Biography Category
Name :
Goethe
Date :
Views :
470
Category :
Birth Date :
28/08/1749
Birth Place :
Frankfurt, Germany
Death Date :
MARCH 22, 1832
Not Available
The Man Of Letters
Noble be man,
Helpful and good!
For that alone
Sets him apart
From every other creature
On earth.
The originator of such a poetic definition of an ideal human being was born in the 18th century. He was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. On the day of August 28, 1749, he was born as the first child of Johann Caspar Goethe, and Katherine Elizabeth Textor. His family was residing in Frankfurt am Main, Germany and was a well-to-do family.
Childhood
Goethe had a luxurious childhood. He was greatly influenced by his mother, who was a daughter of the mayor of Frankfurt. She was instrumental in development of Johann’s literary aspirations. His father was a retired lawyer. He was of north German origin and spent his spare time in visiting the neighboring countries like Italy. In Goethe’s well-furnished house, there was a well-stocked library and an art and picture gallery.
As a child, he was not exactly an 'author-in-making', but was quite quick-witted and he excelled in creating and telling stories to his companions and friends. He was appreciated for his story, The New Paris, which found mention in his autobiography. He was also very fond of games and he ratained this characteristic all through his life. The child-like innocence always remained in him. One of his childhood play was the puppet theatre, a gift from his grandmother, the puppet theatre that got famous with Wilhelm Meister.
His Father
Eighteenth-century Germany was divided into small duchies – counties, and cities. But Frankfurt, in spite of many narrow aspects of its life, was quiet a free city of Europe. It had a wider horizon and liberal atmosphere than other European cities of its time. Johann’s father, a tailor’s son, who got the title of Imperial Councilor, reconstructed a beautiful house in the midst of the city. In this house, Johann spent his youthful days. He found his father to be very studious and all too fond of teaching. The element of irony in his works was rooted in the fact that his father was excessively fond of teaching and preaching morals which found due reflection in all his works. In Goethe’s words, his father had a ‘very tender heart, externally maintained, an iron-clad severity.’ Goethe Sr was quite an inflexible person and was a disciplinarian.
Education
Young Johann’s imagination took refuge in the fact that his father had a zeal for education when he tried to invent a story about a dispersed family whose members corresponded with each other in French, Latin, Italian, and Greek. Goethe could write in all these languages.
The characteristics of Goethe’s personality were developed from his inner circle of his childhood: a strict father, a loving younger sister Cornelia, and a pleasing mother – his loving family. Johann was affectionate to his mother, whose only two of six children had survived infancy. This bond of affection grew stronger as his father withdrew himself into more and more demanding legal profession, making him self-centered and isolated from rest of his family.
During his childhood, he set an emotional bond with his sister Cornelia, which found expression in the numerous portrayals of brother-sister relationship, in his later works.
His education depended entirely on private tutors. Though the teaching never went on systematically, it made him aware of a treasure in his own home - his father's library. He made use of almost each and every volume to enrich his knowledge about various subjects like geography by the display of travel books, maps, etc. Johann himself, at a later age used his library to share knowledge. His favorite book was Johann Amos Comenius' Orbis Pictus. Even at that age, he was appealed by the pictorial images presented in the book.
His obsession with neat and good handwriting is legendary. Even his father described him as the Magister artis scribendi. He always emphasized on making carefully drawn handwritings, so much so that he detested to open letters with unclean handwritings. On the other hand, he never paid heed to spellings, punctuation and grammar. In fact, he found grammar rules 'ridiculous'.
Young Johann used to engage himself into lively dialogues with his Latin teacher. This must have been helpful later when the masterpieces like Faust were written.
Johann was a child raised in aristocracy and he enjoyed his distinguished isolation. Once, for a short period, he was put into a class where other pupils were also present. They tried to bully Johann and this enraged him to the extent that one day, he caught hold of the 'coarse' boys and warned them seriously against any such tormenting in future. Trying hard, the boys could not manage to release themselves from his infuriated clutch. He enjoyed ruling over other boys of his age. This resulted in having very few friends in his childhood
Higher Education
Johann was sent to study law at the University of Leipzig in October of 1765. A 16 years old boy entered the ‘little Paris’, then a leading cultural center. Goethe later described the city in Faust. The world of elegance and fashion made the young provincial feel like ‘a fish out of water.’ Here, he began creating his earlier poems and writings. In Leipzig, he suffered from severe illness. So by the autumn of 1768 he returned home. Soon after his arrival at Weimar, he began to develop his own revolutionary base toward a way of living and an art of writing. He studied alchemy, astrology, and philosophy, knowledge of which left indelible mark on his magnum opus Faust. In 1770, he joined the University of Strassburg. The most auspicious moment of Goethe’s Sturm and Drang era occurred at Strassburg. Here, he found Johann Gottfried Herder, who later assisted Goethe in developing his creative genius. Herder was five years older than Goethe. He was famous as a critic and scholar, rather than a poet. Goethe, for the next four years practiced law with his father. He also wrote two poems May Song and Welcome and Farewell, which are epoch making, heralding a new approach to German lyric.
First Love
The celebrated lyrics were inspired by one of his early loves, Friederike Brion, the daughter of the pastor of Sesenheim. He was introduced to the pastor's family by his friend Weyland. The Brion family was known for its generosity and fun-loving nature. Just to satisfy his curiosity, Johann visited them as a poor theological student. The pastor family welcomed him in and soon he was adopted as a student. There, he was introduced to the pastor's pretty daughter, Friederike. They spent the entire day together, enjoying the pastoral beauty and chatting. Next morning Johann appeared before them as 'Herr Goethe', as his original self. He was accepted in the family whom he visited very regularly. In his later visits they sometimes took shelter in some fishermen's huts from where they were soon driven away by gnats. Though they were having a great time together, the idea of marriage never occurred to him. When his father insisted upon he finishing his doctorate, the heavenly lovestory came to an unwelcome end.
Goethe immortalized Friederike and her liveliness in Dichtung und Wahrheit and in various other poems. About a 100 years later the lovestory was presented in form of an operetta called Friederike.
