Throughout the 1770s, Goethe practiced a unique, progressive version of law across Germany, while maintaining a side career as an editor, playwright, and poet. He studied law in Leipzig from 1765 to 1768. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, on August 28, 1749, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was tutored extensively in languages as a child. 1932) and Italian Journey, 1786-1788 (trans. New York: M. Walter Dunne, 1901. Unlike most of his contemporaries, he had no need, at least in the first half of his life, to seek princely patronage of his writing or employment as an official or an academic. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, literature, theology, philosophy, humanism and science. In 1765, therefore, Goethe left home to study law in Leipzig. info)); Frankfurt am Main, 28 de agosto de 1749 — Weimar, 22 de março de 1832) foi um polímata, autor e estadista alemão do Sacro Império Romano-Germânico que também fez incursões pelo campo da ciência natural. His father, Johann Caspar Goethe (1710–82), the son of a wealthy tailor-turned-innkeeper, was a man of leisure who lived on his inherited fortune and devoted himself, after studying law in Leipzig and Strasbourg and touring Italy, France, and the Low Countries, to collecting books and paintings and to the education of his children. In September 1786, after ten years in the Weimar civil service, when his fortieth … Flood impassive With persistence Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is perhaps best known for The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774), the first novel of the Sturm und Drang movement, and for Faust (Part I, 1808; Part II, 1832), a play about a man who sells his soul to the Devil that is sometimes considered Germany’s greatest contribution to world literature. Search more than 3,000 biographies of contemporary and classic poets. George Eliot called him "Germany's greatest man of letters... and the last true polymath to walk the earth." The German poet, novelist, playwright, courtier, scientist, and philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) ranks among the greatest authors of Western literature. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. He could be said to stand in the same relation to the culture of the era that began with the Enlightenment and continues to the present day as William Shakespeare does to the culture of the Renaissance and Dante to the culture of the High Middle Ages. He influenced many 19th century writers and thinkers. Poems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. In the literary culture of the German-speaking countries, he has had so dominant a position that, since the end of the 18th century, his writings have been described as “classical.”. Throughout a long and full life he demonstrated his prolific genius in many different areas. At the same time, though, he seriously studied alchemy and may already have formed the idea of writing a play about Faust, a half-legendary figure who sells his soul to the Devil for knowledge and power and who became the subject of Goethe’s greatest work. Ihr Vater, ebenfalls Jurist, hielt als Schultheiß das höchste Amt im Frankf… Goethe is the only German literary figure whose range and international standing equal those of Germany’s supreme philosophers (who have often drawn on his works and ideas) and composers (who have often set his works to music). August 1749 in Frankfurt am Main geboren. Real Name: Johann Wolfgang Goethe. His father had very definite ideas about his education and intended that Goethe should follow the pattern he himself had pursued as a young man: studying law, gaining experience at the Reichskammergericht (the supreme court of the Holy Roman Empire) in Wetzlar, and eventually rounding off his worldly culture with a grand tour to Italy, after which he could marry and settle down, perhaps rising, as his father had not been able to do, to a position of responsibility in the city administration. Goethe's father, a lawyer, prioritized his son's education, enabling him to engage in many literary and cultural pursuits. Profile: German writer, artist and politician, born 28 August 1749 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, died 22 March 1832, in Weimar, Germany. Biographies of Goethe include John G. Robertson, The Life and Work of Goethe, 1749-1832 (1932), and Richard Friedenthal, Goethe: His Life and Times (1963; trans. Gemeinsam mit seiner jüngeren Schwester Cornelia wuchs er in einem repräsentativen Haus in der Frankfurter Innenstadt auf. Another emotional factor in the poet’s childhood that may have affected his later development was a love-hate relationship with a younger brother, who died in 1759 at age six: Goethe’s later relationships with literary contemporaries were ambiguous, though he nonetheless described them as “brothers,” and he was repelled by literary and artistic representations of death. He joined other young men who wanted to chan… Among the best introductions to G… An excellent introduction to Goethe the man is David Luke and Robert Pick, eds., Goethe: Conversations and Encounters (1966), a collection of writings by his contemporaries. Johann Wolfgang Goethe was born on 28 August 1749 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany as son of a lawyer. Als Naturforscher kam er zu bedeutenden Erkenntnissen. In 1765, Goethe left home to study law, as his father wished, but due to his illness (probably tuberculosis), he returned home without a degree. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Having achieved both literary and commercial success in his lifetime, Goethe remains one of the most influential figures in modern era literature. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer. Der Vater war ein promovierter Jurist, lebte aber dank eines ererbten Vermögens als Privatier. The epic poem-as-play has been adapted into an opera and is still performed throughout the world. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), der größte deutsche Dichter und Denker, war ein Universalgenie. In his youth, he learned Greek, Latin and French. In the words of Georg Simmel, “…Goethe’s individual works gradually appear to take on less significanc… By the time he completed his studies, he had composed a satirical crime comedy, fallen in love with folk poetry, and developed a deep affinity for Shakespeare, the figure responsible for what he termed his "personal awakening.". He came, on his father’s side, of Thuringian stock, his great-grandfather, Hans Christian Goethe, havi Randall Jarrell, who translated Faust from his Poet Laureate's office at the Library of Congress, called him his "own favorite daemon, dear good great Goethe." The Lover’s Caprice), begun in 1767. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, critic, and amateur artist. He fell in love with the daughter of an innkeeper, Käthchen Schönkopf, but she preferred someone more solid, a lawyer who eventually became deputy burgomaster of Leipzig. Goethe took revenge by starting his first mature play, Die Mitschuldigen (1787; “Partners in Guilt”), a verse comedy showing a woman’s regrets after a year of marriage to the wrong man. