The Suffering of a Young Wörther , or The Suffering of a Young Wörther ( German Die Leiden des jungen Werthers - in the first editions and German Die Leiden des jungen Werther - in modern ones) - a sentimental novel in the letters of Johann Wolfgang Goethe in 1774 . In the novel, against the background of a picture of German reality, the hero’s dramatic personal experiences are reflected.
| The suffering of young Werther | |
|---|---|
| Die Leiden des jungen Werthers | |
| Genre | novel |
| Author | Johann Wolfgang Goethe |
| Original language | Deutsch |
| Date of writing | 1774 |
| Date of first publication | 1774 |
History
The novel The Suffering of Young Werther became Goethe's second literary success after the drama Goetz von Berlichingen . Both the drama and the novel in the letters refer to the direction of “ Storm and Onslaught ”. "The suffering of young Werther" is somewhat autobiographical in nature , in it, in a free interpretation, Goethe spoke about his platonic love for Charlotte Buff . Goethe met her during an internship in the imperial cameral court of Wetzlar in the summer of 1772 . The motive for the tragic outcome of the love story, Werther Goethe's suicide was inspired by the death of his friend Karl Wilhelm Jerusalem , who suffered from love for a married woman. The literary image of Lotta owes its appearance to another Goethe friend of that time - Maximiliane von Laroche .
The first edition of the novel was released in the fall of 1774 at the Leipzig Book Fair and immediately became a bestseller. The revised edition came out in 1787. The novel gave Goethe fame throughout Germany. None of Goethe's works has been read by so many contemporaries.
The spread of the novel caused a wave of imitative suicides in Europe, which was later called the Werther effect . This effect was so strong that in a number of states the authorities banned the distribution of the book.
Werther’s Suffering inspired German writer Johann Martin Miller to write the novel Siegwart, eine Klostergeschichte , which was published two years later; according to F.F. Fiedler , contemporaries read to them no less than Werther [1] .
The image of Werther in the works of other authors
Heinrich Heine contrasted Werther with the freedom fighter:
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See also
- Werther effect
- Werther (opera) Based on the plot of Goethe.
Notes
- ↑ Fiedler F.F. Miller, Johann Martin // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
Literature
- A. Plyushar . Encyclopedic Lexicon , Volume 9. - Typography of A. Plyushar; S.-P., 1837 - p. 519 (Werther. "The suffering of the young Werther").