In his youth, Goethe was very emotional, and this was the reason why he was feeling fearful at times.
Storm And Stress
During the Sturm and Drang (Storm and Stress), a movement for literary liberty, he was recognized as a leading figure. His poem Prothemeus, with its insistence that a person must believe in himself and not in God, became the motto for the whole Sturm and Drang movement.
In 1774, he published his first novel Die Leiden des Jungen Werthers [The Sorrow of Young Werther]. It was inspired by his hopeless affair with Charlotte Buff, another temporary interest. The poetic transfiguration of this love episode crossed the horizons of international success, very fast.
After the publication of his first novel, he went to Switzerland. Soon after a relaxing trip, he was invited by Duke Karl August into the small court of Weimar, where he held numerous high office positions till 1786. Going to Weimar was a major turning point in Goethe’s life. He remained there, despite Napoleon Bonaparte’s invitation to Paris, until his (Goethe) death. During this period, he hardly wrote anything worth mentioning.
The Weimer Affair
At Weimer, he came in touch with Charlotte von Stein, a married woman with seven children. But these things never hindered Goethe's sincere affection for her and he always admired her. It was the first time, that Goethe found himself a person to match his intellect. He addressed many a poems to her and wrote him letters for over 50 long years. He wrote around 1,500 letters to her during his lifetime.
She was a friend, philosopher, guide, and above all an inspiring figure for him. During those years, he wrote mysterious and wonderful lyrics on Charlotte von Stein. Their relationship turned out to be purely platonic in nature. But at the end Goethe left for Italy leaving the fate to decide the course of his life.
Marriage
Goethe who was also interested in science, had during his scientific researches discovered the existence of human inter maxillary bone and formulated the vertebral theory of skull, in the year 1784.
The next two years were spent in Italy. This journey inspired him to write Iphigenie auf tauris and Romishe Elegien. These sensuous poems were more or less inspired by Christiane Vulpius, who became Goethe’s mistress in 1789. He met Christiane in a public park near Rome. The beautiful girl attracted the poet and he took her home. He did not marry her until 1806.
Concentrated On Writing
The journey to Italy significantly influenced his developing commitment to the classical view of art. It also brought to an end his emotional dependence on Charlotte. Now Goethe retired himself from day-to-day governmental duties to concentrate on writing. Although he remained as a general supervisor for arts and sciences and he also worked as a director of the court theaters during 1791 to 1817.
Producing The Masterpieces
Goethe had realized that he was an ‘artist’ and resolved to dedicate the rest of his life to writing. During this period, Christiane Vulpius bore him a son in 1789. Goethe finally married her in 1806, to legitimize the child.
From 1794 to 1805, he spent much of his time at Jena, where he developed an intimate friendship with Fredric Sehiller. This union is regarded today as a high point in German literature. Goethe’s creative power reached its peak during his sixties and seventies. He wrote many writings of which Faust and Wilhelm Meister were the most important works created during these two decades.
Last Days
He continued the active contribution of his intuition and pursued it to the very end. He wrote five days before his death, "I have nothing more important to do than to enhance as much as possible that which is and remains in me and to distill my properties."
Goethe lived in his age with all vitality and verve. He was aware of the needs of his time and he went beyond to achieve all that he sought to achieve. He took his last breath at the age of 83 in Weimar, on March 22, 1832, after a short illness. He was buried in the Prince’s Vault on March 26 near the grave of Schiller, who had died over a quarter of century earlier. The Goethe House and Schiller House, memorials constructed in their memories are still maintained in the town, and outside the National Theatre. The statues of these two literary giants remind the world of their immortal creations. Goethe departed, leaving a wealth of literature for generations to inspire and seek as to what he knew and sought to be ‘of a still distant future.’
Noble be man,
Helpful and good!
For that alone
Sets him apart
From every other creature
On earth.
The originator of such a poetic definition of an ideal human being was born in the 18th century. He was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. On the day of August 28, 1749, he was born as the first child of Johann Caspar Goethe, and Katherine Elizabeth Textor. His family was residing in Frankfurt am Main, Germany and was a well-to-do family.
Childhood
Goethe had a luxurious childhood. He was greatly influenced by his mother, who was a daughter of the mayor of Frankfurt. She was instrumental in development of Johann’s literary aspirations. His father was a retired lawyer. He was of north German origin and spent his spare time in visiting the neighboring countries like Italy. In Goethe’s well-furnished house, there was a well-stocked library and an art and picture gallery.
As a child, he was not exactly an 'author-in-making', but was quite quick-witted and he excelled in creating and telling stories to his companions and friends. He was appreciated for his story, The New Paris, which found mention in his autobiography. He was also very fond of games and he ratained this characteristic all through his life. The child-like innocence always remained in him. One of his childhood play was the puppet theatre, a gift from his grandmother, the puppet theatre that got famous with Wilhelm Meister.
His Father
Eighteenth-century Germany was divided into small duchies – counties, and cities. But Frankfurt, in spite of many narrow aspects of its life, was quiet a free city of Europe. It had a wider horizon and liberal atmosphere than other European cities of its time. Johann’s father, a tailor’s son, who got the title of Imperial Councilor, reconstructed a beautiful house in the midst of the city. In this house, Johann spent his youthful days. He found his father to be very studious and all too fond of teaching. The element of irony in his works was rooted in the fact that his father was excessively fond of teaching and preaching morals which found due reflection in all his works. In Goethe’s words, his father had a ‘very tender heart, externally maintained, an iron-clad severity.’ Goethe Sr was quite an inflexible person and was a disciplinarian.
Education
Young Johann’s imagination took refuge in the fact that his father had a zeal for education when he tried to invent a story about a dispersed family whose members corresponded with each other in French, Latin, Italian, and Greek. Goethe could write in all these languages.
The characteristics of Goethe’s personality were developed from his inner circle of his childhood: a strict father, a loving younger sister Cornelia, and a pleasing mother – his loving family. Johann was affectionate to his mother, whose only two of six children had survived infancy. This bond of affection grew stronger as his father withdrew himself into more and more demanding legal profession, making him self-centered and isolated from rest of his family.
