Goethe brief biography of james

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It appears your browser does not have it turned on. Please see your browser settings for this feature. The young Goethe received from his father and private tutors lessons in subjects common at the time, especially languages LatinGreekBiblical Hebrew briefly[ 19 ] French, Italian, and English. Goethe also received lessons in dancing, ridingand fencing.

Johann Caspar, feeling frustrated in his own ambitions, was determined that his children should have every advantage he had missed. Although Goethe's great passion was drawing, he quickly became interested in literature; Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock — and Homer were among his early favorites. I had from childhood the singular habit of always learning by heart the beginnings of books, and the divisions of a work, first of the five books of Mosesand then of the Aeneid and Ovid 's Metamorphoses.

If an ever active imagination, of which that tale may bear witness, led me hither and thither, if the medley of fable and history, mythology and religion, threatened to bewilder me, I readily fled to those oriental regions, and plunged into the first books of Moses, and there, amid the scattered shepherd tribes, found myself at once in the greatest solitude and the greatest society.

Goethe also became acquainted with Frankfurt actors. Goethe studied law at Leipzig University from to Inhe released anonymously his first collection of poems, Annette. His uncritical admiration for many contemporary poets evaporated as he developed an interest in Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and Christoph Martin Wieland. By this time, Goethe had already written a great deal, but he discarded nearly all of these works except for the comedy Die Mitschuldigen.

The inn Auerbachs Keller and its legend of Johann Georg Faust 's barrel ride impressed him so much that Auerbachs Keller became the only real place in his closet drama Faust Part One. Given that he was making little progress in his formal studies, Goethe was forced to return to Frankfurt at the end of August Back in Frankfurt, Goethe became severely ill.

During the year and a half that followed, marked by several relapses, relations with his father worsened. During convalescence, Goethe was nursed by his mother and sister. In AprilGoethe left Frankfurt in order to finish his studies, this time at the University of Strasbourg. In AlsaceGoethe blossomed. No other landscape was to be described by him as affectionately as the warm, wide Rhineland.

The two became close friends, and crucially to Goethe's intellectual development, Herder kindled his interest in William ShakespeareOssian and in the notion of Volkspoesie folk poetry. On 14 October Goethe hosted a gathering in his parents home in honour of the first German "Shakespeare Day". His first acquaintance with Shakespeare's works is described as his personal awakening in the field of literature.

On a trip to the village of Sessenheim in OctoberGoethe fell in love with Friederike Brion[ 26 ] [ 27 ] but the tryst ended in August At the end of AugustGoethe acquired the academic degree of the Licentiate in Law from Strasbourg and was able to establish a small legal practice in Frankfurt. Although in his academic work he had given voice to an ambition to make jurisprudence progressively more humane, his inexperience led him to proceed too vigorously in his first cases, for which he was reprimanded and lost further clientele.

Within a few months, this put an early end to his law career. Around this time, Goethe became acquainted with the court of Darmstadtwhere his inventiveness was praised. Goethe also pursued literary plans again; this time, his father did not object, and even helped. Goethe obtained a copy of the biography of a noble highwayman from the German Peasants' War.

Since Goethe could not subsist on his income as one of the editors of a literary periodical published by Schlosser and Merckin May he once more took up the practice of law, this time at Wetzlar. In he wrote the book which would bring him worldwide fame, The Sorrows of Young Werther. In the latter case, Goethe made a desperate passion of what was in reality a hearty and relaxed friendship.

In later years Goethe would counter this problem by periodically authorizing "new, revised" editions of his Complete Works. The Duke's mother, Duchess Anna Amaliahad been the long-time regent on behalf of her son until and was one of the most important patrons of the arts in her day, making her court into a centre of the arts. Her court had hosted the renowned theatre company of Abel Seyler until a fire had destroyed Schloss Weimar.

