Hymns to the Night

Rating:
Summary: One of the pioneers
Review: Novalis can be seen as one of the very first German poets who abandoned the classic German way of writing. "Hymns to the night" in particular is a collection of poems characterised by a mysterious dark lyricism and an accult atmosphere, blended in a way that cannot possibly provoke, annoy or "puzzle" ANY reader. On the contrary, Novalis' unique way of writing sounds like ones' beautiful ancient prayer to ones' ancient Gods

Rating:
Summary: Poetry and Philosophy
Review: The German culture can be said to oscillate between two extremes. The first is the predisposition to obsessively systematize and classify life's experience into knowledge with a calm and indifferent demeanor. The second is the reverse tendency to discard the rational and dive off into the realm of the fantastic and the perverse, the moody and the emotionally erratic. Novalis presents a fascinating case study in paradoxically representing both of the tendencies. His "Hymns to the Night" are filled with despair, longing, and a visionary quality that sort of puts one into a trance when reading. However hidden beneath this highly charged emotional atmosphere are layers of allegory and thought. Hence what we have here is that unique poem which combines a very human story of loss, sorrow, and grief with intriguing philosophical meditations on love, [end of life], religion, resurrection, and the relation of mind and body. Much more could be said and should be said. But additional details would spoil the joy of discovering the beauty of the poem on your own....