‘NICHTS ALS DIE HÖLLENFAHRT DER SELBSTERKÄNNTNIS BAHNT UNS DEN WEG ZUR VERGÖTTERUNG.’ HAMANN'S CONCEPT OF LITERATURE AS SELF‐REFLECTION

ABSTRACT This article presents a conception of literature as self‐reflection, derived from the writings of Johann Georg Hamann (1730–88). Starting from an intertextual analysis of Hamann's statements on self‐knowledge as a descent into hell that paves the way to divinisation, the article presents Hamann's intertextual writing practice (‘neuer Begriff der Gabe der Sprachen’) as oriented towards the reader's self‐knowledge through satirically and theologically marked self‐reference to the text ( applicatio ad vitam ) and the transformation of life and thought brought about by their confrontation with a multiplicity of texts that cause confusion and indicate the limits of knowledge and understanding.