These texts are stitched through with the vocabulary of excess, of madness, rage...those forces in his own psychology which, very soon, would carry him over the edge-David Constantine. Friedrich Holderlin was one of Europe's greatest poets. Acclaimed British poet and translator (Michaux, Jaccottet) David Constantine's Selected Poems of Holderlin won him the 1997 European Poetry Translation. Now he has turns to Holderlin's versions of Sophocles, seeking to create an equivalent English for these extraordinary German recreations of the classic Greek verse plays. Holderlin's versions of these two plays came out in the spring of 1804 and were taken, by the learned, as conclusive proof of his insanity. Constantine has translated Holderlin's translations, carrying as much of their strangeness as possible into English.
Martin Heidegger's 1942 lecture course interprets Friedrich Hölderlin's hymn "The Ister" within the context of Hölderlin's poetic and philosophical work, with particular emphasis on Hölderlin's dialogue with Greek tragedy. Delivered in summer 1942 at the University of Freiburg, this course was first published in German in 1984 as volume 53 of Heidegger's Collected Works. Revealing for Heidegger's thought of the period are his discussions of the meaning of "the political" and "the national," in which he emphasizes the difficulty and the necessity of finding "one's own" in and through a dialogue with "the foreign." In this context Heidegger reflects on the nature of translation and interpretation. A detailed reading of the famous chorus from Sophocles' Antigone, known as the "ode to man," is a key feature of the course.
Sophocles: The Classical Heritage, first published in 1996, contains a diverse collection of reflection, ranging from the 16th century to the 20th, on one of the three great Attic tragedians, the author of perhaps the most famous play of all time. With the entire notion of ‘Western culture’ under duress, the need to establish continuity from antiquity to modernity is as pressing as ever. Each essay, selected by Professor Dawe, explores a theme or concept derived from the tragic vision of the Sophoclean universe which is still of relevance today. An enormous range of topics is investigated, in a variety of modes and styles: the linguistic challenges of translation, the psychology of Sigmund Freud, Enlightenment critiques, the history of performance conventions, dramatic structure and technique, and issues facing the modern director. Overall, Professor Dawe offers a staggering selection of responses, which cumulatively demonstrate the continuing importance and fascination of Sophocles’ legacy.
Friedrich Hölderlin (1770-1843) was one of Europe's greatest poets. This expanded edition of Selected Poems (1990/96), winner of the European Poetry Translation Prize, also includes all of Hölderlin's Sophocles (2001).
One of Germany's greatest poets, Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (1770-1843) was also a prose writer of intense feeling, intelligence and perception. This new translation of selected letters and essays traces the life and thoughts of this extraordinary writer. Hölderlin's letters to friends and fellow writers such as Hegel, Schiller and Goethe describe his development as a poet, while those written to his family speak with great passion of his beliefs and aspirations, as well as revealing money worries and, finally, the tragic unravelling of his sanity. These works examine Hölderlin's great preoccupations - the unity of existence, the relationship between art and nature and, above all, the spirit of the writer.
Martin Heidegger's 1941–1942 lecture course on Friedrich Hölderlin's hymn, "Remembrance," delivered immediately following his confrontation with Nietzsche, lays out a detailed plan for the interpretation of Hölderlin's poetry in which remembrance is a central concern. With its emphasis on the "free use of the national" and the "holy of the fatherland," the course marks an important progression in Heidegger's political thought. In addition to its startlingly innovative analyses of greeting, the festive, and the dream, the text provides Heidegger's fullest elaboration of the structure of commemorative thinking in relationship to time and the possibility of an "other beginning." This English translation by William McNeill and Julia Ireland completes the series of Heidegger's major lecture courses on Hölderlin.
The place of Friedrich Hölderlin (1770-1843) in European literature is assured, and his significance for the development of German philosophy widely acknowledged. Here the focus is more specifically upon his poetics: a body of reflections on the nature of poetry and the meaning of the poet's vocation. These are found in poems and letters, in difficult (and often fragmentary) theoretical writings, and -- in the case of the 'Pindar Fragments' -- texts in which the distinction between poetry and theoretical reflection seems to be overcome. Although Hölderlin's poetics is considered from various points of view, the themes that emerge most frequently are Hölderlin's notion of a 'poetic law' or 'poetic logic', and his conception of tragedy and of what might be called the 'anti-tragic'. Also included is a new translation of Hölderlin's 'Notes' on Sophocles, which are here provided with a commentary. Charles Lewis received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Cambridge University. He has taught at Princeton University, and held an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship at the Free University, Berlin.
Hölderlin (1770-1843) is the magnificent writer whom Nietzsche called 'my favourite poet'. His writings and poetry have been formative throughout the twentieth century, and as influential as those of Hegel, his friend. At the same time, his madness has made his poetry infinitely complex as it engages with tragedy, and irreconcilable breakdown, both political and personal, with anger and with mourning. This study gives a detailed approach to Hölderlin's writings on Greek tragedy, especially Sophocles, whom he translated into German, and gives close attention to his poetry, which is never far from an engagement with tragedy. Hölderlin's writings, always fascinating, enable a consideration of the various meanings of tragedy, and provide a new reading of Shakespeare, particularly Julius Caesar, Hamlet and Macbeth; the work proceeds by opening into discussion of Nietzsche, especially The Birth of Tragedy. Since Hölderlin was such a decisive figure for Modernism, to say nothing of modern Germany, he matters intensely to such differing theorists and philosophers as Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Blanchot and Jacques Derrida, all of whose views are discussed herein. Drawing upon the insights of Hegelian philosophy and psychoanalysis, this book gives the English-speaking reader ready access to a magnificent body of poetry and to the poet as a theorist of tragedy and of madness. Hölderlin's poetry is quoted freely, with translations and commentary provided. This book is the first major account of Hölderlin in English to offer the student and general reader a critical account of a vital body of work which matters to any study of poetry and to all who are interested in poetry's relationships to madness. It is essential reading in the understanding of how tragedy pervades literature and politics, and how tragedy has been regarded and written about, from Hegel to Walter Benjamin.
According to Greek legend, Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus, secretly buried her brother in defiance of the order of Creon, king of Thebes. Sentenced to death by Creon, she forestalled him by committing suicide. The theme of the conflict between Antigone and Creon--between the state and the individual, between man and woman, between young and old--has captured the Western imagination for more than 2000 years. George Steiner here examines the far-reaching legacy of this great classical myth. He considers its treatment in Western art, literature, and thought--in drama, poetry, prose, philosophic discourse, political tracts, opera, ballet, film, and even the plastic arts. A study in poetics and in the philosophy of reading, Antigones leads us to look again at the influence the Greek myths exercise on twentieth-century culture. "A remarkable feat of intellectual agility."--Washington Post Book World "[An] intellectually demanding but rewarding book. . . consistently stimulating and sometimes disturbing."--The New Republic "An. . . account of the various treatments of the Antigone theme in European languages. . . Penetrating and novel."--The New York Times Book Review "A tradition of intelligence and style lives in this prolific man."--Los Angeles Times "Antigones triumphantly demonstrates that Antigone could fill several volumes of study without becoming tedious or exhausted."--The New York Review of Books
