Recent research has extensively outlined which literary works and literary-critical discourses since the 18th century have contributed to the formation of the prose poem in France. Therefore, the approach of this German- and French-language anthology cannot be to repeat these findings; rather, it aims to discuss their implications for literary historiography: Is it even possible to capture that long-term development, during which the boundaries between verse, poem, and prose have blurred, through a coherent literary-historical narrative? Does the emergence of the modern prose poem represent a clear break, or is it part of a long development of poetic reflection? What would a more comprehensive historical interpretation look like that would include other hybrid forms of lyric, verse, and prose? What criteria would it need to meet?.