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من حياتي: شعر وحقيقة
كتاب من حياتي شعر وحقيقة كتاب ضخم في أكثر من ألف صفحة، تنقسم إلى عشرين فصلاً أو على حد تسمية جوته: عشرين كتابا، نقدم إلى القارئ هنا ستة منها في ترجمة كاملة، ونأمل أن تتاح الفرصة فنترجم أجزاء أخرى منها، فما من شك في أن هذا الكتاب من أمهات الكتب لا في الأدب الألماني وحده، بل في الأدب العالمي كله.
303 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1833
136 people are currently reading
1441 people want to read
About the author
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
13.3k books6,913 followersA master of poetry, drama, and the novel, German writer and scientist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe spent 50 years on his two-part dramatic poem
Faust
, published in 1808 and 1832, also conducted scientific research in various fields, notably botany, and held several governmental positions.
George Eliot called him "Germany's greatest man of letters... and the last true polymath to walk the earth." Works span the fields of literature, theology, and humanism.
People laud this magnum opus as one of the peaks of world literature. Other well-known literary works include his numerous poems, the Bildungsroman Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and the epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther .
With this key figure of German literature, the movement of Weimar classicism in the late 18th and early 19th centuries coincided with Enlightenment, sentimentality (Empfindsamkeit), Sturm und Drang, and Romanticism. The author of the scientific text Theory of Colours , he influenced Darwin with his focus on plant morphology. He also long served as the privy councilor ("Geheimrat") of the duchy of Weimar.
Goethe took great interest in the literatures of England, France, Italy, classical Greece, Persia, and Arabia and originated the concept of Weltliteratur ("world literature"). Despite his major, virtually immeasurable influence on German philosophy especially on the generation of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling, he expressly and decidedly refrained from practicing philosophy in the rarefied sense.
Influence spread across Europe, and for the next century, his works inspired much music, drama, poetry and philosophy. Many persons consider Goethe the most important writer in the German language and one of the most important thinkers in western culture as well. Early in his career, however, he wondered about painting, perhaps his true vocation; late in his life, he expressed the expectation that people ultimately would remember his work in optics.
George Eliot called him "Germany's greatest man of letters... and the last true polymath to walk the earth." Works span the fields of literature, theology, and humanism.
People laud this magnum opus as one of the peaks of world literature. Other well-known literary works include his numerous poems, the Bildungsroman Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and the epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther .
With this key figure of German literature, the movement of Weimar classicism in the late 18th and early 19th centuries coincided with Enlightenment, sentimentality (Empfindsamkeit), Sturm und Drang, and Romanticism. The author of the scientific text Theory of Colours , he influenced Darwin with his focus on plant morphology. He also long served as the privy councilor ("Geheimrat") of the duchy of Weimar.
Goethe took great interest in the literatures of England, France, Italy, classical Greece, Persia, and Arabia and originated the concept of Weltliteratur ("world literature"). Despite his major, virtually immeasurable influence on German philosophy especially on the generation of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling, he expressly and decidedly refrained from practicing philosophy in the rarefied sense.
Influence spread across Europe, and for the next century, his works inspired much music, drama, poetry and philosophy. Many persons consider Goethe the most important writer in the German language and one of the most important thinkers in western culture as well. Early in his career, however, he wondered about painting, perhaps his true vocation; late in his life, he expressed the expectation that people ultimately would remember his work in optics.
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November 14, 2017
Poetry and Truth, it says in the English translation.
Goethe chose “Dichtung und Wahrheit” as the title for his original autobiography, and it would never have occurred to me to translate the word ”Dichtung” with “poetry” in this context. It means fiction, or literature in general as well, and his idea with the title is explained in the beginning of his monumental 1000-page-reflection on his own life and achievements.
Arguing that an autobiography is concerned with an individual person in a specific time and environment, Goethe raises the question whether it is even possible to know your own history.
Does it not require some distance to gain enough reflective power to judge a life’s achievement within society? On the other hand, the individual himself is the only one with all the “facts”.
Goethe’s aim, knowing of the inherent contradiction, is to interpret his own life through the major events and developments he experienced, while admitting that every interpretation contains a fictional element, a dramatisation of the randomness and chaos of everyday occurrences. Every memory is a deliberate choice.
Goethe being the literary giant of his days, and knowing the major representatives of art, literature and academia very well, the autobiography reads like a journey through the minds of the era later labelled “Goethezeit” in Germany. We meet his favourite artists and writers, we follow his travels to different art galleries, we encounter his literary characters in his thoughts, thus putting them into the context of Goethe’s own life.
