This paper introduces Hegel's theory of poetry as a linguistic construction in which man's essence and existence in the world converge. This convergence finds its objective expression in the epic, its subjective expression in the lyric, and the union of freedom and objectivity in drama. The dramatic... Full description

This paper introduces Hegel's theory of poetry as a linguistic construction in which man's essence and existence in the world converge. This convergence finds its objective expression in the epic, its subjective expression in the lyric, and the union of freedom and objectivity in drama. The dramatic encounter of the subject's freedom and the world's objectivity achieves its highest transparency in the tragic conflict, which has assumed two main historical forms: the Classical Greek tragedy and the Romantic Modern Drama. Focusing on the specificity of these two forms of the tragic conflict, the essay carries out a reflection on tragedy in general as the artistic form that reveals the precarious greatness of men in the world. On the basis of this reflection, the paper outlines a critique of Hegel's conception of the surpassing of poetry by philosophy, by claiming for the language of the latter the effort of making essence and existence converge by assuming the contingency and finitude, which tragic poetry, especially in its modern form, shows to be constitutive of our historical being in the world.