The founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, repeatedly drew on literary works in the development of his theories and referred to poets as valuable allies. Freud also engaged with fantastic literature, particularly in his brilliant 1919 essay "The Uncanny." He examines German romantic literature, notably E.T.A. Hoffmann, and arrives at the astonishing insight that the uncanny is only what was once familiar to us, thus native. Less known in the German-speaking world, Freud's essay is considered the central text for understanding literary fantasy in the Anglo-Saxon world.