Of course, a fiction of his life is established through careful omission of facts as well. Goethe sticks to the path he has set for himself: a biography explaining his artistic, literary and scientific development. He delves into private life and circumstances occasionally, but he keeps a certain distance, sometimes brightened by a strong sense of humour. His very first paragraphs are a great example of his approach to the habits of his era. He proudly announces the day and time of his birth, adding - tongue-in-cheek - that astrologers were immediately convinced that he was born under an especially lucky constellation of stars. Putting it into the context of the actual circumstances of his birth, he ponders that the lucky constellation probably saved his life, as it counterbalanced the clumsiness of the midwife, who almost killed him within the first hour of his life!
Luckily, the stars prevented human failure from depriving us of the life of Goethe, and he lived to write his plays, stories, essays, poetry and biography.
“Dichtung und Wahrheit” is highly entertaining, wonderfully ironic, and erudite and eloquent, and a source for bibliophiles and art lovers alike. When Goethe talks about his own art collection, or artist friends’ work, or his own attempts at drawing, he always delivers the professor’s honest feedback in the next paragraph, thus offering both the genius’ passion for beauty and the lecturer’s rational appraisal.
His reflections on Voltaire, Diderot, Montaigne and Lavater are personal, yet brilliantly accurate, and he does not shy away from telling stories of controversies surrounding his own work. His anecdote on how the ending of Werther was changed, into a happy marriage between Werther and Lotte, is priceless, as is his own need to get back to finished work and dramatize it, to look at it from different perspectives, while writing witty dialogues. He is always both artist and analyst.
It is a slow read, and one that requires a lot of background knowledge to fully enjoy. The Enlightenment thinkers and artists are vital parts of Goethe’s life. As for the truthfulness of his account, his interpretations and poetical choices highlight his priorities in life, but they are nothing like the randomness and arrogance with which many people treat truth today.
His fiction contains more truth than our facts.
And he ends with a beautiful anecdote on saying goodbye before embarking on new adventures. Quoting his own fictional character Egmont, he gives the reader food for thought beyond the thousand and one (or so) pages of wisdom contained in “Dichtung und Wahrheit”:
“Kind! Kind! nicht weiter! Wie von unsichtbaren Geistern gepeitscht, gehen die Sonnenpferde der Zeit mit unsers Schicksals leichtem Wagen durch; und uns bleibt nichts, als, mutig gefaßt, die Zügel festzuhalten und bald rechts bald links, vom Steine hier vom Sturze da, die Räder wegzulenken. Wohin es geht, wer weiß es? Erinnert er sich doch kaum, woher er kam.”
Goethe chose “Dichtung und Wahrheit” as the title for his original autobiography, and it would never have occurred to me to translate the word ”Dichtung” with “poetry” in this context. It means fiction, or literature in general as well, and his idea with the title is explained in the beginning of his monumental 1000-page-reflection on his own life and achievements.
Arguing that an autobiography is concerned with an individual person in a specific time and environment, Goethe raises the question whether it is even possible to know your own history.
Does it not require some distance to gain enough reflective power to judge a life’s achievement within society? On the other hand, the individual himself is the only one with all the “facts”.
Goethe’s aim, knowing of the inherent contradiction, is to interpret his own life through the major events and developments he experienced, while admitting that every interpretation contains a fictional element, a dramatisation of the randomness and chaos of everyday occurrences. Every memory is a deliberate choice.
Goethe being the literary giant of his days, and knowing the major representatives of art, literature and academia very well, the autobiography reads like a journey through the minds of the era later labelled “Goethezeit” in Germany. We meet his favourite artists and writers, we follow his travels to different art galleries, we encounter his literary characters in his thoughts, thus putting them into the context of Goethe’s own life.
Of course, a fiction of his life is established through careful omission of facts as well. Goethe sticks to the path he has set for himself: a biography explaining his artistic, literary and scientific development. He delves into private life and circumstances occasionally, but he keeps a certain distance, sometimes brightened by a strong sense of humour. His very first paragraphs are a great example of his approach to the habits of his era. He proudly announces the day and time of his birth, adding - tongue-in-cheek - that astrologers were immediately convinced that he was born under an especially lucky constellation of stars. Putting it into the context of the actual circumstances of his birth, he ponders that the lucky constellation probably saved his life, as it counterbalanced the clumsiness of the midwife, who almost killed him within the first hour of his life!
Luckily, the stars prevented human failure from depriving us of the life of Goethe, and he lived to write his plays, stories, essays, poetry and biography.
“Dichtung und Wahrheit” is highly entertaining, wonderfully ironic, and erudite and eloquent, and a source for bibliophiles and art lovers alike. When Goethe talks about his own art collection, or artist friends’ work, or his own attempts at drawing, he always delivers the professor’s honest feedback in the next paragraph, thus offering both the genius’ passion for beauty and the lecturer’s rational appraisal.
