Goethe

Author of The Sorrows of Young Werther and Faust, the supreme figure of German literature.

Life

Frankfurt

Goethe was born into a wealthy family in Frankfurt and studied law. In 1774 he published the epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther, which swept Europe and became the signature work of the Sturm und Drang movement.

Weimar minister

In 1775, at the invitation of the Duke of Weimar, he came to Weimar, where he served for many years as a minister overseeing finances, mining and the theater, while studying botany, color theory and osteology. He became close friends with Schiller, and together they founded Weimar Classicism.

Faust

He spent sixty years writing the verse drama Faust; Part One was published in 1808, and Part Two was completed before his death in 1832.

Legacy

Goethe is regarded as the summit of German-language literature, and the institution Germany uses to promote the German language worldwide is called the "Goethe-Institut."

Major works & achievements

• The Sorrows of Young Werther
• Faust
• Wilhelm Meister

Did you know? In his later years he read Chinese novels in translation and coined the concept of "world literature."

Key dates

• 1774Publishes The Sorrows of Young Werther
• 1775Arrives in Weimar
• 1786Travels in Italy
• 1794Befriends Schiller
• 1808Faust, Part One published
• 1832Died