The Cambridge Introduction to German Poetry

German poetry has long held a special place within the Western literary tradition. Its major achievements include Luther's hymns, Goethe's unequalled poetic versatility, the Romantics' lyric songs and the challenging poetry of Hölderlin, Rilke and Celan. Combining readings of traditional poems with fresh examples, Judith Ryan conveys the rich rewards that come with reading German poetry. Organized thematically, the book demonstrates the significance of the poems in their time while also showing their resonance in later periods. The nuanced readings in this book serve as ideal examples for close engagement with the primary texts. Quotations are given in the original German and translated into English prose. Special sections give guidance on how to approach an unfamiliar text and how to compose a close reading; an appendix on German metrics and a glossary of technical terms are also provided, along with further reading for those ready to explore more widely.

Preface; Acknowledgments; 1. Exploring the poem; 2. Poetic roles in early song-lyrics; 3. Devotional poetry; 4. The rhetoric of passion; 5. Classical Antiquity and modern experience; 6. Romantic poetry and the problem of lyric unity; 7. The self and the senses; 8. Modernism and difficulty; 9. Poetry after Auschwitz; 10. The strain of political poetry; Working on the text; Writing up your close reading; German metrics; Index.

This introduction is designed for students of German poetry and their teachers. Covering both familiar poems and new examples, it presents an up-to-date panorama of what the German poetic tradition has to offer. Focusing on key issues, it helps readers understand the poetic texts in their cultural contexts.

Judith Ryan is Robert K. and Dale J. Weary Professor of German and Comparative Literature at Harvard University.