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), German poet, playwright, novelist, and natural philosopher is best known for his two-part poetic drama Faust, (1808-1832) which he started around the age of twenty three and didn't finish till shortly before his death sixty years later. It sparked the phenomenon "Werther-Fieber" ("Werther Fever"), in which young men throughout Europe began dressing like the tragic protagonist, and brought Goethe to the court of Carl August, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, where he would become an important advisor. Know his incantation, Spell and gestures too; By my mind's creation Wonders shall I do. The university there had been the centre of Germany’s literary revival over the previous 40 years. Goethe was the eldest of seven children, though only one other survived into adulthood, his sister Cornelia (1750–77), for whom he felt an intense affection of whose potentially incestuous nature he seems to have been aware. His lawyer father, Johann Caspar Goethe (1710-1782), and mother, Catharina Elisabeth Textor (1731-1808), were able to provide their first son a comfortable childhood and a good education. Enjoy the best Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Quotes at BrainyQuote. In the literary culture of the German-speaking countries, he has had so dominant a position that, since the end of the 18th century, his writings have been described as “classical.” In a European perspective he appears as the central and unsurpassed representative of the Romantic movement, broadly understood. Goethe was fascinated by writers such as Homer and Ovid, and committed whole passages of these texts to heart. Goethe had in almost-finished form a biblical play and a moralistic novel when he entered the university, but, after reading them to his friends, he ostentatiously burned them as unworthy of his now advanced taste and started to write erotic verse and a pastoral drama, Die Laune des Verliebten (1806; “The Lover’s Spleen”; Eng. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer and statesman. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in Frankfurt am Main on August 28, 1749 into prosperous circumstances. Goethe was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Learn how Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's failed love affairs inspired his works. His literary works include epic as well as lyric poetry which he wrote in different styles, dramas of diverse kinds as well as his autobiography. Return to Weimar and the French Revolution (1788–94), https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johann-Wolfgang-von-Goethe, Poetry Foundation - Biography of Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Biography of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, The University of Adelaide - Biography of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, AllMusic - Biography of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Academy of American Poets - Biography of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Theatre Database - Biography of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Discover how Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's failed relationships inspired him to produce some of the greatest literary works. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, (born August 28, 1749, Frankfurt am Main [Germany]—died March 22, 1832, Weimar, Saxe-Weimar), German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, critic, and amateur artist, considered the greatest German literary figure of the modern era. He is buried in the Ducal Vault at Weimar's Historical Cemetery. When Goethe was a young boy, he began to write stories and plays for his friends. Intro. Quotations by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German Writer, Born August 28, 1749. He also wrote some letters that are seen as beautiful, and that showed his promise as a writer. Goethe met the poet and playwright Friedrich Schiller in 1794, beginning a collaborative relationship that would result in a creative success for both artists. Emeritus Schröder Professor of German, Magdalene College, Cambridge. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (August 28, 1749 – March 22, 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist and scientist. 223-24). Johann’s mother, Catharina Elisabeth Textor (1731–1808), was a daughter of Frankfurt’s most senior official. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Gone's for once the old magician With his countenance forbidding; I 'm now master, I 'm tactician, All his ghosts must do my bidding. Johann Wolfgang Goethe wurde am 28. Reluctantly and with some delay, Goethe followed his father’s prescription, although he did not complete the final stages until some years after his father’s death. After growing up in a privileged upper middle class family, he studied law in Leipzig from 1765 to 1768, although he was more interested in literature. He began studying law at Leipzig University at the age of 16 and practiced law briefly before devoting most of his life to writing poetry, plays and novels. Historical studies should generally avoid the error of thinking that the circumstances of a philosopher’s life necessitate their theoretical conclusions. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was one of the rare giants of world literature. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. With Goethe, however, his poetry, scientific investigations, and philosophical worldview are manifestly informed by his life, and are indeed intimately connected with his lived experiences. Der »Dichterfürst« war zudem Staatsmann und beeinflusste die Kunst seiner Zeit. Travel as Therapy. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (August 28, 1749 – March 22, 1832) was a German writer, poet, novelist, and playwright. His contributions to science include his work in botany and his Theory of Colours. Share with your friends. The Frankfurt in which he was born and in which his social attitudes were formed was, as it is now, a wealthy commercial and financial centre, but it was also virtually a self-governing republic, a city-state within the Holy Roman Empire. However, his writings—emotive, far-reaching, prophetic, and formal—stimulated generations of Western literature and thought. Goethe composed literary works and established artistic principles that had a profound influence on his contemporaries throughout Europe, and which are still looked to as models. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - Legacy: Goethe was a contemporary of thinkers—Kant, Herder, Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt—who carried out an intellectual revolution that is at the basis of most modern thinking about religion, art, society, and thought itself. Another bout of illness then brought him apparently near death, and in the aftermath he underwent a brief conversion from freethinking to evangelical Christianity. He was opposed to the church ceremony that was, at the time, the only way of being legally married, so, although she bore Goethe a son, August, in 1789, he didn’t marry her until the Napoleonic army sacked the city in which they lived. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (August 28, 1749 – March 22, 1832) was a German novelist, playwright, poet, and statesman who has been described as Germany’s William Shakespeare. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, (born August 28, 1749, Frankfurt am Main [Germany]—died March 22, 1832, Weimar, Saxe-Weimar), German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, critic, and amateur artist, considered the greatest German literary figure of the modern era. … German poet, dramatist and philosopher, was born at Frankfort-on-Main on the 28th of August 1749. The child of an imperial councilor, Goethe had a thoroughly classical education before entering Leipzig University in 1765. 1965). None are so hopelessly enslaved, as those who falsely believe they are free. Goethe was one of the very few figures of Germany’s 18th-century literary renaissance who were, in the full sense of the term, bourgeois. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a key personality in the list of German writers and polymaths.