<!doctype html public «-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en»> http-equiv=content-type> Hölderlin’s Ode Empedocles has never before been the subject of a study comparing its intrinsic literary value to dramatic undertakings with the same name. For the first time, this study provides an accurate textual interpretation along with a new edition of the work that includes all original sources. The basic reflections on poetic methods and metrics interconnect with Hölderin’s theoretical ideas about “poetic individuality.”