Hölderlin

American  

[hœl-duhr-leen] / ˈhœl dərˌlin /

noun

1. Johann Christian Friedrich 1770–1843, German poet.

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Hölderlin British  

/ ˈhœldərliːn /

noun

1. Friedrich (ˈfriːdrɪç). 1770–1843, German lyric poet, whose works include the poems Menon's Lament for Diotima and Bread and Wine and the novel Hyperion (1797–99)

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Example Sentences

He left a biography of Hölderlin on his desk with this sentence underlined: “Sometimes this genius goes dark and sinks down into the bitter well of his heart.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

The poet Friedrich Hölderlin once wrote, "Wo aber Gefahr ist, wächst / Das Rettende auch" — "Where danger is, grows also what will save us."

From Salon • Feb. 17, 2020

The great German poet Friedrich Hölderlin wrote about the Danube, calling the river by its ancient name, Ister, and letting it flow into Greek mythology.

From New York Times • Feb. 12, 2020

Henze connected the symphony to the life of Friedrich Hölderlin, a poet who had a mental breakdown in Tübingen, living his last 36 years in a tower room overlooking the Neckar river.

From Washington Post • Aug. 25, 2016

In other words, Heine betrays a lack of will-energy along artistic lines, which in the case of Hölderlin and Lenau was more evident in their attitude toward the practical things of life.

From Types of Weltschmerz in German Poetry by Braun, Wilhelm Alfred