Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) was a German writer and statesman whose work spans poetry, drama, prose, and science. Born in Frankfurt, he studied law and later served in the Weimar court, where he became a central figure in Weimar Classicism alongside Friedrich Schiller. His early success came with The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774), a novel that helped shape late 18th-century German literature and the Sturm und Drang movement.

Goethe’s major literary projects include Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship (1795–96), the tragedies Egmont (1788) and Iphigenia in Tauris, and the lifelong epic Faust, Part I (1808) and Part II (1832). His writing often explores personal development, nature, art, and philosophy, blending emotional depth with broad cultural and intellectual inquiry. He also contributed significantly to the development of modern German language and literary form.

In science and criticism, Goethe pursued interests in optics, botany, and color theory, publishing Zur Farbenlehre (Theory of Colors) in 1810. His analytical and imaginative approach to knowledge reflected a broader anthropological and aesthetic project. His travels, notably Italian Journey (1816–18), enriched his worldview and writing. As a cultural leader in Weimar, Goethe influenced European literature, theater, and science, promoting a synthesis of art and inquiry that shaped the literary canon and interdisciplinary thought for generations.