Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German poet, a classic of world literature. Born in Frankfurt, an old German city, August 28, 1749. He died at the age of 83, on March 22, 1832, in the city of Weimar.
Goethe's father, Johann Caspar Goethe, a wealthy German burgher, served as imperial adviser. The mother, the daughter of the senior city officer, is Katarina Elizabeth Goethe, nee Tektor. In 1750, Johann Goethe had a sister, Cornelia. Subsequently, the parents had several more children, but, unfortunately, they all died in infancy.
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von: short biography
The cozy atmosphere, the affectionate attitude of the mother revealed a world of fantasies for a small child. Thanks to the wealth of the family, the atmosphere of fun always reigned in the house, there were many games, songs, fairy tales, which allowed the child to develop in every sense. Under the strict supervision of his father, at the age of eight, Goethe wrote German and Latin discussions on the topic of moralizing. Carried away by the beauty of nature, he even tried to call a fantastic deity, who dominates the elements.
When the French occupation ended, which lasted more than two years, Frankfurt seemed to wake up after a long hibernation. The townspeople showed interest in the theatrical stages, this also affected little Johann: he tried to write tragedies in French style.
Von Goethe's house had a good library, with a large number of books in different languages, which made it possible for the future writer to get to know the literature in early childhood. He read the original Virgil, met with "Metamorphoses" and "Iliad." Goethe studied several languages. In addition to his native German, he was fluent in French, Italian, Greek and Latin. He also took dancing lessons, was engaged in fencing and horse riding. A gifted young man, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, whose biography is very chaotic, achieved success not only in literature, but also in jurisprudence.
He studied at the University of Leipzig, graduated from the University of Strasbourg, and defended his dissertation by law. But the legal field did not appeal to him, medicine was much more interesting to him, later he took up osteology and anatomy.
First love and first creativity
In 1772, Goethe was sent to practice law in Wetzlar, where he was to study the judicial activities of the Roman Empire. There he met Charlotte Buff, bride of I. Kestner, Secretary of the Embassy of Hanover. Wolf fell in love with a girl, but realized the senselessness of his torment and left the city, leaving a letter to his beloved. Soon, from a letter from Kestner, Goethe found out that he had shot himself F. Jerusal, who was also in love with Charlotte Buff.
Goethe was greatly shocked by what had happened; he also had thoughts of suicide. A new hobby led him out of a state of depression, he fell in love with the daughter of his acquaintance, Maximiliana Brentano, who was married. Goethe made great efforts to overcome this feeling. Thus was born the "Suffering of young Werther."
While studying at the University of Leipzig, he met Kathen Schöinkopf and fell in love passionately. To win the attention of the girl, he begins to write funny poems about her. This occupation fascinated him, he began to imitate the poems of other poets. For example, his comedy work Die Mitschuldigen, among the verses of Höllenfahrt Christi, gives the spirit of Cramer. Johann Wolfgang Goethe continues to improve his work, writes in the Rococo style, but his style is still barely visible.
Becoming
Goethe's creativity can be considered his acquaintance and friendship with Garder. It was Garder who influenced Goethe's attitude to culture and poetry. In Strasbourg, Wolfgang Goethe met with novice writers Wagner and Lenz. Interested in folk poetry. With pleasure reads Ossian, Shakespeare, Homer. Engaged in legal practice, Goethe continues to work hard in the literary field.
Weimar
In 1775, Goethe met the Duke of Weimar, Crown Prince of Saxony, Charles Augustus. In the autumn of that year, he moved to Weimar, where he subsequently spent most of his life. In the early years of his life in Weimar, he took an active part in the development of the duchy. He undertook to lead a military college, road construction works. At the same time, he writes the drama "Iphigenia in Tauris" and the play "Egmont", begins to work on "Faust." Among the works of that time, one can also note his ballads and "Poems to Lida."
During the French Revolution and the Franco-Prussian War, Goethe was somewhat estranged from literature, his interest was taken by the natural sciences. He even made a discovery in anatomy in 1784 by opening the intermaxillary bone in a person.
Schiller's influence
From 1786 to 1788, Goethe traveled to Italy, which was reflected in his work as the era of classicism. Returning to Weimar, he moved away from court affairs. But Goethe did not come to a settled life right away; he went on trips more than once. He visited Venice, with the Duke of Weimar visited Breslau, took part in a military campaign against Napoleon. In 1794, he met Friedrich Schiller and helped him in the publication of the journal Ory. Their communication and joint discussion of plans gave Goethe a new creative incentive, so their joint work Xenien appeared, which was released in 1796.
Marriage or another affair
At the same time, Goethe began to live with a young girl who worked in a flower shop, Christiana Vilpius. The whole Weimar public was shocked, relations outside of marriage at that time were something out of the ordinary. It was not until October 1806 that Johann Wolfgang von Goethe married his beloved. His wife Christiana Vulpius at that time had already given birth to several children, but everyone except Augustus, the first son of Goethe, died. Augustus and his wife Otilia had three children, but not one of them married, so the Goethe family ended in 1831 when his son Augustus died in Rome.
