«Am anfang aller Neuen Dichtung». Tre poesie incipitarie in George

George’s poetry is rich in metatextual strategies. The way he strategically places his lyrics in collections mirrors the programmatic natureof the texts. Bearing this in mind, the given study analyzes the lyrics that open the Hymnen (1890), Das Jahr der Seele (1897) and Der Teppich des Lebens (1900). The three lyrics share a symbolic representation of the poetic writing ritual. In his meeting with the enigmatic «herrin», in his walks in the autumn park or in the angel’s descent, George stages his strategies of the aestheticization of reality, which lie at the very core of his conception of poetry