Goethe: The Poet and the Age

Goethe: The Poet and the Age is a sweeping two-volume biography of the German writer and statesman. Written by scholar Nicholas Boyle, the first volume, The Poetry of Desire, was published in 1991, and the second, Revolution and Renunciation, came along in 2000; Oxford University Press published both volumes. Boyle combines an academic approach with accessible language, historical context, and vivid characterizations, creating an all-encompassing portrait of the legendary Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a literary and political superman who was both of his time and distinctly separate from it.

The first volume opens with an examination of the world into which Goethe emerged, eighteenth-century Germany. Boyle details the political, cultural, and literary life of the region. Born on August 28, 1749, Goethe grows up in Frankfurt. His parents have several children, but only Johann and his sister, Cornelia, survive beyond infancy.

From an early age, private tutors instruct Goethe, laying the groundwork for the unbounded curiosity that would soon spark in his young mind. He masters several languages, falls in love with reading and literature, learns to ride and fence, excels at drawing, and becomes a lifelong fan of the theatre. His interest in literature inspires him to try his own hand at it.



In 1765, Goethe goes to university in Leipzig and studies law. There, he falls in love for the first time and anonymously publishes his first collection of poetry—a compendium of love songs for the object of his affection—entitled Annette. Goethe's literary career, however anonymous, begins.

Meanwhile, he leaves college after falling ill and floundering in his studies. The illness keeps him confined to his Frankfurt home with his family for nearly two years. In 1770, he returns to college, this time at the University of Strasbourg, to complete his studies. There, he comes to life as he never has before. Goethe makes cultured friends who share his interests. He has love affairs. He discovers the works of William Shakespeare, a moment often described as a momentous, almost spiritual meeting of the (creative) minds; Shakespeare would have an undeniable impact on Faust's own literary canon.

In 1771, Goethe opens a law office but, clearly, he is not destined for a career as a lawyer. The office closes within months. He soon finds employment as the editor of a literary journal and continues to write, with a brief return to law practice during that time. Then, in 1774, Goethe publishes the novel that puts him on the map. The Sorrows of Young Werther brings Goethe acclaim beyond his wildest imaginings, though, unfortunately, not a lot of money.



The following year, Goethe goes to the royal court in Weimar and becomes a friend and advisor to Karl August, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. The Duke appoints him to a succession of political offices and, ultimately, confers upon him the title of a noble. Meanwhile, he carries on an affair with an older, married woman who would influence much of his work. As part of his duties under the Duke, Goethe sends German mercenaries to fight in the Revolutionary War in the American Colonies.

From 1786 to 1790, Goethe lives in Italy. This environment nourishes him creatively, culturally, and spiritually. "I am a different man," he writes in Italy. He frolics with artists and nobles and tours the country with wide-eyed wonder. His diaries of the time form the basis of his book Italian Journey, which would inspire countless young people across Europe to follow Goethe's example and embark on a grand tour of Italy. The Poetry of Desire concludes with Goethe's departure from Italy.

Revolution and Renunciation picks up where the first volume leaves off. Goethe returns to Weimar and meets Christiana Vulpius—sister of German writer Christian Vulpius. The two move in together, without the benefit of marriage, and have a child. The oddness of an unmarried couple living together puts distance between Goethe and the Duke's court, so, with plenty of free time, he devotes much of his energy to writing.



During this period, Goethe creates some of his most famous literary works. Among them: Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, Hermann and Dorothea, and The Natural Daughter. He also continues toiling away at what would later become his masterwork, the epic tragedy Faust.

With the Napoleonic War raging, Goethe even becomes the Duke's "field-poet" during a campaign against the French.

By the end of Revolution and Renunciation, Goethe is just fifty-four years old, and some of his biggest successes lay before him. Boyle's biography will continue in a third volume. Throughout both The Poetry of Desire and Revolution and Renunciation, Boyle inserts lengthy analyses of Goethe's literary output; plot summaries of his work; and further historical context for all of it. Maps and illustrations lend further structure and color to Goethe's story.



In the end, what we learn from this towering biography is that Goethe was at the epicenter of much of the cultural and political change that took place during his lifetime. Some of that may have been sheer luck, but most of it resulted from his considerable skill both in the arts and in statesmanship, from his social prowess, and from his daring flouting of conventions. He took risks—in his life and in his work—and birthed a completely new society in the process. As Friedrich Nietzsche once said, Goethe was "not just a good and great man, but an entire culture."