The origin is the destination

The preface to The Origin of German Tragic Drama, that “unbridled chutzpah”, as Benjamin himself described it, is today considered one of the most challenging philosophical texts of the last century. The reason for this is its experimental form, which sits on the borderline between a mosaic, montage, collage and an assemblage of ideas, metaphors, aphorisms and quotations. In a small space, however, it also unfolds a range of philosophical themes the size of an albatross's wingspan. We therefore present the reader with a detailed guide to this labyrinth. The commentary follows the text of the preface sentence by sentence, word by word, but at the same time constantly returns to the main theme: the question of origin in a modern era focused on originality.