During his childhood, he set an emotional bond with his sister Cornelia, which found expression in the numerous portrayals of brother-sister relationship, in his later works.
His education depended entirely on private tutors. Though the teaching never went on systematically, it made him aware of a treasure in his own home - his father's library. He made use of almost each and every volume to enrich his knowledge about various subjects like geography by the display of travel books, maps, etc. Johann himself, at a later age used his library to share knowledge. His favorite book was Johann Amos Comenius' Orbis Pictus. Even at that age, he was appealed by the pictorial images presented in the book.
His obsession with neat and good handwriting is legendary. Even his father described him as the Magister artis scribendi. He always emphasized on making carefully drawn handwritings, so much so that he detested to open letters with unclean handwritings. On the other hand, he never paid heed to spellings, punctuation and grammar. In fact, he found grammar rules 'ridiculous'.
Young Johann used to engage himself into lively dialogues with his Latin teacher. This must have been helpful later when the masterpieces like Faust were written.
Johann was a child raised in aristocracy and he enjoyed his distinguished isolation. Once, for a short period, he was put into a class where other pupils were also present. They tried to bully Johann and this enraged him to the extent that one day, he caught hold of the 'coarse' boys and warned them seriously against any such tormenting in future. Trying hard, the boys could not manage to release themselves from his infuriated clutch. He enjoyed ruling over other boys of his age. This resulted in having very few friends in his childhood
Higher Education
Johann was sent to study law at the University of Leipzig in October of 1765. A 16 years old boy entered the ‘little Paris’, then a leading cultural center. Goethe later described the city in Faust. The world of elegance and fashion made the young provincial feel like ‘a fish out of water.’ Here, he began creating his earlier poems and writings. In Leipzig, he suffered from severe illness. So by the autumn of 1768 he returned home. Soon after his arrival at Weimar, he began to develop his own revolutionary base toward a way of living and an art of writing. He studied alchemy, astrology, and philosophy, knowledge of which left indelible mark on his magnum opus Faust. In 1770, he joined the University of Strassburg. The most auspicious moment of Goethe’s Sturm and Drang era occurred at Strassburg. Here, he found Johann Gottfried Herder, who later assisted Goethe in developing his creative genius. Herder was five years older than Goethe. He was famous as a critic and scholar, rather than a poet. Goethe, for the next four years practiced law with his father. He also wrote two poems May Song and Welcome and Farewell, which are epoch making, heralding a new approach to German lyric.
First Love
The celebrated lyrics were inspired by one of his early loves, Friederike Brion, the daughter of the pastor of Sesenheim. He was introduced to the pastor's family by his friend Weyland. The Brion family was known for its generosity and fun-loving nature. Just to satisfy his curiosity, Johann visited them as a poor theological student. The pastor family welcomed him in and soon he was adopted as a student. There, he was introduced to the pastor's pretty daughter, Friederike. They spent the entire day together, enjoying the pastoral beauty and chatting. Next morning Johann appeared before them as 'Herr Goethe', as his original self. He was accepted in the family whom he visited very regularly. In his later visits they sometimes took shelter in some fishermen's huts from where they were soon driven away by gnats. Though they were having a great time together, the idea of marriage never occurred to him. When his father insisted upon he finishing his doctorate, the heavenly lovestory came to an unwelcome end.
Goethe immortalized Friederike and her liveliness in Dichtung und Wahrheit and in various other poems. About a 100 years later the lovestory was presented in form of an operetta called Friederike.
In his youth, Goethe was very emotional, and this was the reason why he was feeling fearful at times.
Storm And Stress
During the Sturm and Drang (Storm and Stress), a movement for literary liberty, he was recognized as a leading figure. His poem Prothemeus, with its insistence that a person must believe in himself and not in God, became the motto for the whole Sturm and Drang movement.
In 1774, he published his first novel Die Leiden des Jungen Werthers [The Sorrow of Young Werther]. It was inspired by his hopeless affair with Charlotte Buff, another temporary interest. The poetic transfiguration of this love episode crossed the horizons of international success, very fast.
After the publication of his first novel, he went to Switzerland. Soon after a relaxing trip, he was invited by Duke Karl August into the small court of Weimar, where he held numerous high office positions till 1786. Going to Weimar was a major turning point in Goethe’s life. He remained there, despite Napoleon Bonaparte’s invitation to Paris, until his (Goethe) death. During this period, he hardly wrote anything worth mentioning.
The Weimer Affair
At Weimer, he came in touch with Charlotte von Stein, a married woman with seven children. But these things never hindered Goethe's sincere affection for her and he always admired her. It was the first time, that Goethe found himself a person to match his intellect. He addressed many a poems to her and wrote him letters for over 50 long years. He wrote around 1,500 letters to her during his lifetime.
She was a friend, philosopher, guide, and above all an inspiring figure for him. During those years, he wrote mysterious and wonderful lyrics on Charlotte von Stein. Their relationship turned out to be purely platonic in nature. But at the end Goethe left for Italy leaving the fate to decide the course of his life.
Marriage
Goethe who was also interested in science, had during his scientific researches discovered the existence of human inter maxillary bone and formulated the vertebral theory of skull, in the year 1784.
The next two years were spent in Italy. This journey inspired him to write Iphigenie auf tauris and Romishe Elegien. These sensuous poems were more or less inspired by Christiane Vulpius, who became Goethe’s mistress in 1789. He met Christiane in a public park near Rome. The beautiful girl attracted the poet and he took her home. He did not marry her until 1806.
Concentrated On Writing
The journey to Italy significantly influenced his developing commitment to the classical view of art. It also brought to an end his emotional dependence on Charlotte. Now Goethe retired himself from day-to-day governmental duties to concentrate on writing. Although he remained as a general supervisor for arts and sciences and he also worked as a director of the court theaters during 1791 to 1817.
Producing The Masterpieces
Goethe had realized that he was an ‘artist’ and resolved to dedicate the rest of his life to writing. During this period, Christiane Vulpius bore him a son in 1789. Goethe finally married her in 1806, to legitimize the child.
