SOURCE: "The Unknown Kierkegaard: Twentieth-Century Receptions," in The Cambridge Companion to Kierkegaard, edited by Alastair Hannay and Gordon D. Marino, Cambridge University Press, 1998, pp. 48-75.

In the following essay, Poole surveys the treatment Kierkegaard has received at the hands of contemporary and modern critics. Additionally, Poole outlines the characteristics of Kierkegaard's "indirect communication " and comments on how this indirect approach has contributed to misreadings of the philosopher.

Søren Kierkegaard wrote his books for "that individual, whom with joy and gratitude, I call my reader." He opposed the ruling philosophical system of his day, despised lecturers and professors almost as much as paid churchmen, entered into dispute with his entire home town, and regarded having a disciple as the worst fate that could ever befall him. His books were written in an ironic, sophisticated, parodic style that allowed of no clear position for the reader and allowed of...