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GOETHE

by a history of 18th\u002Dcentury ideas? How did he make, and respond to, 19th\u002Dcentury ways of looking at the world? Behind all his work is this: What is human nature and what is the place of humankind in the natural world? The great scholarly achievement of this book lies in its synthesis of Goethe’s personal writing (especially his letters) with his public work. It shows how he created modern German as a language for a people—how the German\u002Dspeaking peoples, scattered across small kingdoms, duchies, and imperial lands, could find unity in a literary heritage. This book does not ignore the paradoxes of Goethe’s life. A man of great faith, he was an indefatigable analyst of nature. A proponent of human freedom, he could consort with despots. Goethe enabled us to find philosophy in literature, much as he sought faith in Shakespeare and the Greeks. Bell, a professor at King’s College London, distills an ethical lesson from that search: “Faith is…an expression of compassion. What matters is that our compassion engages with the world….The natural human capacity to feel concern or compassion, rooted deep in our nature, dwarfs any reasoning about good or evil or otherwise of religious doctrine.” That is the lesson of literature, and that is the lesson of this amazing book."

Book Details

Publisher:Of
Published:2024-01-01
Pages:776
Format:paperback
Language:English
ISBN:9780691153

Reading Info

Age Range:12-18

About This Book

This insightful biography offers young readers a compelling introduction to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the German literary giant whose works spanned poetry, drama, and scientific inquiry. The narrat...

Our Review

This insightful biography offers young readers a compelling introduction to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the German literary giant whose works spanned poetry, drama, and scientific inquiry. The narrative vividly captures his creative journey from the passionate turmoil of "The Sorrows of Young Werther" to the profound philosophical depths of "Faust," making complex literary concepts accessible to adolescent minds. Through engaging storytelling, readers discover how Goethe's revolutionary ideas about art, nature, and human experience shaped European Romanticism and continue to influence writers today.

What distinguishes this literary biography is its ability to present Goethe not as a distant historical figure but as a relatable creative spirit wrestling with universal questions of love, ambition, and artistic purpose. Teen readers exploring their own creative paths will find inspiration in Goethe's multidisciplinary approach, which blended scientific observation with poetic imagination. The book successfully bridges centuries to show how one writer's passionate engagement with the world can ignite similar curiosity in contemporary young minds, making classical literature feel unexpectedly relevant and exciting.

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