From 1794 to 1805, he spent much of his time at Jena, where he developed an intimate friendship with Fredric Sehiller. This union is regarded today as a high point in German literature. Goethe’s creative power reached its peak during his sixties and seventies. He wrote many writings of which Faust and Wilhelm Meister were the most important works created during these two decades.
Last Days
He continued the active contribution of his intuition and pursued it to the very end. He wrote five days before his death, "I have nothing more important to do than to enhance as much as possible that which is and remains in me and to distill my properties."
Goethe lived in his age with all vitality and verve. He was aware of the needs of his time and he went beyond to achieve all that he sought to achieve. He took his last breath at the age of 83 in Weimar, on March 22, 1832, after a short illness. He was buried in the Prince’s Vault on March 26 near the grave of Schiller, who had died over a quarter of century earlier. The Goethe House and Schiller House, memorials constructed in their memories are still maintained in the town, and outside the National Theatre. The statues of these two literary giants remind the world of their immortal creations. Goethe departed, leaving a wealth of literature for generations to inspire and seek as to what he knew and sought to be ‘of a still distant future.’
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe [ 1749 - 1832]
One of the masters of the world literature, Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe was the last European poet who possessed the revolutionary qualities of the great Renaissance personalities. He was a critic, journalist, painter, statesman, educationist, philosopher, and apart from all this, a theatre manager too! The variety, depth and quality of his output were in itself, stupendous.
The German poet’s entire life is a mirrored showcase of human existence through which a reader can find respite and peace in understanding himself in order to gain access to inner wealth of knowledge and moral courage. No other poet has left behind such a rich legacy in literature that gives invaluable insight into Goethean ideas, experiences and actions.
Goethe’s literary, scientific and philosophical contribution, his revolutionary ideas and activities, and his intimacy towards the relations based on friendship and love give us insight into this great literary figure.
Today, he is known by his poetic dramas Faust and Wilhelm Meister in the world of literature. A timeless figure in the history of Western thought, Goethe truly belongs to the entire world. From the treasure trove of his literary wisdom, generations to come will be able to seek solutions to address their pressing problems.
One of the masters of the world literature, Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe was the last European poet who possessed the revolutionary qualities of the great Renaissance personalities. He was a critic, journalist, painter, statesman, educationist, philosopher, and apart from all this, a theatre manager too! The variety, depth and quality of his output were in itself, stupendous.
The German poet’s entire life is a mirrored showcase of human existence through which a reader can find respite and peace in understanding himself in order to gain access to inner wealth of knowledge and moral courage. No other poet has left behind such a rich legacy in literature that gives invaluable insight into Goethean ideas, experiences and actions.
Goethe’s literary, scientific and philosophical contribution, his revolutionary ideas and activities, and his intimacy towards the relations based on friendship and love give us insight into this great literary figure.
Today, he is known by his poetic dramas Faust and Wilhelm Meister in the world of literature. A timeless figure in the history of Western thought, Goethe truly belongs to the entire world. From the treasure trove of his literary wisdom, generations to come will be able to seek solutions to address their pressing problems.
AUGUST 28, 1749 Birth of Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe in Frankfurt, Germany.
1750 Birth of sister Cornelia.
1755 Started education under private tutors.
OCTOBER 1765 He began studying Law at Leipzig University.
1767 Wrote his first play, The Lover’s Caprice.
1770 Resumed his studies in Strassburg.
1771 Became Licentiate of Law.
1771-72 He practiced law in Frankfurt and later in Wetzlar.
1774 Publication of his first novel Die Leiden des Jungen Werthers (The sorrow of Yong Werther).
NOVEMBER 1775 He went to Weimar at the invitation of the Duke Karl August.
1776 He was appointed Member of the Council.
1784 Discovered the existence of the human inter maxillary bone.
1789 Birth of Goethe’s son August.
1790 Journeyed again to Italy.
1794 Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship completed. Started friendship with Friedrich Schiller.
1805 Death of Schiller.
1806 Married Christiane Vulpius, who had been his mistress for 18 years.
1808 He wrote Faust, Part I.
Met Napoleon Bonaparte at the Congress in Erfurt.
1812 Met the Empress Maria Ludovica of Austria and Beethoven.
1816 His wife, Christiane, died. He started periodical Kunst und Alterthum, which was in publication until his death.
1817 Was dismissed from the Post of Director at the Court theatre.
He started periodical Zur Naturwissenschaft, which was in publication for eight years.
1821 - 29 Wrote Wilhelm Meister.
1831 Completed Faust, Part II.
MARCH 22, 1832 Goethe died at Weimar.
1750 Birth of sister Cornelia.
1755 Started education under private tutors.
OCTOBER 1765 He began studying Law at Leipzig University.
1767 Wrote his first play, The Lover’s Caprice.
1770 Resumed his studies in Strassburg.
1771 Became Licentiate of Law.
1771-72 He practiced law in Frankfurt and later in Wetzlar.
1774 Publication of his first novel Die Leiden des Jungen Werthers (The sorrow of Yong Werther).
NOVEMBER 1775 He went to Weimar at the invitation of the Duke Karl August.
1776 He was appointed Member of the Council.
1784 Discovered the existence of the human inter maxillary bone.
1789 Birth of Goethe’s son August.
1790 Journeyed again to Italy.
1794 Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship completed. Started friendship with Friedrich Schiller.
1805 Death of Schiller.
1806 Married Christiane Vulpius, who had been his mistress for 18 years.
1808 He wrote Faust, Part I.
Met Napoleon Bonaparte at the Congress in Erfurt.
1812 Met the Empress Maria Ludovica of Austria and Beethoven.
1816 His wife, Christiane, died. He started periodical Kunst und Alterthum, which was in publication until his death.
1817 Was dismissed from the Post of Director at the Court theatre.
He started periodical Zur Naturwissenschaft, which was in publication for eight years.
1821 - 29 Wrote Wilhelm Meister.
1831 Completed Faust, Part II.
MARCH 22, 1832 Goethe died at Weimar.
