Goethe: Germany's Greatest Man of Letters
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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born on August 28, 1749. He was born in Frankfurt am Main. As a child, he learned many languages, including Latin, Greek, French and English. He was interested in literature, such as books by Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock and Homer. Although he studied law in Leipzig, he had little interest in it. Instead, he studied poetry. He met Käthchen Schönkopf, and wrote poems to her. In 1770 he published Annette, which was his first collection of poetry.
In 1773 he wrote Götz von Berlichingen, which is a tragedy. Upon visiting Alsace, he met Johann Gottfried Herder, who would become one of his best friends. Herder taught Goethe about Shakespeare and Volkspoesie. Goethe did not earn enough money as a writer, and had consequently resorted back to his previous profession as a lawyer. He worked in Wetzlar. During this time, he wrote Die Leiden des jungen Werther, which was one of his most famous works of literature. Soon after, he met Carl August, who was the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. He worked for him as an advisor. In 1782 he was ennobled, which is why his name is von Goethe. In 1792 he fought in the battle of Valmy, as well as the Siege of Mainz, and wrote about these two events. He wrote Marienbad and Elegy after falling in love with Ulrike von Levetzow. Goethe was also good friends with Friedrich von Schiller. He wrote for Schiller’s newspaper, Die Horen and supported many of Schiller’s beliefs in revolution. He died in 1832 in Weimar.
He is famous for his autobiography, Aus meinem Leben: Dichtung und Wahrheit, as well as Faust, his well known tragic play. He was also interested in morphology. In 1810 he created the Theory of Colours, which is often used in art. He also helped to create the color wheel and the organization of colors. However, unlike other artists of the time, he focused on emotionalism, rather than science and colors. He published his findings of color in Zur Farbenlehre.
OTHER SITES
Need more information about Goethe? Here's where you can find it:
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - Deutschlands größter Dichter
XLibris: Johann Wolfgang Goethe / Biographie
Written by Franziska Cifu ('11).
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