Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View
Hölderlin often has idealistic and romantic speakers in his poetry.
Form and Meter
Hölderlin often didn't use a meter in his poetry, and was also drawn to classical Greek forms.
Metaphors and Similes
The poet describes how a breeze gently touches someone "as the fingers of a musician play on otherworldly strings."
Alliteration and Assonance
"The land hangs in the lake."
Irony
Although the poet arguably rejected a strict view of conventional religion, God and faith are crucial themes in his poetry.
Genre
German Romanticism
Setting
Many of his poems are set in nature/ pastoral settings.
Tone
His poetry has a romantic and philosophical tone.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The speaker is often the protagonist, faced with various antagonistic forces.
Major Conflict
Hölderlin's conflicts are often about a sense of identity.
Climax
In "The Middle of Life," the climax is when the speaker asks what he will do in winter when the beauty of nature dies.
Foreshadowing
In "The Death of Empedocles," the death of the philosopher is foreshadowed in the title.
Understatement
Hölderlin suggests that conventional religion understates the personal quality of faith.
Allusions
The poet alludes to Empedocles, an ancient Greek philosopher.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
"God’s shining breeze gently touch you."
Hyperbole
"Quite frankly, it sings most forcefully of flowers."
Onomatopoeia
N/A