On Epics And Dramas Of Goethe
During his literary career, Goethe wrote innumerous epics and dramas. His resolution to live and speak out an independent religious faith found an expression in all his creations. His resoluteness made him impatient, displayed in his own actions and works. It also made him impatient with convention in spite of the tolerant tribute that he would pay to society.
The style and structure of Goethe’s epic and drama are charged by his ever-moving creative personality. The free rhythms of his poetry invoke the transcendent source of his poetic genius – the genius that gives the poet shelter and energy. Goethe’s creations possess the warmth, which nourish the theme. The themes of these epics and dramas are "pure like the heart of the waters and like the pitch of the earth".
Goethe’s creativity arises altogether with new theme at the core and develops simultaneously with its growth. Yet, all themes are scarcely compatible with the conventional patterns.
The structure and conception of Faust proved the most difficult to grasp. Its two parts, when read in isolation, does not make any sense. Only the entire Faust, grown over a period of 60 years, can convey its architecture and its true meaning.
Wilhelm Meister, same as Faust, is divided in two parts. The Novelle, charged with symbolism, introduced a new literary style.
Goethe’s autobiography ‘Poetry and Truth’ contains the history of culture and literature. Pandora is a unique composition that evades all normal rules of aesthetic.
Goethe defined art of creation as an act of cognition. To him, inner and outer nature merges through the productive coordination of his eye and his inner sense. He attains the perfection of style by surrendering himself to both, the nature and the genius within him. Like his poetry on man’s relation to time, Goethe’s dramas emphasis upon the emotional truthfulness of the self. He was a master of art that proves through his words, "Nobody is master of what is truly productive."
Faust
In Faust, Goethe has described the problems of an ordinary human being. Faust is the hero of this drama based on human existence. Faust represents glorious uncertainties, temporalities and mysteries of life. The character Faust is formed by the religious search in a human being.
Faust, unlike his creator is the typical western man. The character is a disturbed one, with two souls warring within his heart yet never exhausting. Helena, another character of Faust is a symbol not of the life-style of Greeks, but of their highest achievement to overcome the adversities of life.
Faust is often described as formless drama. Faust is divided in two parts. Part I is more realistic than part II, which is more symbolic. In this unique creation, Goethe drew an immense variety of cultural material – theological, mythological, philosophical, political, economic, scientific, musical, aesthetic and literary. By common context, Faust is one of the supreme achievements of literature.
On Epics And Dramas Of Goethe
During his literary career, Goethe wrote innumerous epics and dramas. His resolution to live and speak out an independent religious faith found an expression in all his creations. His resoluteness made him impatient, displayed in his own actions and works. It also made him impatient with convention in spite of the tolerant tribute that he would pay to society.
The style and structure of Goethe’s epic and drama are charged by his ever-moving creative personality. The free rhythms of his poetry invoke the transcendent source of his poetic genius – the genius that gives the poet shelter and energy. Goethe’s creations possess the warmth, which nourish the theme. The themes of these epics and dramas are "pure like the heart of the waters and like the pitch of the earth".
Goethe’s creativity arises altogether with new theme at the core and develops simultaneously with its growth. Yet, all themes are scarcely compatible with the conventional patterns.
The structure and conception of Faust proved the most difficult to grasp. Its two parts, when read in isolation, does not make any sense. Only the entire Faust, grown over a period of 60 years, can convey its architecture and its true meaning.
Wilhelm Meister, same as Faust, is divided in two parts. The Novelle, charged with symbolism, introduced a new literary style.
Goethe’s autobiography ‘Poetry and Truth’ contains the history of culture and literature. Pandora is a unique composition that evades all normal rules of aesthetic.
Goethe defined art of creation as an act of cognition. To him, inner and outer nature merges through the productive coordination of his eye and his inner sense. He attains the perfection of style by surrendering himself to both, the nature and the genius within him. Like his poetry on man’s relation to time, Goethe’s dramas emphasis upon the emotional truthfulness of the self. He was a master of art that proves through his words, "Nobody is master of what is truly productive."
Faust
In Faust, Goethe has described the problems of an ordinary human being. Faust is the hero of this drama based on human existence. Faust represents glorious uncertainties, temporalities and mysteries of life. The character Faust is formed by the religious search in a human being.
Faust, unlike his creator is the typical western man. The character is a disturbed one, with two souls warring within his heart yet never exhausting. Helena, another character of Faust is a symbol not of the life-style of Greeks, but of their highest achievement to overcome the adversities of life.
Faust is often described as formless drama. Faust is divided in two parts. Part I is more realistic than part II, which is more symbolic. In this unique creation, Goethe drew an immense variety of cultural material – theological, mythological, philosophical, political, economic, scientific, musical, aesthetic and literary. By common context, Faust is one of the supreme achievements of literature.
Wilhelm Meister
This novel written in two parts is a tale of a group of people possessing wisdom. The first part is Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship and the second part is Wilhelm Meister’s Travels.
Wilhelm Meister is the story of the ideal commonwealth’s emigrant. It presents an affirmative answer to a person’s desire to live a good life. With this tale Goethe enters the tradition of western thought, which Plato described as "a person’s desire for healthy life. – The Good Life".
His metaphysical thought and his perception upon the chances and limitations of human cognition formed the basis on which he majestically created Wilhelm Meister. In this epic, a person as a social being rather than as an individual is the hero. It expresses the problem of the culture not of one person but of the whole community. The tale is a mirror of Goethe’s thoughts and experiences. It describes Goethe’s view of history, his idea of the mental faculties and analysis of the contemporary age, which are the essential elements of the human life. Goethe’s creation is a transparent web with all the formative energies of his mind that create a portrait of the desirable and probable fulfillment of the potentiality of mankind.
