A little bit of Paradis

Paradis | October 15, 2009

If any man wish to write in a clear style, let him be first clear in his thoughts; and if any would write in a noble style, let him first possess a noble soul.

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Category: Quotes to Know |
Tags: Goethe

Paradis | October 12, 2009

One of the greatest figures in Western literature is German poet, novelist, playwright, and natural philosopher, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe . In literature Goethe gained early fame with The Sorrows of Young Werther, but his most famous work is the poetic drama in two parts, Faust.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in Frankfurt, the first child of a lawyer Johann Caspar Goethe, and Katherine Elisabeth Textor, the daughter of the mayor of Frankfurt. Goethe had a comfortable childhood and he was greatly influenced by his mother, who encouraged his literary aspirations.

After troubles at school, he received at home a wide education. At the age of 16, Goethe began to study law at Leipzig University and he also studied drawing with Adam Oeser. As early as eight he had already acquired some knowledge of Greek, Latin, French and Italian.

Goethe practised law in Frankfurt and Wetzlar, and In 1774 he published his first novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther, written in the form of a series of letters. Goethe’s youth was emotionally hectic to the point that he sometimes feared for his reason. His great love was Charlotte von Stein, an older married woman. Goethe died in Weimar on March 22, 1832.

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Category: Biographies |
Tags: Biographies, Goethe