Romanticism, Philosophy, and Literature

This book offers a broad re-evaluation of the key ideas developed by the German Romantics concerning philosophy and literature. It focuses not only on their own work, but also on that of their fellow travelers (such as Hölderlin) and their contemporary opponents (such as Hegel), as well as on various reactions to and transpositions of their ideas in later authors, including Coleridge, Byron, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Dostoevsky.

“This volume is, all in all, a testimony of and a contribution to the vibrancy of the field.” (Howard Pollack-Milgate, The German Quarterly, Vol. 95 (3), 2022)

“This volume is another milestone achievement by the dynamic duo who … organized numerous international symposia and publications and thereby brought to new life the global study of the history of philosophy in general, and galvanized the study of philosophy and literature in particular. … The overall quality of the essays is very high, and several make seminal contributions to scholarship. … This very rich collection thus promises to be a welcome signpost to future research.” (Henry W. Pickford, SYMPHILOSOPHIE, Issue 3, 2021)

“This work will undoubtedly be a major contribution to the knowledge of German Romanticism in the Anglophone world. Based on the world's leading specialists and promising young researchers, it combines the most solid foundations and orientations in this unique philosophical and literary constellation represented by the first German romanticism (Novalis, Schlegel, Schleiermacher) both in its relationship to the emerging German idealism and beyond. This opens up new research opportunities.” (Christian Berner, Professor of Philosophy, Paris Nanterre University, France)

“This volume is an excellent collection of studies on Romanticism seen as a meeting point between literature and philosophy. The authors include the most eminent specialists in modern German thought and in nineteenth-century literary theory, poetry, and narratives, as well as young, highly promising scholars in these fields. They examine such issues as the Romantic links between the past and the present, mythology and modernity, imagination and dialectics, self-understanding and self-transformation, interest or hostility in other cultures, paying particular attention to the work of the Schlegel brothers, Schleiermacher, Hegel, Coleridge, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard and Dostoevsky. A splendid achievement.” (Thomas Pavel, Gordon J. Laing Distinguished Service Professor in Romance Languages and Literature, Comparative Literature, and the Committee on Social Thought, University of Chicago, USA) 

“This impressive volume leaves no doubt that the relationship between philosophy and literature was not only at the heart of the Romantic project, but remains its most enduring legacy to this day.” (Christian Benne, Professor, Department of English, Germanic, and Romance Studies, University of Copenhagen, Denmark)

Michael N. Forster is Alexander von Humboldt Professor, holder of the Chair in Theoretical Philosophy, and Co-Director of the International Centre for Philosophy at Bonn University in Germany.

Lina Steiner teaches philosophy of literature and directs a research center on philosophy and literature at Bonn University in Germany.