Hermeneutics, defined as the theory of understanding and interpretation, has become a major concern for literary criticism in recent years. This study attempts to illustrate the natural connection of hermeneutics to literature through the interpretations of selected 19th century literary texts. Although hermeneutics has been presented traditionally in the context of the German philosophical tradition from Schleiermacher to Gadamer, these works show a sophisticated awareness of the categories of language and understanding which parallels and even supercedes concurrent trends in philosophical hermeneutics.