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Angst is a feeling ofanxiety, apprehension, or insecurity.[1]Anguish is itsLatinateequivalent, and the wordsanxious andanxiety are of similar origin.
The wordangst was introduced into English from theDanish,Norwegian, andDutch wordangst and theGerman wordAngst. It is attested since the 19th century in English translations of the works ofSøren Kierkegaard andSigmund Freud.[1][2][3] It is used in English to describe an intense feeling of apprehension, anxiety, or inner turmoil.
In other languages (with words from the Latinpavor for "fear" or "panic"),[4] the derived words differ in meaning; for example, as in the Frenchanxiété andpeur. The wordangst has existed in German since the 8th century, from theProto-Indo-European root*anghu-, "restraint" from whichOld High Germanangust developed.[5] It is pre-cognate with the Latinangustia, "tensity, tightness" andangor, "choking, clogging"; compare to theAncient Greekἄγχω (ánkhō) "strangle". It entered English in the 19th century as a technical term used inpsychiatry, though earlier cognates existed, such asange.
Inexistentialistphilosophy, the termangst carries a specific conceptual meaning. The use of the term was first attributed toDanishphilosopherSøren Kierkegaard (1813–1855). InThe Concept of Anxiety (originally translated asThe Concept of Dread), Kierkegaard used the wordAngest (in common Danish,angst, meaning "dread" or "anxiety") to describe a profound and deep-seated condition. Where non-human animals are guided solely byinstinct, said Kierkegaard, human beings enjoy afreedom of choice that we find both appealing and terrifying.[5][6] It is the anxiety of understanding of being free when considering undefined possibilities of one's life and the immense responsibility of having the power of choice over them.[6][7] Kierkegaard's concept of angst reappeared in the works of existentialist philosophers who followed, such asFriedrich Nietzsche,Jean-Paul Sartre, andMartin Heidegger, each of whom developed the idea further in individual ways. While Kierkegaard's angst referred mainly to ambiguous feelings about moral freedom within areligious personal belief system, later existentialists discussed conflicts of personal principles, cultural norms, andexistential despair.
Existential angst makes its appearance in classicalmusical composition in the early twentieth century, both as a result of philosophical developments and as a reflection of the war-torn times. Notable composers whose works are often linked with the concept includeGustav Mahler,Richard Strauss (operasElektra andSalome),Claude Debussy (operaPelléas et Mélisande, balletJeux),Jean Sibelius (especially theFourth Symphony),Arnold Schoenberg (A Survivor from Warsaw),Alban Berg,Francis Poulenc (operaDialogues of the Carmelites),Dmitri Shostakovich (operaLady Macbeth of Mtsensk, symphonies and chamber music),Béla Bartók (operaBluebeard's Castle), andKrzysztof Penderecki (especiallyThrenody to the Victims of Hiroshima).[citation needed]
Angst began to be discussed in reference to popular music in the mid- to late 1950s, amid widespread concerns overinternational tensions andnuclear proliferation.Jeff Nuttall's bookBomb Culture (1968) traced angst in popular culture toHiroshima. Dread was expressed in works offolk rock such asBob Dylan's "Masters of War" (1963) and "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall". The term often makes an appearance in reference topunk rock,grunge,nu metal, and works ofemo where expressions ofmelancholy, existential despair, ornihilism predominate.[citation needed]
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