Abstract
In the German Romantic approach to poetics pioneered by Friedrich Schlegel, traditional linear deduction is replaced by a circular, intersecting hermeneutic cycle in which poetic philosophy unfolds in fragments. Through this distinctive mode of writing, Schlegel seeks to demonstrate that the constructive metaphor arising from by the interplay of multiple paradigmatic ideas reveals a continuous process: the mutual affirmation of individual fragments. This process leads to an indefinite approximation of “true love” as truth forming a non-systemic systematicity. This Romantic system of fragmentation is as organic and harmonious as nature or music. Yet, unlike the dialectical unity found in idealism, the differentiated Romantic individual can never attain systemic inevitability within the modern flow of fragmentation. This very inaccessibility, or non-closure, is where a greater hope lies, embedded in modernism's infinite perspective. In this sense, the early Romantics' quest for systemic truth becomes an effort toward aesthetic modernity that infinitely approaches the fragmented system.
Keywords
early Romantics, Schlegel, fragmented system, organicism, aesthetic modernity
First Page
45
Last Page
53
Recommended Citation
Huang, Jiang. 2025. "Infinite Approximation to the Fragmented System——Early Romantic Attempts at Aesthetic Modernity in Schlegel's Fragmented Writing." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 45, (3): pp.45-53. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol45/iss3/5