Pandora
Both in content and in its form, Pandora was hardly understood during Goethe’s period. But today, it is undoubtedly accepted as his most classic and lyrical play. The tonal and rhythmical structure of this play makes it Goethe’s most mature and conscious masterpiece comprised of words in rhythmic form. The character of Pandora, as a mediator between man and the God re-creates the unity between the superficial and the real. This superficial world to which she returns is related through her appearance in the realm of ideal realities. In all Goethe’s creations of a new, solemn form of mythopoesis, Pandora holds the decisive place. It is the mythical play of an eternal human life. As a whole, Pandora is unique in structure. It forms a world of its own comprising the totality of existence in its basic elements. Goethe wrote this play out of serenity of mind, which arouses as in the event of a new life. The festival play, which touches the foundations of human existence is borne out of a renewal of Goethe’s creative capacity and confidence. It is an answer to the disturbing world situation of the Napoleonic era.
Goethean Science
Goethean science is a spiritual understanding of nature. It is based on Goethe’s method of training observation and idea together. Though he is generally known worldwide for his Poetry and Literature, Goethe made his major contributions to Plant Culture, in the field of Science. In this field, his two remarkable works are – The Metamorphosis of Plants and Theory of Color
Goethe’s contributions were widely acclaimed and well received. He used his morphological techniques and proved that the inter maxillary bone, which exists in animals, could also be detected in human skull. At that time, the supposed lack of this bone was considered to be an important distinguisher between a human being and an animal. Goethe’s discovery was an important one as it was put forth prior to the development of evolutionary theory of Charles Darwin.
In his Theory of Color, Goethe expressed his conception in such poetic words, ‘colors are the deeds and sufferings of light.’
Goethe was one of the earliest holistic thinkers, who emerged in Western culture. The reason was – he insisted that one had to interact with actual phenomenon and yet to divorce oneself from participation within nature, which is contrary to the method of simultaneous science, an impossible act to perform.
In his Metamorphosis of Plants, the Central theme is ‘Urpflanze’ or Primal plant. Goethe did not agree with Linneau’s idea of mere categorization of species without knowing how the vivid forms and species developed as metamorphosis of each other.
Goethe’s scientific world was revealed later in Rudolf Steiner’s anthroposophical teachings. Goethean science was found in extended form in Ernst Lehrs [Man or Matter]. This is based on spiritual science rooted in the Goethean approach, a response to the study of Natural Science.
His Memorable Writings
Some of his major works translated in English from the original German writings are:
Verves
• Das Buch Annette, 1767 [The Book Annette]
• New Lieder, 1770 [New Songs]
• Romische Elegien, 1795 [Roman Elegies]
• Venezianische Epigramme, 1790
• Epilog Zu Schillers Glocke, 1805 [Epilogue to Schiller’s Bells]
• West – Ostlicher Divan, 1819 [Divan of East and West]
Novels And Epics
• Die Leiden des jungen Werthers, 1774 [The Sorrows of Young Werther]
• Reineke Fuchs, 1794
• Unterhaltungen deutscher Ausgewanderten, 1795
• Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre, 1795-96 [Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship]
• Hermann und Dorothea, 1797
• Achilleis, 1808
• Die Wahlverwandtschaften, 1809
• Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre, 1821-29 [Wilhelm Meister’s Travels]
• Novelle, 1826
Dramas
• Die Laune des Verliebten, 1806 [The Mood of the Beloved]
• Die Mitschuldigen, 1787 [The Accomplices]
• Erwin und Elmire, 1775
• Die Geschwister, 1776 [Brother and Sister]
• Der Triumph der Empfindsamkeit, 1777-78
• Iphigenie auf Tauris, 1787
• Egmont, 1788
• Torquato Tasso, 1790
• Faust, Ein Fragment, 1790 [Faust, a Fragment]
• Faust I, 1808
• Pandoras Wiederkunft, 1808 [Pandora]
• Des Epimenides Erwachen, 1815
• Faust II, 1832
Autobiographical Works
• Dichtung und Wahrheit, 1811-12 [Poetry and Truth]
• Italienische Reise, 1816-17
• Campagne in Frankreich, 1822
• Die Belagerung von Mainz, 1822
Science
• Versuch die metamorphose der Pflanzen zu erklaren, 1790 [Metamorphosis of Plants]
• Beitrage zur Optik, 1791-92
• Zur Farbenlehre, 1810 [Theory of Color]
Criticism
• Von deutscher Baukunst, 1773
• Die Propylaen, 1798-1800
• Winkelmann und sein Jahrhundert, 1805
• Uber Kunst und Altertum, 1816-32 [Periodical
During his literary career, Goethe wrote innumerous epics and dramas. His resolution to live and speak out an independent religious faith found an expression in all his creations. His resoluteness made him impatient, displayed in his own actions and works. It also made him impatient with convention in spite of the tolerant tribute that he would pay to society.
The style and structure of Goethe’s epic and drama are charged by his ever-moving creative personality. The free rhythms of his poetry invoke the transcendent source of his poetic genius – the genius that gives the poet shelter and energy. Goethe’s creations possess the warmth, which nourish the theme. The themes of these epics and dramas are "pure like the heart of the waters and like the pitch of the earth".
Goethe’s creativity arises altogether with new theme at the core and develops simultaneously with its growth. Yet, all themes are scarcely compatible with the conventional patterns.
The structure and conception of Faust proved the most difficult to grasp. Its two parts, when read in isolation, does not make any sense. Only the entire Faust, grown over a period of 60 years, can convey its architecture and its true meaning.
Wilhelm Meister, same as Faust, is divided in two parts. The Novelle, charged with symbolism, introduced a new literary style.
Goethe’s autobiography ‘Poetry and Truth’ contains the history of culture and literature. Pandora is a unique composition that evades all normal rules of aesthetic.
Goethe defined art of creation as an act of cognition. To him, inner and outer nature merges through the productive coordination of his eye and his inner sense. He attains the perfection of style by surrendering himself to both, the nature and the genius within him. Like his poetry on man’s relation to time, Goethe’s dramas emphasis upon the emotional truthfulness of the self. He was a master of art that proves through his words, "Nobody is master of what is truly productive."
Faust
In Faust, Goethe has described the problems of an ordinary human being. Faust is the hero of this drama based on human existence. Faust represents glorious uncertainties, temporalities and mysteries of life. The character Faust is formed by the religious search in a human being.
