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Heidegger borrows the concept of the figure of the poet from poetry as well. According to his interpretation of Hölderlin's poem As on a Holiday, the poets receive "gestures' or "hints' (Winken) from the gods, which they bring further to the people. Heidegger states that the founding of being is bound to the gestures of the gods, while the founding is at once the interpretation of the voice of the people. This means that the historical essence of a people is spoken by the gods. The origins of language therefore transcend human subjectivity and finitude. Poetry is an essential naming. However, the essence of that essential naming cannot itself be named. In accordance with Hölderlin's phrase "holy names are lacking", Heidegger argues that poetic singing remains a song without words, since it lacks the genuine, naming word as in pure "lyre-music". Its prosody and attunement thus remain central to this naming.

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-78072-6_14

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