Consciousness
The unconditional action finds its certainty in another sign of metaphorical language, namely in literary consciousness. The immediacy and unconditionality of the decision lies in the fact that the decision is literary, i.e., it is expressed in the articulation of poetic consciousness. Literary consciousness is just as incomprehensible as the other signs of authorship. It can only be sensed through metaphor, which attains its »original certainty of being« in its articulation (WEH II 259). It is the consciousness of the unconditionality of metaphor. However, it is not a consciousness that »grasps the unity of metaphor and transcendence« (Leppuhr 4.17, 151). Literary consciousness manifests itself in its incessant combat against criticism, kitsch, and bar-room conscience. In this articulation, literary consciousness strikes »at the very heart of authorship itself« (WEH II 260). The literary decision is the culmination of the articulation of literary consciousness.