Goethe: Novels & Novellas (eBook)

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) stands as a towering figure in Western literature. A versatile German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, and statesman, his literary breadth is best showcased in his magnum opus, 'Faust,' a two-part drama that remains a defining work in the canon of world literature. However, Goethe's prowess extended beyond this grandiose tragedy. In his collection 'Goethe: Novels & Novellas', one finds a compendium of his narrative skill, capturing the author's exploration into the psychological depth and moral questioning that characterizes his prose works. Goethe's seminal 'The Sorrows of Young Werther' (1774), a novel that vitalized the Sturm und Drang literary movement, also unabashedly delves into the emotional and tumultuous inner life of its protagonist, setting a precedent for the Romantic literary movement that followed. Not confined to literary art, his interests spanned to science, where his work on color theory in 'Theory of Colours' and contributions to plant morphology in 'Metamorphosis of Plants' signaled his engagement with the natural sciences. Scholarly works on Goethe's literary style note his synthesis of classical and innovative methods, his balance of form and profundity, and his influence on later generations of writers. Indeed, Goethe's works laid intellectual foundations that resonate in the wide span of humanities, reflecting an unmatched scope in the narrative exploration of human experience.