Goethe (Johann Wolfgangvon 1749～1832) was a German writer and poet. Born in Frankfurt on August 28, 1749 to a wealthy citizen family, he died in Weimar on March 22, 1832. His life and creation can be divided into five periods.
Study years and Sturm und Drang period (1765-1775) In 1765, Goethe went to the University of Leipzig to study law, but returned home due to illness three years later. During his time in Leipzig, he wrote lyric poetry and drama in the rococo style. In 1770, he went to Strasbourg to continue studying law and received a doctorate in law the following year. Met Herder in September 1770. Under the influence of the latter, he read Homer's epic poems, Shakespeare's plays and "Esperia" and other works, and began to collect folk songs. At this time, he wrote beautiful lyric poems such as "Meeting and Farewell", "Song of May", "Little Rose on the Field", etc., which created a new era of German lyric poetry. He returned to Frankfurt in August 1771. In the following years, in addition to writing many poems such as "Prometheus", he also created the script "The Iron-Hand Knight G?tz von Bellichingen" and the novel "Young Werther". "Trouble" and so on, these works have become the most fruitful achievements of the Sturm und Drang movement. The epistolary novel "The Sorrows of Young Werther" is largely based on the author's own life experiences. Werther in the novel opposes feudal customs, longs for true love, demands freedom of personality, and hopes to display his talents and ambitions. However, he encounters obstacles in the despicable environment and dark reality, and his unfortunate love gives him a heavy blow. , had no choice but to seek relief through death. The work expresses Werther's pain, longing, sentimentality and cynicism with rich poetic flavor and strong emotions. It calls out for a generation of young people to get rid of feudal shackles, establish a natural social order and equal interpersonal relationships, and realize the value of life. voice. After the publication of this novel, it aroused strong enthusiasm among young people and immediately became popular in Europe, establishing Goethe's position in the international literary world.
Early Weimar period (1775~1786) In November 1775, Goethe came to Weimar at the invitation of Duke August of Weimar, where he served as a state senator and many other positions. In 1782, he obtained noble status. His responsibilities range from leading mine development, managing transportation, leading the military to being responsible for water conservancy, taking charge of finance, etc. In addition, he also participates in various literary and artistic activities. Busy official duties, flashy court entertainment and frustrations in love prevented him from getting the quiet time he needed for creation. Compared with the Sturm und Drang period, his poetry during this period has tended to stabilize, and his passionate praise of nature and life has transformed into in-depth observation and exploration and thinking about the relationship between man and nature. Goethe's poems such as "The Wanderer's Night Song" and "To the Moon" as well as narrative ballads such as "The Devil" and "The Fisherman" were all composed during this period.
His trip to Italy and the period of the French Revolution (1786~1793) In order to get rid of the palace life that made him tired and depressed, Goethe changed his name on September 3, 1786, and quietly traveled to Italy. He was intoxicated by the beautiful scenery of Italy and the perfect Greek and Roman classical art. During this period, he changed the prose manuscript of "Iphigenia in Tauris" into poetry and completed the tragedy "Egmont". The former uses characters in Greek mythology to express his classical humanitarian ideals. The latter is based on the historical facts of the Dutch people's resistance to Spanish rule and struggle for national independence in the 16th century, portraying Egmont as a hero loved by the people.
In June 1788, Goethe returned to Weimar from Italy and resigned from all administrative positions. He only served as theater director and was also in charge of the mining industry. In July of the same year, he fell in love with Christiana Vulpius, a female artificial flower factory worker, and lived together. They were officially married in 1806. The trip to Italy made a great change in his poetic style. He no longer expresses the primitive power of nature and excited shouts through turbulent emotions, but pursues the tranquility, simplicity, and harmonious beauty embodied in ancient Greek and Roman art in Goethe's former residence, in order to transform human personality and realize the ideal of classical humanism , greater attention was also paid to poetic form. The image of the Roman girl Faustina appearing in the poem "Roman Elegies" written after returning to Weimar is intertwined with the image of Christiana, expressing sensual enjoyment and indicating the poet's awakening sexual requirements. In 1789 he completed the play "Torquado Tasso". The script expresses Goethe's own depression and ambivalence in the Weimar court through the encounters of Italian poet Tasso during the Renaissance. In the play, the shrewd and capable minister Antonio and the sentimental and talented poet Tasso are the two sides of Goethe himself.
The bourgeois revolution broke out in France in 1789. Goethe did not approve of violent revolution and wrote some works that ridiculed the masses and revolution. In 1792, Goethe accompanied Duke August to participate in the Prussian-Austrian Allied Forces' expedition to France. The following year, the city of Mainz responded to the French Revolution and established the first French Republic in German history. When the coalition forces besieged the city occupied by the French army, Goethe Accompanied the Duke in this battle. Thirty years later, this experience was recorded in "Accompanying the Army" and "Siege of Mainz" completed in 1822.
Period of Cooperation with Schiller (1794~1805) Goethe became friends with Schiller at the end of July 1794, and the two had frequent contacts and close cooperation since then. Although their personalities and perspectives are different, they learn from each other's strengths and weaknesses and benefit a lot from each other.
