De/Constructing Friedrich Hölderlin

Abstract

Der große Unbekannte, the big unknown in German literature, is how Rudiger Safranski introduces Friedrich Hölderlin (1770-1843) in his new book on the contemporary of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the protégé of Friedrich Schiller, and the schoolmate of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. On the occasion of Hölderlins 250 ͭ ͪ birthday, the German publishing house Hanser has put out two books on the poet’s life and his legacy that couldn’t be more different from each other. Yet at the same time, they both revolve around the Geheimnis, the mystery, that surrounds Hölderlins literary work as well as his tragic fate.