Andreas Gryphius: Poet Between Epochs (Canadian Studies in German Language & Literature)

It is the purpose of the present study to point out principles at work in Gryphius' poetry that allow the reader to think in terms of two basic main themes: that of Gryphius as a meditative poet involved with the arrangement of sequences of sonnets, and that of Gryphius as a poet attempting to work by analogy. The conclusion suggests that this poet may be seen as a transitional figure who holds in quasi-equipoise those forces of change that within a few years bring about the transformation from the medieval and Renaissance modes of thinking into that of the modern world.