Karl August came of age when he turned eighteen inalthough his mother continued to be a major presence at the court. So it was that Goethe took up residence in Weimarwhere he remained for the rest of his life [ 32 ] and where, over the course of many years, he held a succession of offices, including superintendent of the ducal library. InGoethe formed a close relationship with Charlotte von Steina married woman seven years older than him.

The intimate bond with her lasted for ten years, after which Goethe abruptly left for Italy without giving his companion any notice. She was emotionally distraught at the time, but they were eventually reconciled. Aside from his official duties, Goethe was also a friend and confidant to Duke Karl August and participated in the activities of the court.

For Goethe, his first ten years at Weimar could well be described as a garnering of a degree and range of experiences which perhaps could have been achieved in no other way.

Goethe brief biography of james: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (–) was

Inwhen the Duchy's chancellor of the Exchequer left his office, Goethe agreed to act in his place and did so for two and a half years; this post virtually made him prime minister and the principal representative of the Duchy. In that same year, Goethe moved into what was his primary residence in Weimar for the next 50 years. The author Daniel Wilson claims that Goethe engaged in negotiating the forced sale of vagabonds, criminals, and political dissidents as part of these activities.

Goethe's journey to the Italian peninsula and Sicily from to was of great significance in his aesthetic and philosophical development. His father had made a similar journey, and his example was a major motivating factor for Goethe to make the trip. More importantly, however, the work of Johann Joachim Winckelmann had provoked a general renewed interest in the classical art of ancient Greece and Rome.

Thus Goethe's journey had something of the nature of a pilgrimage to it. During the course of his trip Goethe met and befriended the artists Angelica Kauffman and Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbeinas well as encountering such notable characters as Lady Hamilton and Alessandro Cagliostro. He also journeyed to Sicily during this time, and wrote that "To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is to not have seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the clue to everything.

Winckelmann had not recognized the distinctness of the two styles. Goethe's diaries of this period form the basis of the non-fiction Italian Journey. Italian Journey only covers the first year of Goethe's visit. The remaining year is largely undocumented, aside from the fact that he spent much of it in Venice. This "gap in the record" has been the source of much speculation over the years.

In the decades which immediately followed its publication inItalian Journey inspired countless German youths to follow Goethe's example. This is pictured, somewhat satirically, in George Eliot 's Middlemarch. Again during the Siege of Mainzhe assisted Karl August as a military observer. His written account of these events can be found within his Complete Works.

InFriedrich Schiller wrote to Goethe offering friendship; they had previously had only a mutually wary relationship ever since first becoming acquainted in This collaborative friendship lasted until Schiller's death in Vulpius and daughter of archivist Johann Friedrich Vulpius —and their son August von Goethe. On 13 October, Napoleon 's army invaded the town.

The French "spoon guards", the least disciplined soldiers, occupied Goethe's house:.

Goethe brief biography of james: This is a short yet

The 'spoon guards' had broken in, they had drunk wine, made a great uproar and called for the master of the house. Goethe's secretary Riemer reports: 'Although already undressed and wearing only his wide nightgown His dignified figure, commanding respect, and his spiritual mien seemed to impress even them. Late at night they burst into his bedroom with drawn bayonets.

Goethe was petrified, Christiane raised a lot of noise and even tangled with them, other people who had taken refuge in Goethe's house rushed in, and so the marauders eventually withdrew again. It was Christiane who commanded and organized the defense of the house on the Frauenplan. The barricading of the kitchen and the cellar against the wild pillaging soldiery was her work.

Goethe noted in his diary: "Fires, rapine, a frightful night Preservation of the house through steadfastness and luck. Days afterward, on 19 OctoberGoethe legitimized their year relationship by marrying Christiane in a quiet marriage service at the Jakobskirche in Weimar. They had already had several children together by this time, including their son, Julius August Walter von Goethe —whose wife, Ottilie von Pogwisch —cared for the elder Goethe until his death in Christiane von Goethe died in Johann reflected, "There is nothing more charming to see than a mother with her child in her arms, and there is nothing more venerable than a mother among a number of her children.

