Quotes by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

About Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:


Johann Wolfgang Goethe was a German writer and statesman. His body of work includes epic and lyric poetry written in a variety of metres and styles; prose and verse dramas; memoirs; an autobiography; literary and aesthetic criticism; treatises on botany, anatomy, and colour; and four novels. In addition, numerous literary and scientific fragments, more than 10,000 letters, and nearly 3,000 drawings by him are extant. A literary celebrity by the age of 25, Goethe was ennobled by the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, Karl August in 1782 after first taking up residence there in November 1775 following the success of his first novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther. He was an early participant in the Sturm und Drang literary movement. During his first ten years in Weimar, Goethe served as a member of the Duke's privy council, sat on the war and highway commissions, oversaw the reopening of silver mines in nearby Ilmenau, and implemented a series of administrative reforms at the University of Jena. He also contributed to the planning of Weimar's botanical park and the rebuilding of its Ducal Palace, which in 1998 were together designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Author Bio


  • NameJohann Wolfgang von Goethe
  • DescriptionGerman writer, artist, and politician
  • BornAugust 28, 1749
  • DiedMarch 22, 1832
  • CountryFrankfurt
  • ProfessionPoet Lawyer; Theatre Manager; Botanist; Politician; Painter; Philosopher; Theologian; Jurist; Art Critic; Music Critic; Geheimrat; Librarian; Poet; Travel Writer; Physicist; Literary; Novelist; Playwright; Autobiographer; Diplomat; Statesman; Polymath; Aphorist; Diarist; Mineralogist; Zoologist; Art Theorist
  • WorksFaust; The Sorrows Of Young Werther; Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship; Elective Affinities; Prometheus; Theory Of Colours; Italian Journey; West-östlicher Diwan
  • AwardsMerit Order Of The Bavarian Crown; Officer Of The Legion Of Honour; Order Of St. Anna