The Sorrows of Young Werther

The Sorrows of Young Werther (German, Die Leiden des jungen Werther) is a loosely autobiographical novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, first published in 1774. A climactic scene prominently features Goethe's own German translation of a portion of James Macpherson's Ossian cycle of poems, which had originally been presented as translations of ancient works, and was later found to have been written by Macpherson.

Related Topics:
German - Autobiographical - Novel - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - 1774 - James Macpherson - Ossian

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It was Goethe's first major success, turning him from an unknown into a celebrated author practically overnight. Young men throughout Europe began to dress in the clothing described for Werther in the novel. It also led to some of the first known examples of copycat suicide.

Related Topics:
Europe - Copycat suicide

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The majority of the novel is presented as a collection of letters written by Werther, a young artist with a very sensitive and passionate temperament. In these letters, Werther gives a very intimate account of his stay in the fictive village Wahlheim (based on the town of Garbenheim, near Wetzlar), where he meets and falls in love with Lotte, a beautiful young girl who is taking care of her siblings following the death of their mother. Lotte is, however, already engaged to a man named Albert. Despite the pain this causes Werther, he spends the next several months cultivating a close friendship with both of them. Every day serves as a torturing reminder that Lotte will never be able to requite his love, and after several failed attempts to break off his ties with her, Werther sees no other choice but to take his own life.

Related Topics:
Collection of letters - Garbenheim - Wetzlar

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The Sorrows of Young Werther is mentioned in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Frankenstein's monster finds the book along with three others (Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, Volney's The Ruins: Meditation on the Revolutions of Empires, and Milton's Paradise Lost) in a sack. He sees Werther's case as similar to his own. He, like Werther, was rejected by those he loved. This realization depressed the monster and, eventually, persuaded him to commit suicide.

Related Topics:
Mary Shelley - Frankenstein - Plutarch - Volney - Milton - Paradise Lost - Suicide

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An episode of History Bites features this book, with Bob Bainborough portraying Goethe. It is also the basis for the story behind the opera "Werther" by Jules Massenet.

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