Poetry and Truth: Goethe's Autobiography

Author: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Germany)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-10-01
Features: Goethe wrote many autobiographical works, but none are more famous than Poetry and Truth. Few believe that an "autobiography" is "true," and Goethe did not either. Yet he wanted to make the greatest effort, with the utmost sincerity, to depict the fundamental truths that shaped his life. Seeking "truth" yet unable to attain it—what should one do? He simply stated that he was using poetic language and imagination to write about "truth." That's why the book is titled Poetry and Truth—"truth" is his pursuit, and the expression is "poetry." This book is Goethe's work from his later years. When he took up his pen to approach that "fundamental truth," he was already an elderly man in his sixties. He wrote it over more than twenty years and completed it six months before his death. It was published the year after his death. This book pioneered the modern sense of a truly "autobiographical" work. Merely for this reason, it holds an unshakable position and value in the history of world literature. Goethe, with the most mature and meticulous insight of a man over sixty, described that "fundamental truth" objectively and calmly, with composure and stability. With the genius of a "great literary master," he wielded his mighty pen to leave us this great masterpiece. This book pioneered the modern sense of a truly "autobiographical" work. Merely for this reason, it holds an unshakable position and value in the history of world literature. This book may not be "fundamental truth," and the proportion of "poetry" may be greater than that of "truth," but this does not hinder young people from taking it as a guide to life and savoring it carefully. This book is suitable for successful individuals in various fields; "quasi-celebrities" who are striving but have not yet achieved fame; young people in the process of growth; elderly individuals over sixty with profound life experience; and literary-minded people who hold some "dreams" in their hearts. "Trees can grow tall, but they can never reach the sky," as Goethe said in his Autobiography. Only the elderly, after enduring the "purging" of growing into towering trees, can fully realize this fate of "never reaching the sky." Therefore, this Autobiography has the grandeur of a "king," the wisdom of a "Zen master," and is full, tranquil, peaceful, yet insightful. Like heavy, no longer held high as in youth, but humbly bowed, head down toward the silent and profound earth.