His reflections on Voltaire, Diderot, Montaigne and Lavater are personal, yet brilliantly accurate, and he does not shy away from telling stories of controversies surrounding his own work. His anecdote on how the ending of Werther was changed, into a happy marriage between Werther and Lotte, is priceless, as is his own need to get back to finished work and dramatize it, to look at it from different perspectives, while writing witty dialogues. He is always both artist and analyst.
It is a slow read, and one that requires a lot of background knowledge to fully enjoy. The Enlightenment thinkers and artists are vital parts of Goethe’s life. As for the truthfulness of his account, his interpretations and poetical choices highlight his priorities in life, but they are nothing like the randomness and arrogance with which many people treat truth today.
His fiction contains more truth than our facts.
And he ends with a beautiful anecdote on saying goodbye before embarking on new adventures. Quoting his own fictional character Egmont, he gives the reader food for thought beyond the thousand and one (or so) pages of wisdom contained in “Dichtung und Wahrheit”:
“Kind! Kind! nicht weiter! Wie von unsichtbaren Geistern gepeitscht, gehen die Sonnenpferde der Zeit mit unsers Schicksals leichtem Wagen durch; und uns bleibt nichts, als, mutig gefaßt, die Zügel festzuhalten und bald rechts bald links, vom Steine hier vom Sturze da, die Räder wegzulenken. Wohin es geht, wer weiß es? Erinnert er sich doch kaum, woher er kam.”
December 16, 2025
Her ne kadar Genç Werther'in Acıları, okurken ağladığım sayılı kitaplardan olsa da Faust'un dünya edebiyatında yazılmış sayılı eserlerden olduğunu düşünsem de Goethe benim için hep döneminin yazarıydı. Bize benzeyebileceğini (yani tabii benim gibi demek istiyorum burada) yani böyle senin benim gibi bir hayatı, düşünceleri olabileceğini sanmazdım.
Ve ben genellikte bu uzunlukta bir kitaba of abi tamam çok uzattın yetoo diyen biriyimdir ama 763. sayfaya geldiğimde, "100 sayfa bile kalmadı yahu ama daha hiçbir şey anlatmadı. Bunun ikinci cildi yok mu?" diyordum.
Tanrı'ya ulaşmaya çalışırken neredeyse kiliseyi yakacak olmak Goethe'nin kaderi gibi bir şey.
Sıra dışı bir şey ortaya koymayı hep istemiş ve hep "tuhaf" biri.
"Herkesin bildiği bir şeyi burada anmak yerinde olur: Kültürlü ailelerin çocukları büyürken, ciddi bir çelişki çıkar ortaya; anlatmak istediğim şey şu, ebeveynler ve öğretmenler çocukları ölçülü, anlayışlı, akıllı davranmaları, terbiyesizlik ya da kendini beğenmişlik yüzünden kimseye kötülük etmemeleri, gelişme eğilimindeki nefret dolu duygularını bastırmaları yolunda uyarırlar ve yönlendirirler; oysa küçük yaştaki çocuklar böyle bir eğitimden geçerken, eleştirilen ve kendilerine kesinlikle yasaklanan şeylere başkaları tarafından maruz kalıyorlar. Bu yüzden zavallı varlıklar doğal yaşam koşulları ve uygarlık arasında çaresizce çıkmaza giriyorlar ve karakterlerine göre, bir süre kendilerini tutsalar bile, ya sinsi ya da şiddetle parlayan insanlar oluyorlar." (sf.67)
"insan yaşamındaki önemli durumlar arasında ilginç bir bağıntı kurarak tüm uygar dünyaya nüfuz etmeyi bilen modern edebiyatçı yeteneğimi oldukça erken yaşta geliştirdim." (sf.69)
"Etrafımda bağımsızlığımı onaylayacak bir şey ararken, bunun en doğru yolunun yazma yeteneğim olduğunu gördüm." (sf. 670)
Ve ben genellikte bu uzunlukta bir kitaba of abi tamam çok uzattın yetoo diyen biriyimdir ama 763. sayfaya geldiğimde, "100 sayfa bile kalmadı yahu ama daha hiçbir şey anlatmadı. Bunun ikinci cildi yok mu?" diyordum.
Tanrı'ya ulaşmaya çalışırken neredeyse kiliseyi yakacak olmak Goethe'nin kaderi gibi bir şey.
Sıra dışı bir şey ortaya koymayı hep istemiş ve hep "tuhaf" biri.
