Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

This edition includes a modern introduction and a list of suggested further reading. The literary sensation The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774) launched its twenty-five year old author on the world stage overnight. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's novel gave voice to young bourgeois intellectuals who despaired of finding fulfillment and authenticity in a hierarchical, convention-bound society. In the novel, Werther, a social rebel with artistic leanings,...

Faust: A Tragedy (German: Faust. Eine Tragödie), or retrospectively Faust. Der Tragödie / erster Teil) is the first part of the tragic play Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and is considered by many as the greatest work of German literature. It was first published in 1808. The first part of Faust is not divided into acts, but is structured as a sequence of scenes in a variety of settings. After a dedicatory poem and a prelude in the theater,...

In "Egmont", Goethe relates the fight of Count Egmont (1522-1568) against the despotic Duke of Alba. Egmont is a famous Dutch warrior and the Duke of Alba represents the Spanish invader. Though under threat of arrest, Egmont refuses to run away and give up his ideal of liberty. Imprisoned and abandoned because of the cowardice of his people, and despite the desperate efforts of his mistress Klaerchen, he is sentenced to death. Thus, faced with her...

Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend who makes a pact with the Devil in exchange for knowledge. The meaning of the word and name has been reinterpreted through the ages. "Faust" has taken on a connotation distinct from its original use, and is often used today to describe a person whose headstrong desire for self-fulfillment leads him or her in a diabolical direction.

Aus einem Zirkus entlaufen zwei Raubtiere - ein Tiger und ein Löwe. Als eine Fürstin von dem Tiger angegriffen wird, wird dieser von einem Begleiter erschossen. Die Schaustellerfamilie fürchtet nun um das Leben des Löwen. Tatsächlich gelingt es dem Sohn der Familie, den Löwen aus seinem Versteck zu locken und ihn damit vor dem gewaltsamen Tod zu bewahren. Parabelhaft birgt diese Geschichte die Erkenntnis, dass der Mächtige durch Kunst und Liebe...

Por más que Las confesiones de un alma bella constituya un texto de carácter literario, en él se encierra un interés filosófico, al menos a juzgar por la extensión del concepto de "alma bella" en la filosofía del siglo xviii, como se encuentra en Rousseau, Hegel, Schiller, entre otros. No obstante su origen se remonta hasta Platón, y de este a Plotino, de Plotino a san Agustín y de aquí a la mística alemana de la baja Edad Media y a la...

The writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was an authentic Renaissance man: excellent in poetry, drama, literature, science, philosophy, painting, and politics, considered by many as the principal author of the German language. "Elective Affinities" is one of his major works. When Goethe chose this title, "Wahlverwandtschaften" was a technical term used only in chemistry. The connotations later acquired - in German and other languages - are largely due...

Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend who makes a pact with the Devil in exchange for knowledge. The meaning of the word and name has been, reinterpreted through the ages. "Faust" has taken on a connotation distinct from its original use, and is often, used today to describe a person whose headstrong desire for self-fulfillment leads him or her in a diabolical direction.

Short excerpt: "Were, then, these Switzers free? Free, these opulent burghers in their little pent-up towns-free, those poor devils on their rocks and crags? What is it that man cannot be made to believe, especially when he cherishes in his heart the memory of some old tale of marvel? Once, forsooth, they did break a tyrant's yoke, and might for the moment fancy themselves free; but out of the carcase of the single oppressor the good sun, by a strange...

Wilhelm goes through deep self-realisation and decides to escape his empty life of a bourgeois businessman. After a failed romance with the theatre, Wilhelm commits himself to the mysterious Tower Society. A coming-of-age tale, a story of education and disillusionment, a novel of ideas ranging across literature, philosophy and politics, a masterpiece that resists all pigeonholing.