Sorrows of Young Werther

Author: Goethe
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-12-01
Features: Anecdotes about the poor Werther, all the stories I could collect, I have painstakingly compiled and now present to you, and I believe you will be grateful. You will not fail to admire and love his talent and character, nor will you fail to shed tears for his fate. You, kind-hearted person, if you feel the same pain and oppression as he did, you will find comfort in his suffering. If, due to fate or your own faults, you cannot find a confidant, you will take this little book as your good friend.
Goethe was a German poet. He was born on August 28, 1749, in Frankfurt on the Rhine. His father was a royal counselor, and his mother was the daughter of the city council president. In 1765, Goethe studied law at the University of Leipzig. He dropped out of school due to illness in 1768. In 1770, he entered the University of Strasbourg to continue his studies and received his doctorate in law in the following year. In 1773, he wrote the play The Iron Knight G?tz von Berlichingen, which brought him fame in German literature. In 1774, his novel The Sorrows of Young Werther was published and immediately caused a sensation across Europe. His name was forever etched in people's minds with this book.
The Sorrows of Young Werther is a letter novel. It tells the story of a young man named Werther who admires nature and opposes feudal customs but constantly faces obstacles and setbacks. He lives in a quiet small town, partly to handle his mother's inheritance and partly to escape the torment of a love affair. He gradually falls in love with his friend's fiancée, which leads him into deep distress. When he feels that his love is hopeless, he ends his life in this remote town. At his funeral, there was no relative, no clergyman. He thus bid farewell to the world in solitude for love.
The conflict between Werther and society has an anti-feudal significance. Through Werther's tragedy, the novel exposes and criticizes many unreasonable realities of German society at the time, expressing the revolutionary sentiments of the awakening German youth. As a result, it caused a strong reaction upon its publication, sparking a Werther fever that quickly spread to countries across Europe, becoming a literary work with significant international impact.