Sehnsucht? The German word is rich with emotional and imaginative associations, famously described by the poet Matthew Arnold as a "wistful, soft, tearful longing." And what of the "Blue Flower"? Leading German Romantic writers, such as Novalis {1772–1801} and Joseph von Eichendorff {1788–1857}, used the image of a "Blue Flower" as a symbol of the wanderings and yearnings of the human soul, especially as this sense of longing is evoked-though not satisfied-by the natural world.
( Alister E. McGrath )
[ C. S. Lewis: A Life: Eccentric ]
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