Friedrich Hölderlin

Lore & Background

Hölderlin was born on 20 March 1770 in Lauffen am Neckar, then part of the Duchy of Württemberg. His childhood was marked by bereavement: his father, Heinrich Friedrich Hölderlin, died when he was two, and his stepfather, Johann Christoph Gok, died in 1779 when Hölderlin was nine. His mother intended him for the Lutheran ministry, and he attended the Tübinger Stift, where he was friends with Hegel and Schelling. He graduated in 1793 but could not devote himself to the Lutheran faith, instead becoming a tutor. Two years later, he briefly attended the University of Jena, where he interacted with Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Novalis, before resuming his career as a tutor. He struggled to establish himself as a poet and was plagued by mental illness. In 1806 he was sent to a clinic in Tübingen run by Dr. Johann Heinrich Ferdinand von Autenrieth, deemed incurable, and instead given lodging by a carpenter, Ernst Zimmer. He spent the final 36 years of his life in Zimmer's residence, dying on 7 June 1843 at age 73. Hölderlin followed the tradition of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller as an admirer of Greek mythology and Ancient Greek poets such as Pindar and Sophocles, and melded Christian and Hellenic themes in his works. His most important relationship was with Susette Gontard, the wife of his employer, banker Jakob Gontard, which ended when their affair was discovered. He produced three unfinished versions of a tragedy in the Greek manner, The Death of Empedocles, and composed odes in the vein of the Ancient Greeks Alcaeus and Asclepiades of Samos. His stay in Bordeaux is celebrated in the poem 'Andenken' ('Remembrance').

Reader's Guide

Hölderlin's significance lies in his dual role as a poet and philosopher at the heart of German Romanticism and German Idealism. His early friendship with Hegel and Schelling at the Tübinger Stift positioned him as an influence on their philosophical development; it has been speculated that he introduced Hegel to Heraclitus's ideas on the unity of opposites, which later informed Hegel's concept of dialectics. Martin Heidegger, upon whom Hölderlin had a great influence, said: 'Hölderlin is one of our greatest, that is, most impending thinkers because he is our greatest poet.' Hölderlin's legacy includes his blending of Christian and Hellenic themes, his admiration for Greek poets like Pindar and Sophocles, and his commitment to the principles of the French Revolution, which influenced works such as Hyperion and The Death of Empedocles. Despite struggling with mental illness and living in obscurity for his final 36 years, his work was later recognized as foundational to German literature and philosophy.

Did You Know?

• Hölderlin's father died when he was two years old, and his stepfather died when he was nine.
• He was friends with Hegel and Schelling at the Tübinger Stift, and it has been speculated that he introduced Hegel to Heraclitus's ideas on the unity of opposites.
• For over a century, a rumor claimed Hölderlin fathered an illegitimate child, but a 2020 archival discovery proved the child was fathered by Major Heinrich von Kalb, exonerating Hölderlin.
• He spent the final 36 years of his life in the residence of a carpenter, Ernst Zimmer, after being deemed incurable.
• His stay in Bordeaux is celebrated in the poem 'Andenken' ('Remembrance').

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