Goethe's first significant works can be attributed to 1773. His drama Gottfried von Berlichingen mit der eisernen Hand made a lasting impression on his contemporaries. In this work, Goethe presented in an unexpected perspective the image of a fighter for social equality and justice, a rather typical image in the literature of that time. The hero of the work, Getz von Berlichingen, is a knight dissatisfied with the state of affairs in the country. Therefore, he decides to raise the uprising of the peasants, but when the matter has taken a serious turn, he backs away from him. The rule of law was established; the revolutionary movements described in the drama as self-will and chaos were powerless. Final Act: the hero finds freedom in death, his last words: “Farewell, dear! My roots are cut, my strength leaves me. Oh, what a heavenly air! Freedom, freedom! ”
The reason for writing a new work, "Selective Affinity," was Goethe's new hobby, Minna Herzlib. Experiencing another mental decline, he left for Carlsbad, where he began to write a novel. The name he borrowed from chemistry, the term means the phenomenon of random attraction. Goethe showed that the action of natural laws is acceptable not only in chemistry, but also in human relations, or rather, in love. In everyday life, everything has its own special symbolic meaning, and in the novel, deep philosophical reflections are combined with the simplicity of everyday life.
Goethe's work
In the drama "Iphigenia" you feel the strong influence of Homer. Orestes, brother of Iphigenia, and his friend Pilad arrive in Tauris. In Orestes, you can see the similarities with Goethe himself. Overwhelmed by anxiety, driven by ominous furies, seeing hostile creatures in the Olympians, Orestes hopes to find peace in the arms of death. Iphigenia, in order to save her brother and his friend, sentenced to death, puts his fate in the hands of King Tavrida Toan. With her sacrifice, she atones for the curse imposed on Tantalum and his descendants for self-will. She also heals her brother with her act, as if renewing, calming his soul. As a result, Orestes acts as Iphigenia, renouncing his fate.
Perfect creation
In 1774, Johann Wolfgang Goethe wrote a novel in the letters The Suffering of Young Werther. Many consider this creation to be the most perfect, giving the author worldwide fame and glory. This work describes the confrontation between the world and man, which suddenly grew into a love story. Werther is a young man who does not agree with the burgher way of life and the laws that prevailed in Germany. Like Getz von Berlichingen, Werther challenges the system. He does not want to become a flattering, pompous and arrogant person, it is better to die. As a result, a romantic man, a strong-willed man, is devastated, all attempts to defend the image of his fictional, ideal world fail.
In the "Roman Elegy" Goethe is filled with the joy of paganism, shows his involvement in the culture of antiquity. The main character is satisfied with everything that can be taken from life, there is no craving for the unattainable, there is no self-denial of his will. The author shows all the joy and sensuality of love, which is not interpreted as an insuperable force that brings a person closer to death, but as something that helps strengthen ties with the earth.
Torquato Tasso
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 1790 wrote a drama about the clash of two different people - Torquato Tasso. The drama takes place at the court of the Duke of Ferrara. Heroes are the poet Tasso, who does not want to obey the laws and customs of the court, does not accept his customs, and the court Antonio, who, on the contrary, voluntarily follows these laws. All attempts by Tasso not to obey the will of the court, to show their independence ended in failure, greatly shocked him. As a result, Tasso acknowledges the wisdom and everyday experience of Antonio: “So the swimmer grabs the rock, which threatened to break it.”
About Wilhelm
In some works, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe seeks to show everything possible that people can deny. This is love, and religion, and free will. In the work “The Years of the Teaching of Wilhelm Meister,” Goethe shows the protagonist who surrendered to the secret union. The son of a prosperous family of burghers Wilhelm refused the career of an actor, the only opportunity to be independent in a feudal environment. He considers his creative path as a masterful attitude to feudal reality, a desire to exalt himself. As a result, abandoning his cherished dream, showing cowardice and overcoming pride, Wilhelm enters into a secret alliance. The nobles who organized the secret society rallied people who were afraid of the revolution, of any change in the established burgher life.
The struggle of the Kingdom of the Netherlands with Spanish domination served as the basis for the Egmont tragedy. The main character is fighting for the independence of the nation, leaving love experiences in the background, the will of history becomes more important than the will of fate. Egmont allows everything to go their own way, and eventually perishes due to a careless attitude to what is happening.
Faust
But the most famous work that Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote all his life is Faust. Urfaust, a kind of preface to the Faust, Goethe wrote in 1774-1775. In this part, the author’s plan is still being slightly revealed, Faust is a rebel, in vain trying to penetrate the secrets of nature, to rise above the world around him. The following passage was published in 1790, and only in 1800 did the prologue to the work “In Heaven” appear, this gave the drama the outlines that we see now. Faust’s intentions are motivated, because of it God and Mephistopheles entered into a dispute. God predicted salvation to Faust, since anyone who seeks can be mistaken.
First part
Before reaching the ultimate goal of his life, Johann Goethe prepared Faust to pass a series of tests. The first test was the love of the sweet tradesman Gretchen. But Faust does not want to bind himself with family ties, limit himself to some kind of framework and abandons his beloved. In deep despair, Gretchen kills a newborn baby and dies herself. So Wolfgang von Goethe shows how the desire for grandiose designs, neglect of your own feelings and the opinions of people around you can lead to such tragic consequences.
