Spektrum Iran

Abstract This article discusses some aspects of Henry Corbin’s engagement with the
Shiite tradition. This will be achieved primarily on the basis of four thematic
complexes. First, the basic concern of Corbin’s work will be outlined in
general; then his phenomenological-hermeneutic method will be discussed.
Subsequently, Corbin’s creative understanding of tradition will be
illuminated and the typology of Shiite spirituality, which can be
reconstructed from his works, will be presented. Only against this
background the question can be answered, what Corbin saw in the Shia and
why he was attracted to Shiite religiosity in such an extraordinary way.

Abstract This essay examines the reception of Persian poetry by the German philosopher and poet Friedrich Georg Jünger (1898-1977). This reception is relevant for a work-immanent interpretation of Jünger’s thoughts on poetry as well as in the sense of a (so far neglected) chapter in the history of the reception of Persian poetry in the German-speaking world. Jünger’s preoccupation with Persian poetry is focused on three main poets, namely Omar Khayyam, Saadi, and Hafiz, for whom Jünger showed the greatest admiration. After a historical-biographical localization of the topic, Jünger’s reception of these poets will be outlined in terms of content; not least, their influence on Jünger’s own poetical work will be examined. It will be shown how Jünger was particularly inspired by Hafiz, both in his theoretical reflections on the essence of poetry and in the composition of some of his own cycles of poems.