegel’s idea of the fragment, which, like a chemical element, evolves in connection with other fragments. Prominently, owing to the peculiar poetics of his narrative fragments, Sebald revitalizes and reconfigures how history is perceived, articulated, and envisioned.