This study purports to make a philosophical interpretation of Celan's work starting with his writing of Speech-Grille. Based on the fact of his familiarity with negative theology, an interpretive model is configured based on Adorno's concept of variation. Celan's The Meridian is explored, as it provides insights both into his reasons for adopting negative theology as a framework for the preservation of poetry and language in the context of the post-Auschwitz crisis of intellectual life, and also on keys to understanding his incorporation of philosophical notions into poetic creation. The concept of ‘negative writing’ is introduced to describe the various rhetorical mechanisms imported from negative theology into Celan's poetry which have resulted on its being seen as unexplainably hermetic. Finally, it is suggested, a somewhat less hermetic and almost prophetic vision is offered in poems such as Etched-Away, a particularly poignant turn in view of Celan's eventual suicide.