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Goethe (1750-1832) epitomized the Renaissance man in his roles of poet, novelist, scientist, administrator, and critic. He has been referred to as the German Shakespeare, and was a master of the German language. His positions included most of the major posts in the Weimar government, including the Privy Councillor at the Duke of Weimar's court, where he coordinated major mining, road-building, and irrigation projects. In addition, Goethe painted, worked on anatomy and botany, created a theory of colors, and directed a theater for 26 years. The most complete German edition of Goethe's works, letters, and diaries fills 143 volumes. His novel The Sorrows of Young Werther, completed in 1774, is so powerful that it actually inspired many young men and women to commit suicide; the story of the tragic Werther was found on many of their corpses. Goethe's early play Goetz von Berlichingen, written in 1773, defined and initiated the storm-and-stress movement of drama (known as Sturm und Drang in German). Two of his later dramas, Iphigenia in Taurus (1787) and Torquato Tasso (1790), are famous for their classical restraint. However, Goethe is probably best known for his masterpiece Faust, which focuses on the search for the meaning of existence and of the soul. The original publication in 1790 was titled Faust: A Fragment. Faust soon became a lifelong obsession for Goethe, who worked on the play for more than 60 years and completed the final draft only months before he died on March 22, 1832. He was 82 at the time. Faust elucidated the ideas that no philosophic system can explain the world, that man is not reducible into individual concepts, and that literature can reflect the arbitrariness of life. Goethe's thoughts drew upon and inspired poets and philosophers such as Nietzsche, Beckett and Kafka. |
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