Goethe, Ritchie Robetson
Goethe, Ritchie Robetson
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Goethe
A Very Short Introduction

Author: Ritchie Robetson

Narrator: Nigel Patterson

Unabridged: 4 hr 26 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/28/2019

Synopsis

In 1878 the Victorian critic Matthew Arnold wrote: "Goethe is the greatest poet of modern times . . . because having a very considerable gift for poetry, he was at the same time, in the width, depth, and richness of his criticism of life, by far our greatest modern man."

In this Very Short Introduction Ritchie Robertson covers the life and work of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832): scientist, administrator, artist, art critic, and supreme literary writer in a vast variety of genres. Looking at Goethe's poetry, novels, and drama pieces, as well as his travel writing, autobiography, and essays on art and aesthetics, Robertson analyzes some of the key themes in his works: love, nature, religion, and tragedy. Dispelling the misconception of Goethe as a sedate Victorian sage, Robertson shows how much of his art was rooted in turbulent personal conflicts, and draws on recent research to present a complete portrait of the scientific work and political activity which accompanied Goethe's writings.

About Ritchie Robetson

Ritchie Robertson is Taylor Professor of German at the University of Oxford. He is Research Director for the Modern Languages Faculty, co-director (with Carolin Duttlinger and Katrin Kohl) of the Oxford Kafka Research Centre, convenor of the Bithell Series of Dissertations in German, and editor of the series Germanic Literatures. He is the author of The 'Jewish Question' in German Literature, 1749-1939: Emancipation and its Discontents, Mock-Epic Poetry from Pope to Heine, and Kafka; A Very Short Introduction. He has translated several German authors into English for the Oxford World's Classics and Penguin Classics series, and has been a Fellow of the British Academy since 2004.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Hans

This is a dangerous book. For anyone who has suffered from that unrequited love that burns like a fever will be able to relate uncannily well with this book. Unfortunately the ending is such that it inspired many people to use it like a template for their own lives when faced with a similar situatio......more

Goodreads review by Casey

I couldn't help but imagine young Werther as a high school, tweeting about all his troubles to the ether. So, without further ado, I present to you: The Tweets of Young Werther. This is the kind of book that high school teachers should be making self-absorbed teenagers read. They can totally relate,......more

Goodreads review by Emily May

“I have so much in me, and the feeling for her absorbs it all; I have so much, and without her it all comes to nothing.” A lot of classic novels contain certain things that make us cringe a little today but The Sorrows of Young Werther is one that, more than most, really hasn't aged well. I do no......more

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