âTranslated with skill and precision, these lectures . . . present the most penetrating analysis of two of HÃļlderlinâs most significant hymnsâ (Choice).
Martin Heideggerâs 1934â1935 lectures on Friedrich HÃļlderlinâs hymns âGermaniaâ and âThe Rhineâ are considered the most significant among Heideggerâs lectures on HÃļlderlin. Coming at a crucial time in his career, the text illustrates Heideggerâs turn toward language, art, and poetry while reflecting his despair at his failure to revolutionize the German university and his hope for a more profound revolution through the German language, guided by HÃļlderlinâs poetry.
These lectures are important for understanding Heideggerâs changing relation to politics, his turn toward Nietzsche, his thinking about the German language, and his breakthrough to a new kind of poetic thinking.
â[This translation], including a clear and concise introduction and useful glossaries, attains both accuracy and clarity, rarely faltering in its choice of words.â âNotre Dame Philosophical Reviews