Due to his early death and the lack of a critical edition of his works until 1929, Novalis’ (pseudonym of Friedrich von Hardenberg, 1772-1801) reception in German literature was somewhat restricted, albeit since then he has been recognized as the leading philosopher-poet of the early Romantic Movement. So it comes as a surprise to see Novalis’ reputation flourishing among a small number of important authors in New England (1830-1850), essentially during the romantic period in American literature with Transcendentalism at its core. How a German esoteric poet with a Moravian background was able to gain a foothold in a basically pragmatist Anglo-Saxon culture, can only be explained within the context of the previous discovery and acceptance of the classicist works of Goethe and Schiller, their European intermediaries, and the idealist positions of some American authors.
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Citation: Hoffmeister, Gerhart. "Novalis's reception among New England's Romantic poets". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 02 January 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19333, accessed 09 June 2026.]
