This article reflects on different approaches to multimodal communication in text linguistics. For some time text linguistics deals with multimodal texts, however, the communicative and functional complexity of language-image-texts could give a reason to establish a new discipline – image linguistics, which is based on texts linguistics and develops already existing text theory and analytical methods. Nevertheless, within this article I propose a compromise and vote for developing of multimodal text linguistics.

The paper presents the research paradigm of paratext analysis. It demonstrates that with its help the book-like form of presenting literary texts will receive special attention. Paratext analysis generates new questions in cultural and media history of romanticism, but also important philological questions can be continued.

August (2012) was the last, posthumous edition of the literary work of Christa Wolf. In the context of this prosaic text, in which, as Christa Wolf wrote in the letter form-dedicated to her husband, there were many recollections; there was an attempt to analyze the prosaic memory of Christa Wolf (Nachdenken über Christa T., Kindheitsmuster, August). By defining the poetry of reminiscence of Wolf’s works, the author of the article has focused on Wolf’s essay – Lesen und Schreiben – it was a central piece in Christa Wolf’s work.

In recent years, a canon of modern German literature has been widely discussed, particularly in the context of educational reforms. The discourse has taken place both in the public sphere of (print) media and within the fields of literary studies as well as teaching mehodology, with obvious interferences. Positions reach from demands to foster and revise a canon to its complete rejection as an educated middle-class phenomenon. While literary studies have developed a nomenclatura of the canon concept and reflected on criteria for its compilation, teaching methodology recommends – in view of competence-oriented literature courses – to focus on the teaching of a basic knowledge of literary history, which seems to make the consideration of a canon indispensible in a certain framework.