The second part of
The second test is the union of Faust with Elena. In the shadow of outlandish groves, in the company of a pretty Greek woman, he finds peace for a short while. But even this he cannot stop. The second part of “Faust” is particularly expressive, Gothic images gave way to the ancient Greek period. The action is transferred to Hellas, images take shape, mythological motifs slip. The second part of the work is a kind of collection of knowledge about which Johann Goethe had an idea in life. There are reflections on philosophy, politics, science.
Refusing to believe in the other world, he decides to serve society, devote his strength and aspirations to it. Having decided to create an ideal state of free people, he begins a grandiose construction on land conquered from the sea. But some forces, accidentally awakened by him, are trying to stop him. Mephistopheles, in the image of the commander of a flotilla of merchants, contrary to the will of Faust, kills two old men to whom he is attached. Faust, shocked by grief, still does not stop believing in his ideals and continues to build a state of free people until his death. In the final scene, the angels raise the soul of Faust to heaven.
The legend of Faust
The plot for the tragedy “Faust” was based on a legend common in medieval Europe. It spoke of Johann Faust, the doctor who made a contract with the devil himself, who promised him secret knowledge, with which any metal can be turned into gold. In this drama, Goethe skillfully intertwined science and artistic design. The first part of “Faust” is more reminiscent of tragedy, and the second is filled with mystery, the plot loses its logic and is transferred to the infinity of the universe.
Goethe's biography says that he completed the work of his whole life on July 22, 1831, sealed the manuscript and ordered that the envelope be opened after his death. Faust has been written for almost sixty years. Started during the Storm and Onslaught period in German literature and completed during the Romantic period, he reflected all the changes that took place in the life and work of the poet.
Contradictions of Contemporaries
Contemporaries of the poet treated him very ambiguously, more success went to his work "The Suffering of Young Werther." The novel was accepted, but still some enlighteners decided that he was preaching pessimism and lack of will. Herder was already indignant about Iphigenia, believing that his student was too keen on classicism. The writers of young Germany, having not found democratic and liberal ideas in Goethe's works, decided to debunk him as a writer whom only insensitive and selfish people can love. Thus, interest in Goethe will return only to the end of the nineteenth century. The Burds, Gundolf and others, who discovered the work of the late Goethe, helped in this.
The creations created by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe are still very popular with theater and film directors, quotes from his works are relevant in our time. The German writer and poet, thinker and statesman is of interest not only to his compatriots, but also to readers around the world.
Russian Goethe
Goethe's first translations appeared in Russia in 1781 and immediately aroused great interest in the work of the writer. He was admired by Karamzin, Radishchev and many others. In his Dramatic Dictionary, Novikov included Goethe among the greatest playwrights of the West. The disputes that arose around Goethe did not go unnoticed in Russia either. In the 1830s, Menzel’s book translated into Russian was published, in which he gave a negative characteristic of Goethe's work. Soon Belinsky reacted to this criticism with his article. It said that Menzel’s conclusions were arrogant and impudent. Although Belinsky later admitted that Goethe's works lack social and historical elements, acceptance of reality prevails.
Goethe's interesting biography does not reveal all the moments of his busy life. Many points remain unclear so far. For example, from 1807 to 1811, Goethe corresponded with Bettina von Arnim. These relationships are described in Kundera’s novel Immortality. Correspondence ceased after a quarrel between Bettina von Arnim and Goethe's wife, Christiana Vulpius. It is also worth noting that Johann Goethe was 36 years older than Bettina.
Heritage
Goethe's awards include the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit of the Crown of Bavaria, the Order of St. Anne of the first degree, the Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honor, and the Commander Cross of the Imperial Austrian Order of Leopold. Among the legacy that Johann Wolfgang von Goethe left was photos, paintings with his image, scientific papers, many monuments both in Germany and around the world. But, of course, the most significant is his literary work, at the head of which the work of his whole life - “Faust”.
Goethe's works were translated into Russian by Griboedov and Bryusov, Grigoriev and Zabolotsky. Even such classics of Russian literature as Tolstoy, Tyutchev, Fet, Kochetkov, Lermontov, Pasternak did not hesitate to translate the work of the great German poet.
Numerous biographers interested in Goethe's work noted in him an internal bifurcation. This is especially noticeable at the time of the sharp transition from the young Johann Wolfgang, a rebel and maximalist, to a later, matured one. Goethe's later work was inspired by experience, years of reflection, filled with worldly wisdom, which is not inherent in the young.
In 1930, a congress was held in Hamburg on the history and theory of art. Reports on space and time were read, very emotional discussions were conducted, there was a lot of controversy. But what was most surprising - all the speakers constantly referred to Goethe's work, quoted excerpts from his works. Of course, this suggests that a century later they did not forget about him. His works are popular in our days, also cause a storm of admiration. Some may like them, some may not, but it is impossible to remain indifferent.