Faust, unlike his creator is the typical western man. The character is a disturbed one, with two souls warring within his heart yet never exhausting. Helena, another character of Faust is a symbol not of the life-style of Greeks, but of their highest achievement to overcome the adversities of life.
Faust is often described as formless drama. Faust is divided in two parts. Part I is more realistic than part II, which is more symbolic. In this unique creation, Goethe drew an immense variety of cultural material – theological, mythological, philosophical, political, economic, scientific, musical, aesthetic and literary. By common context, Faust is one of the supreme achievements of literature.
On Epics And Dramas Of Goethe
During his literary career, Goethe wrote innumerous epics and dramas. His resolution to live and speak out an independent religious faith found an expression in all his creations. His resoluteness made him impatient, displayed in his own actions and works. It also made him impatient with convention in spite of the tolerant tribute that he would pay to society.
The style and structure of Goethe’s epic and drama are charged by his ever-moving creative personality. The free rhythms of his poetry invoke the transcendent source of his poetic genius – the genius that gives the poet shelter and energy. Goethe’s creations possess the warmth, which nourish the theme. The themes of these epics and dramas are "pure like the heart of the waters and like the pitch of the earth".
Goethe’s creativity arises altogether with new theme at the core and develops simultaneously with its growth. Yet, all themes are scarcely compatible with the conventional patterns.
The structure and conception of Faust proved the most difficult to grasp. Its two parts, when read in isolation, does not make any sense. Only the entire Faust, grown over a period of 60 years, can convey its architecture and its true meaning.
Wilhelm Meister, same as Faust, is divided in two parts. The Novelle, charged with symbolism, introduced a new literary style.
Goethe’s autobiography ‘Poetry and Truth’ contains the history of culture and literature. Pandora is a unique composition that evades all normal rules of aesthetic.
Goethe defined art of creation as an act of cognition. To him, inner and outer nature merges through the productive coordination of his eye and his inner sense. He attains the perfection of style by surrendering himself to both, the nature and the genius within him. Like his poetry on man’s relation to time, Goethe’s dramas emphasis upon the emotional truthfulness of the self. He was a master of art that proves through his words, "Nobody is master of what is truly productive."
Faust
In Faust, Goethe has described the problems of an ordinary human being. Faust is the hero of this drama based on human existence. Faust represents glorious uncertainties, temporalities and mysteries of life. The character Faust is formed by the religious search in a human being.
Faust, unlike his creator is the typical western man. The character is a disturbed one, with two souls warring within his heart yet never exhausting. Helena, another character of Faust is a symbol not of the life-style of Greeks, but of their highest achievement to overcome the adversities of life.
Faust is often described as formless drama. Faust is divided in two parts. Part I is more realistic than part II, which is more symbolic. In this unique creation, Goethe drew an immense variety of cultural material – theological, mythological, philosophical, political, economic, scientific, musical, aesthetic and literary. By common context, Faust is one of the supreme achievements of literature.
Wilhelm Meister
This novel written in two parts is a tale of a group of people possessing wisdom. The first part is Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship and the second part is Wilhelm Meister’s Travels.
Wilhelm Meister is the story of the ideal commonwealth’s emigrant. It presents an affirmative answer to a person’s desire to live a good life. With this tale Goethe enters the tradition of western thought, which Plato described as "a person’s desire for healthy life. – The Good Life".
His metaphysical thought and his perception upon the chances and limitations of human cognition formed the basis on which he majestically created Wilhelm Meister. In this epic, a person as a social being rather than as an individual is the hero. It expresses the problem of the culture not of one person but of the whole community. The tale is a mirror of Goethe’s thoughts and experiences. It describes Goethe’s view of history, his idea of the mental faculties and analysis of the contemporary age, which are the essential elements of the human life. Goethe’s creation is a transparent web with all the formative energies of his mind that create a portrait of the desirable and probable fulfillment of the potentiality of mankind.
Pandora
Both in content and in its form, Pandora was hardly understood during Goethe’s period. But today, it is undoubtedly accepted as his most classic and lyrical play. The tonal and rhythmical structure of this play makes it Goethe’s most mature and conscious masterpiece comprised of words in rhythmic form. The character of Pandora, as a mediator between man and the God re-creates the unity between the superficial and the real. This superficial world to which she returns is related through her appearance in the realm of ideal realities. In all Goethe’s creations of a new, solemn form of mythopoesis, Pandora holds the decisive place. It is the mythical play of an eternal human life. As a whole, Pandora is unique in structure. It forms a world of its own comprising the totality of existence in its basic elements. Goethe wrote this play out of serenity of mind, which arouses as in the event of a new life. The festival play, which touches the foundations of human existence is borne out of a renewal of Goethe’s creative capacity and confidence. It is an answer to the disturbing world situation of the Napoleonic era.
Goethean Science
Goethean science is a spiritual understanding of nature. It is based on Goethe’s method of training observation and idea together. Though he is generally known worldwide for his Poetry and Literature, Goethe made his major contributions to Plant Culture, in the field of Science. In this field, his two remarkable works are – The Metamorphosis of Plants and Theory of Color
Goethe’s contributions were widely acclaimed and well received. He used his morphological techniques and proved that the inter maxillary bone, which exists in animals, could also be detected in human skull. At that time, the supposed lack of this bone was considered to be an important distinguisher between a human being and an animal. Goethe’s discovery was an important one as it was put forth prior to the development of evolutionary theory of Charles Darwin.
In his Theory of Color, Goethe expressed his conception in such poetic words, ‘colors are the deeds and sufferings of light.’
Goethe was one of the earliest holistic thinkers, who emerged in Western culture. The reason was – he insisted that one had to interact with actual phenomenon and yet to divorce oneself from participation within nature, which is contrary to the method of simultaneous science, an impossible act to perform.
In his Metamorphosis of Plants, the Central theme is ‘Urpflanze’ or Primal plant. Goethe did not agree with Linneau’s idea of mere categorization of species without knowing how the vivid forms and species developed as metamorphosis of each other.
