"We are now completely / yes, more than completely devastated!" The sonnet "Tears of the Fatherland," from 1636, from which this line originates, initially bore the title "Lament of the Devastated Germany" and is probably the most famous poem by Andreas Gryphius. The poet of war lament and transience, who experienced the sufferings of the Thirty Years' War and the confessional strife firsthand and was able to capture them in impressive, powerful imagery, is undoubtedly alongside Grimmelshausen the most significant voice in the literature of 17th century Germany. The newly conceived selection from the lyrical oeuvre provides a representative overview.