Prefatory Postscript

Abstract

This conclusion reiterates the importance of Heine as both a canonical and a worldly writer and illustrates this view in the analyses of selected modern critics. It also briefly compares Heine’s work as a cultural innovator; forerunner of new journalism; philosophical travel writer; art critic; flâneur; theorist of the metropolis; feuilletonist; and modern allegoricist, with the works of modern writers of exile and diasporas. At certain times and certain places—as in the Spain of the Generation of 1898, struggling to keep pace with modernity—Heine became a beacon of hope for progressive groups. Because the Nazis had tarnished his name, his international stature and the monumental role he had played in a world literary context suffered. This postscript ends on a plea for further work in comparative studies, in general, and more comparative readings of Heine in a world literary context, in particular.