German Romanticism

Dr Meade McCloughan

Module description

The German Romantics, inspired by the French Revolution and the philosophies of Kant, Fichte and Schiller, developed fascinating ideas about art, philosophy, nature, ethics, religion and politics. We will consider the contributions of Novalis, Hölderlin, Schlegel, Schleiermacher and others, and their influence on subsequent thinkers, such as Hegel, Nietzsche, Benjamin and Heidegger.

Week-by-week breakdown

  1. Situating early German romanticism
  2. The background: Kant, Schiller and Fichte
  3. Hölderlin
  4. Hölderlin’s Hyperion
  5. Novalis
  6. Novalis’ political theory
  7. Novalis’ Heinrich von Ofterdingen and The Novices of Sais
  8. Friedrich Schlegel
  9. Friedrich Schlegel’s Lucinde
  10. Schleiermacher
  11. After romanticism?

Coursework Titles for the Session 2009-2010

Write an essay of 1,500-2000 words in answer to ONE of the following:
  1. Critically evaluate Hölderlin’s claim that ‘Being expresses the joining of Subject and Object’.
  2. Why does Hölderlin describe human life as an “eccentric path”?
  3. ‘The world must be romanticized!’ Why? How?
  4. Critically evaluate Schlegel’s claims for ‘romantic poetry’.
  5. ‘Many of the works of the ancients have become fragments. Many modern works are fragments as soon as they are written.’ Discuss.
  6. Explain the philosophical significance of any the novels discussed in the course.
  7. Why did the romantics admire the Middle Ages? Was it reactionary to do so?
  8. Were the romantics pantheists?
  9. Compare and contrast the philosophical idealism of the romantics with that of either Kant or Fichte.
The short exercises will consist of short extracts from primary texts with questions, to be completed between meetings, taking no more than 15-20 minutes. These will handed out in Weeks 4, 6 and 8, to be handed in by students the following week and then returned to students the week after that.