On the concept of das Ausdruckslose in Walter Benjamin

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the concept of das Ausdruckslose (expressionless) as a central category of art and language in the thought of Walter Benjamin. This notion is studied mainly in the writings of the period 1916-1923 and as part of the Benjaminian methodology of interpretation that involves criticism, translation and citation. From a recovery and discussion with the critical studies on the subject, the concept of das Ausdruckslose is interpreted as a dialectical point between the profane order and the messianic order that operates in the field of the work of art, history and language.