AfterGoethe devoted his endeavours primarily to literature. Inhe travelled to Teplice and Vienna both times meeting his admirer Ludwig van Beethovenwho had set music to Egmont two years prior in ByGoethe was on amiable terms with Kaspar Maria von Sternberg. Inhaving recovered from a near fatal heart illness, the year-old Goethe fell in love with Ulrike von Levetzow17 at the time.

Their last meeting in Carlsbad on 5 September inspired his poem " Marienbad Elegy " which he considered one of his finest works. Goethe, now in his seventies, was greatly impressed by the child, leading to perhaps the earliest confirmed comparison to Mozart in the following conversation between Goethe and Zelter:. Mendelssohn was invited to meet Goethe on several later occasions, [ 47 ] and set a number of Goethe's poems to music.

Heinrich Heineon his hiking tour through Germany the trip immortalised in his work Die Harzreise was granted an audience with Goethe in in Weimar. InGoethe died in Weimar of apparent heart failure. The last words of Goethe usually abridged as Mehr Licht! According to his doctor Carl Vogel [ de ]his last words were, Mehr Licht! More light!

Thomas Carlylein his letter to John Carlyle 2 July records that he had learned the version Macht die Fensterladen auf, damit ich mehr Licht bekomme! Austin wrote lately that Goethe's last words were, Macht die Fensterladen auf, damit ich mehr Licht bekomme!

Goethe brief biography of james: Drawing on a wealth

Glorious man! Happy man! I never think of him but with reverence and pride. Even though the context was different, these words, especially the abridged version, which turned into a dictum, usually used as a mean to illustrate the pro-Enlightenment worldview of Goethe. The first production of Richard Wagner 's opera Lohengrin took place in Weimar in The conductor was Franz Lisztwho chose the date 28 August in honour of Goethe, who was born on 28 August Goethe had five children with Christiane Vulpius.

Only their eldest son, August, survived into adulthood. One child was stillborn, while the others died early. Alma died of typhoid fever during the outbreak in Vienna, at age Walther and Wolfgang neither married nor had any children. Walther's gravestone states: "With him ends Goethe's dynasty, the name will last forever," marking the end of Goethe's personal bloodline.

While he has no direct descendants, his siblings do. Indeed, Werther is often considered to be the "spark" which ignited the movement, and can arguably be called the world's first " best-seller ". Faust, Part Two was completed before his death and published posthumously later that year. His writings were immediately influential in literary and artistic circles.

The short epistolary novel Die Leiden des jungen Werthersor The Sorrows of Young Wertherpublished inrecounts an unhappy romantic infatuation that ends in suicide.

Goethe brief biography of james: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Goethe admitted that he "shot his hero to save himself", a reference to Goethe's near-suicidal obsession for a young woman, a passion he quelled through writing. The novel remains in print in dozens of languages and its influence is undeniable; its central hero, an obsessive figure driven to despair and destruction by his unrequited love for the young Lotte, has become a pervasive literary archetype.

The fact that Werther ends with the protagonist's suicide and funeral—a funeral which "no clergyman attended"—made the book deeply controversial upon its anonymous publication, for it appeared to condone and glorify suicide. Suicide is considered sinful by Christian doctrinesuicides were denied Christian burial with the bodies often mutilated. The suicide's property was often confiscated by the Church.

Goethe explained his use of Werther in his autobiography. He said he "turned reality into poetry but his friends thought poetry should be turned into reality and the poem imitated". He was against this reading of poetry. What set Goethe's book apart from other such novels was its expression of unbridled longing for a joy beyond possibility, its sense of defiant rebellion against authority, and of principal importance, its total subjectivity: qualities that trailblazed the Romantic movement.

The next work, his epic closet drama Faustwas completed in stages. Plain Text UTF Download HTML zip. There may be more files related to this item. Sime, James, Anderson, John Parker, Produced by David Garcia, Larry B.