The 10 years until Schiller's death in 1805 were Goethe's second creative period after Sturm und Drang. In addition to the "Satirical Poems" and many narrative ballads co-written by the two, Goethe also wrote many important philosophical poems and poems expressing literary and artistic views, and completed the novel "The Studying Times of Wilhelm Meister" and the long narrative poem " Hermann and Dorothea" and "Faust" Part 1. This is the German classical literature period in the narrow sense of literary history, also known as the Weimar classical literature period.
In his later years, Schiller's death on May 9, 1805 was a huge blow to Goethe. He felt that he had lost "half of his life" and his creation was greatly affected. Later, he revived, wrote "Sonnets" and published the novel "Affinity". The latter tells a tragic story of four men and women who are reunited due to changes in attraction between the sexes. The poet uses this to explore the contradictions and conflicts between spontaneous emotions and moral norms, with the influence of romanticism that was prevalent at the time. Since 1813, Goethe has studied Arabic and Persian poetry as well as Chinese and Indian literature and philosophy. A trip to southern Germany from 1814 to 1815 restored his youth, and he wrote many beautiful poems, which were later supplemented and totaled 240 poems, forming the important collection of poems "West and East Collection". Like "Morning and Dusk Odes of the Four Seasons in China and Germany", it is an outstanding effort by the poet to combine Western and Eastern cultures and integrate them into one.
Goethe’s wife died in 1816. After that, he devoted himself to creation and completed several of his most important works. The novel "William Meister" took 50 years from writing to completion in 1777, and is divided into two parts: "The Age of Learning" and "The Age of Wandering". The protagonist strives to get rid of the narrow environment and pursue higher ideals. Although he has gone astray, he continues to exercise self-restraint, grasp the rudder of fate, and finally becomes a "complete person", which reflects the author's humanistic ideals. The poetic drama "Faust" is his masterpiece. It took 60 years to write. The work is based on the 16th century legend about Faust. The protagonist's life has experienced the intellectual tragedy of study life. After making a contract with the devil Mephistopheles, under the guidance of the devil, he has gone through stages such as love tragedy, political tragedy, beauty tragedy and career tragedy, from "small world" to "small world". "Big World", finally found satisfaction in the cause of transforming nature, and died at the moment when he realized the true meaning of life. This is the image of a giant who was determined to get rid of his narrow environment, constantly explore the truth, and pursue lofty ideals. His life reflects the 300 years of cultural development in Europe from the Renaissance to the early 19th century.
Goethe also made great achievements in natural science research and made inventions and discoveries. He is recognized as one of the giants of world literature. Engels called him "the greatest German" and "Zeus on Mount Olympus" in the field of literature.
Johann K. F. Schiller (1759-1805) was born in a family of doctors and studied law and medicine. He is a German enlightenment writer as famous as Goethe. In his youth, Schiller, under the influence of the Sturm und Drang spirit, wrote his famous works "The Robbers" and "Conspiracy and Love", which established his creative path of opposing the feudal system, fighting for freedom and arousing national awakening. "The Robber" reflects the young people's resistance to the feudal autocratic system. On the title page of the second edition of "The Robber", Schiller wrote the slogan "Down with the Tyrant" and quoted the famous ancient Greek doctor Hippocrates: "Those who cannot be cured by medicine, cure them with iron; those who cannot be cured by iron, cure them with iron." Fire cures it.” The passion for fighting is extremely strong. Engels said that this play "praises a heroic young man who openly declares war on the whole society."
"Conspiracy and Love" is Schiller's masterpiece, which reflects the contradiction between the German citizen class and the feudal ruling class. The character of the heroine Lois in the play reflects the opposition of progressive German youth to the feudal system at that time. Demand freedom and equality of thought. What she shouted, "The restrictions of class will collapse, and the hateful shell of class will burst! People are people!" can be said to be the voice of the times. Engels said this work was "Germany's first political drama."
For almost ten years, Schiller did not engage in creative writing. He turned to the study of history and philosophy. In historical research, he focused on national movements in historical development. He examined history by linking it with current German social issues. It is precisely in this way that several of his later historical dramas used ancient metaphors to criticize and accuse German society. In philosophy, Schiller was a disciple of Kant.
His aesthetic theory is idealistic. In his aesthetic book "Aesthetic Education Correspondence", he emphasized the transformation of society through beauty education and fictionalized a country ruled by aesthetic principles. But when he accepted Goethe's help, he left idealist philosophy.
Schiller’s literary creation during the “Weimar Classicism” period did not practice his aesthetic theory. Schiller later wrote important scripts such as "Wallenstein", "The Girl of Orion" and "William Tell".
"Wallenstein" is based on the war of the 1930s. The protagonist Wallenstein in the play is a real historical figure. Schiller reflects the demand for national unity in him and points out his Reason for failure.
"The Girl of Orion" is based on the fighting deeds of the French heroine Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years' War between England and France. She turned France from defeat into victory and avoided the humiliation of national collapse.
"William Tell" is based on the heroic legend of Switzerland in the 14th century, expressing the desire to oppose feudal tyrants and fight for freedom. The theme significance of these three scripts is to call for national consciousness and national unity. This was the requirement of the times in Germany at that time. What is commendable is that the play also shows the struggle and strength of the people. This shows Schiller's growth in realism. However, due to the limitations of his worldview and his serious disconnection from the reality of social struggle, Schiller's creations often start from concepts and ideals, thus forming the "Schiller" defect of "turning individuals into a mere mouthpiece for the spirit of the times". "Don Carlos" is a typical work with this defect.