Novalis und Nietzsche. Analogien und Differenzen zweier Dichter-Denker

Abstract

There are several substantial similarities between Novalis and Nietzsche. Stylistically, they both present their arguments and ideas in the form of short and concise prose (Aphorismus, Fragment), but there is also considerable overlap in terms of the general orientation of their thinking: both exhibit a certain concern for earthly nature and show an interest in the figure of the extraordinary individual, but they also have a common interest in physiology, in the idea of fiction, and in the night as a allowing for greater experiential depth. Moreover, Novalis and Nietzsche both warned of the rise of nationalism in Europe, to some extent anticipating a new form of war that eventually became a reality in the First World War. This essay, thus, seeks to outline a range of connections between early German romanticism and Nietzsche that would require further research.