Det ophøjede i dansk romantik og en figurativ-filosofisk vurdering af Jens Baggesen og Schack von Staffeldts digterdyst

This article surveys the sublime in Danish romantic literature as well as its partly neglected reception by scholars of Danish Romanticism. Theoretically, it is argued that there has been a tendency to focus either on the sublime’s philosophical implications (citing Immanuel Kant) or on the rhetorical figures and tropes of the sublime (“Longinus”). In the article, it is claimed that a comprehensive understanding of the sublime needs to address both its rhetorical dimension (going back to “Longinus”) and Kant’s philosophy of the sublime in the 18th Century. It is suggested that one needs to address how the philosophical content interacts with figures and tropes, when analyzing literature of the sublime. An integrated reading strategy is then exemplified in a comparative interpretation of Jens Baggesen’s poem “Paa Spidsen af St. Gottard” and Schack von Staffeldt’s poem “Paa Toppen af Mont-Cenis”. This analysis challenges the received notion that Baggesen’s poem is superior to that of Staffeldt.