Friedrich Hölderlin’s Die Bedeutung Der Tragödien: Paradox as the Foundation of Tragedy

In this article, I aim to demonstrate that in Die Bedeutung der Tragödien Friedrich Hölderlin (1770-1843) takes distance from the Aristotelian interpretation of Tragedy. In this fragment, the poet suggests this literary genre should be understood on the bases of the notion of paradox and on how this...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: David Alvarado-Archila
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Rosenberg & Sellier 2022-12-01
Series:Rivista di Estetica
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/estetica/12235
Description
Summary:In this article, I aim to demonstrate that in Die Bedeutung der Tragödien Friedrich Hölderlin (1770-1843) takes distance from the Aristotelian interpretation of Tragedy. In this fragment, the poet suggests this literary genre should be understood on the bases of the notion of paradox and on how this concept relates to the tragic hero. In order to prove this, I first clarify what the German poet means when he proposes paradox as the easiest way to understand Tragedy. Second, I highlight the correlations between the assertions of this text and Hölderlin’s former stances about Tragedy in the Grund zum Empedokles, the Anmerkungen zum Oedipus and the Anmerkungen zur Antigonä. Finally, I argue that the approach regarding paradox is evidence of the distance Hölderlin took from the Aristotelian definition of Tragedy as mimesis of an action.
ISSN:0035-6212
2421-5864