Originally published in 1938 and updated in 1962, this remains one of the few comprehensive studies of the German lyric in any language, ranging from the Middle Ages to the 1960s. By the use of detailed critical analysis the book interprets the essence of German lyric poetry and includes a study of the phases of German literature in the first half of the 20th Century.

MLN pioneered the introduction of contemporary continental criticism into American scholarship. Critical studies in the modern languages--Italian, Hispanic, German, French--and recent work in comparative literature are the basis for articles and notes in MLN. Four single-language issues and one comparative literature issue are published each year.