Description: This volume identifies twelve major poems in the history of German literature and places them firmly in their literary historical context. These 'landmarks' are in three categories: either they are simply great achievements; or they represent turning points, after which poets had to address their genre in different ways; or they are works which embody the major characteristics of a particular period. Although not conceived as such, the volume may be seen to provide an outline history of German poetry from the Middle Ages to post-1945. The contributors, drawn from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, are all specialists in the particular field they address.
