Charlotte Lee – författare

This book examines self-consciousness and very-lateness, those two intimately related phenomena, tracing the theme in Goethe's last major poems and autobiographical writings, before turning to the two 'giants', 'Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre' and 'Faust II'.

One of the most prolific and versatile writers of all time, Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832) made an impact that continues to extend far beyond his native Germany. The variety of human questions and experiences treated in his works is arguably without parallel. He also had (for his era) an unusually long life, which spanned the French Revolution, the end of the Holy Roman Empire and subsequent reshaping of the German-speaking world, and the rapid onset of industrial modernity. In thirty-seven short essays, leading international scholars explore Goethe's life and times, his literary works, his activity in the realms of art, philosophy and natural science, his reception of - and indeed by - other cultures, and, finally, the resonance of his work in our time. The aim of this collection is to open as many windows as possible onto Goethe's wide-ranging intellectual and practical activity, and to give a sense of his ongoing importance.

Goethe''s career was an unusually long and productive one: he became a literary celebrity in the 1770s and remained so until his death in 1832. The distinguishing feature of his last works is their self-consciousness, their preoccupation both with the business of writing and with personal development. In the first cross-genre study of this period of Goethe''s work, Charlotte Lee traces the theme in his last major poems and autobiographical writings, before turning to the two ''giants'', ''Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre'' and ''Faust II''. All these works share a tendency to allude subtly to earlier moments from Goethe''s own literary output, but to fashion them into writing which is quite new - even though (or perhaps because) he himself is old. This book seeks to understand the unique perspective of one nearing the end of a long life.

Goethe''s career was an unusually long and productive one: he became a literary celebrity in the 1770s and remained so until his death in 1832. The distinguishing feature of his last works is their self-consciousness, their preoccupation both with the business of writing and with personal development. In the first cross-genre study of this period of Goethe''s work, Charlotte Lee traces the theme in his last major poems and autobiographical writings, before turning to the two ''giants'', ''Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre'' and ''Faust II''. All these works share a tendency to allude subtly to earlier moments from Goethe''s own literary output, but to fashion them into writing which is quite new - even though (or perhaps because) he himself is old. This book seeks to understand the unique perspective of one nearing the end of a long life.

German Romantic poetry is both fluid and formed, and it is full of song: the poems themselves are often intrinsically lyrical, and many of them inspired some of the best-known musical compositions of the nineteenth century. In this collection, we see German Romantic poets confronting life's greatest moments and greatest challenges - love, loss, death - and producing beautiful, and sometimes witty, works in response. Admiration for nature, in for particular the dramatic forests which still cover large areas of Germany, is also prominent in their work. Characters from myth and folklore abound too, most famously Lorelei, an enchantress who is associated with the River Rhine, and who features in several poems in this volume. Gathered here are favourites such as Goethe's 'Erl King', Eichendorff's 'Night of Moon', Heine's 'In May, the magic month of May', along with works by some of the most famous women writers of the period, Sophie Mereau, Karoline von Günderrode and Annette von Droste-Hülshoff. The works have been recreated in English verse by a range of poets and scholars

This book examines self-consciousness and very-lateness, those two intimately related phenomena, tracing the theme in Goethe's last major poems and autobiographical writings, before turning to the two 'giants', 'Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre' and 'Faust II'.