Goethe’s scientific world was revealed later in Rudolf Steiner’s anthroposophical teachings. Goethean science was found in extended form in Ernst Lehrs [Man or Matter]. This is based on spiritual science rooted in the Goethean approach, a response to the study of Natural Science.
His Memorable Writings
Some of his major works translated in English from the original German writings are:
Verves
• Das Buch Annette, 1767 [The Book Annette]
• New Lieder, 1770 [New Songs]
• Romische Elegien, 1795 [Roman Elegies]
• Venezianische Epigramme, 1790
• Epilog Zu Schillers Glocke, 1805 [Epilogue to Schiller’s Bells]
• West – Ostlicher Divan, 1819 [Divan of East and West]
Novels And Epics
• Die Leiden des jungen Werthers, 1774 [The Sorrows of Young Werther]
• Reineke Fuchs, 1794
• Unterhaltungen deutscher Ausgewanderten, 1795
• Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre, 1795-96 [Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship]
• Hermann und Dorothea, 1797
• Achilleis, 1808
• Die Wahlverwandtschaften, 1809
• Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre, 1821-29 [Wilhelm Meister’s Travels]
• Novelle, 1826
Dramas
• Die Laune des Verliebten, 1806 [The Mood of the Beloved]
• Die Mitschuldigen, 1787 [The Accomplices]
• Erwin und Elmire, 1775
• Die Geschwister, 1776 [Brother and Sister]
• Der Triumph der Empfindsamkeit, 1777-78
• Iphigenie auf Tauris, 1787
• Egmont, 1788
• Torquato Tasso, 1790
• Faust, Ein Fragment, 1790 [Faust, a Fragment]
• Faust I, 1808
• Pandoras Wiederkunft, 1808 [Pandora]
• Des Epimenides Erwachen, 1815
• Faust II, 1832
Autobiographical Works
• Dichtung und Wahrheit, 1811-12 [Poetry and Truth]
• Italienische Reise, 1816-17
• Campagne in Frankreich, 1822
• Die Belagerung von Mainz, 1822
Science
• Versuch die metamorphose der Pflanzen zu erklaren, 1790 [Metamorphosis of Plants]
• Beitrage zur Optik, 1791-92
• Zur Farbenlehre, 1810 [Theory of Color]
Criticism
• Von deutscher Baukunst, 1773
• Die Propylaen, 1798-1800
• Winkelmann und sein Jahrhundert, 1805
• Uber Kunst und Altertum, 1816-32 [Periodical
Once you have missed the first buttonhole you’ll never manage to button up.
We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden.
To be pleased with one’s limits is a wretched state.
Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward; they may be beaten, but they may start a winning game.
Nothing is more terrible than ignorance in action.
Ignorant men raise questions that wise men answered a thousand years ago.
Nothing hurts a new truth more than an old error.
You don’t have to travel around the world to understand that the sky is blue everywhere.
A vain man can never be utterly ruthless: he wants to win applause and therefore he accommodates himself to others.
A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.
Rest not! Life is sweeping by; go and dare before you die. Something mighty and sublime, leave behind to conquer time.
We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.
Wood burns because it has the proper stuff in it; and a man becomes famous because he has the proper stuff in him.
The best fortune that can fall to a man is that which corrects his defects and makes up for his failings.
Happiness is a ball after which we run wherever it rolls, and we push it with our feet when it stops.
I can tell you, honest friend, what to believe: believe life; it teaches better than book or orator.
Life is a quarry, out of which we are to mold and chisel and complete a character.
What government is the best? That which teaches us to govern ourselves.
It is equally a mistake to hold one’s self too high, or to rate one’s self too cheap.
Man is not born to solve the problem of the universe, but to find out what he has to do; and to restrain himself within the limits of his comprehension.
The coward only threatens when he is safe.
Riches amassed in haste will diminish, but those collected by little and little will multiply.
He who is firm in will mould the world to himself.
Literature is a fragment of a fragment; of all that ever happened, or has been said, but a fraction has been written, and of this but little is extant.
There is nothing insignificant in the world. It all depends on how one looks at it.
By nature we have no defect that could not become a strength, no strength that could not become a defect.
Man… knows only when he is satisfied and when he suffers, and only his sufferings and his satisfactions instruct him concerning himself, teach him what to seek and what to avoid.
The desires of our youth are the riches of our old age
We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden.
To be pleased with one’s limits is a wretched state.
Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward; they may be beaten, but they may start a winning game.
Nothing is more terrible than ignorance in action.
Ignorant men raise questions that wise men answered a thousand years ago.
Nothing hurts a new truth more than an old error.
You don’t have to travel around the world to understand that the sky is blue everywhere.
A vain man can never be utterly ruthless: he wants to win applause and therefore he accommodates himself to others.
A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.
Rest not! Life is sweeping by; go and dare before you die. Something mighty and sublime, leave behind to conquer time.
We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.
Wood burns because it has the proper stuff in it; and a man becomes famous because he has the proper stuff in him.
The best fortune that can fall to a man is that which corrects his defects and makes up for his failings.
Happiness is a ball after which we run wherever it rolls, and we push it with our feet when it stops.
I can tell you, honest friend, what to believe: believe life; it teaches better than book or orator.
Life is a quarry, out of which we are to mold and chisel and complete a character.
What government is the best? That which teaches us to govern ourselves.
It is equally a mistake to hold one’s self too high, or to rate one’s self too cheap.
Man is not born to solve the problem of the universe, but to find out what he has to do; and to restrain himself within the limits of his comprehension.
The coward only threatens when he is safe.
Riches amassed in haste will diminish, but those collected by little and little will multiply.
He who is firm in will mould the world to himself.
Literature is a fragment of a fragment; of all that ever happened, or has been said, but a fraction has been written, and of this but little is extant.
There is nothing insignificant in the world. It all depends on how one looks at it.
By nature we have no defect that could not become a strength, no strength that could not become a defect.
Man… knows only when he is satisfied and when he suffers, and only his sufferings and his satisfactions instruct him concerning himself, teach him what to seek and what to avoid.
The desires of our youth are the riches of our old age
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