"Herkesin bildiği bir şeyi burada anmak yerinde olur: Kültürlü ailelerin çocukları büyürken, ciddi bir çelişki çıkar ortaya; anlatmak istediğim şey şu, ebeveynler ve öğretmenler çocukları ölçülü, anlayışlı, akıllı davranmaları, terbiyesizlik ya da kendini beğenmişlik yüzünden kimseye kötülük etmemeleri, gelişme eğilimindeki nefret dolu duygularını bastırmaları yolunda uyarırlar ve yönlendirirler; oysa küçük yaştaki çocuklar böyle bir eğitimden geçerken, eleştirilen ve kendilerine kesinlikle yasaklanan şeylere başkaları tarafından maruz kalıyorlar. Bu yüzden zavallı varlıklar doğal yaşam koşulları ve uygarlık arasında çaresizce çıkmaza giriyorlar ve karakterlerine göre, bir süre kendilerini tutsalar bile, ya sinsi ya da şiddetle parlayan insanlar oluyorlar." (sf.67)
"insan yaşamındaki önemli durumlar arasında ilginç bir bağıntı kurarak tüm uygar dünyaya nüfuz etmeyi bilen modern edebiyatçı yeteneğimi oldukça erken yaşta geliştirdim." (sf.69)
"Etrafımda bağımsızlığımı onaylayacak bir şey ararken, bunun en doğru yolunun yazma yeteneğim olduğunu gördüm." (sf. 670)
January 27, 2023
Okay, den dritten Stern gibt es aus Respekt für unseren größten Dichter und Denker. Denn eigentlich ist das hier ebenso weitschweifig wie fade. Und das liegt nicht nur daran, dass man seinerzeit etwas mehr zum Fabulieren neigte. Verglichen mit den Memoiren Casanovas ist der mangelnde Witz und die Unfähigkeit, den Personen und Ereignissen etwas Leben einzuhauchen einigermaßen erstaunlich.
"Steichen wir nicht in einem Buche Stellen an, die sich unmittelbar auf uns beziehen?" fragt er. In der Tat. Und viel habe ich nicht unterstrichen.
Das hier: "Man kann es daher jenen Denkern nicht übelnehmen, welche die unendlich kunstreiche, aber doch genau beschränkte Technik jener Geschöpfe [der Tiere] für ganz maschinenmäßig erklärten." (S. 610)
Die Beschreibung der frühen Jugend ist noch am interessantesten, wir erfahren wie er Sprachen lernte, Fechtunterricht bekam und die Art und Weise, wie er seine geistige Überlegenheit herausstellt ist subtil genug. Leider sind seine Liebesabenteuer dann eher auch langweilig und man hofft, endlich etwas mehr über Dichtung und weniger Wahrheit zu erfahren. Aber selbst wenn er über den Erfolg des Werthers schreibt, berührt das nicht sehr.
Auch erfahren wir viel zu viel über Männer wie Lavater und Basedow und zu wenig über Herder oder Klopstock.
Am interessantesten seine Ausführungen zum Glauben und seine Entwicklung vom unzweifelnden Protestanten zum Pantheisten durch Einfluss Spinozas. "Beim Glauben, sagte ich, kommt es darauf an, daß man glaubt, was man glaube, sei völlig gleichgültig." (S. 555) Und mit dem Wissen sei es genau umgekehrt. Da kommt es nicht darauf, dass man weiß, sondern was man weiß, und wie gut und wieviel man weiß.
"Steichen wir nicht in einem Buche Stellen an, die sich unmittelbar auf uns beziehen?" fragt er. In der Tat. Und viel habe ich nicht unterstrichen.
Das hier: "Man kann es daher jenen Denkern nicht übelnehmen, welche die unendlich kunstreiche, aber doch genau beschränkte Technik jener Geschöpfe [der Tiere] für ganz maschinenmäßig erklärten." (S. 610)
Die Beschreibung der frühen Jugend ist noch am interessantesten, wir erfahren wie er Sprachen lernte, Fechtunterricht bekam und die Art und Weise, wie er seine geistige Überlegenheit herausstellt ist subtil genug. Leider sind seine Liebesabenteuer dann eher auch langweilig und man hofft, endlich etwas mehr über Dichtung und weniger Wahrheit zu erfahren. Aber selbst wenn er über den Erfolg des Werthers schreibt, berührt das nicht sehr.
Auch erfahren wir viel zu viel über Männer wie Lavater und Basedow und zu wenig über Herder oder Klopstock.
Am interessantesten seine Ausführungen zum Glauben und seine Entwicklung vom unzweifelnden Protestanten zum Pantheisten durch Einfluss Spinozas. "Beim Glauben, sagte ich, kommt es darauf an, daß man glaubt, was man glaube, sei völlig gleichgültig." (S. 555) Und mit dem Wissen sei es genau umgekehrt. Da kommt es nicht darauf, dass man weiß, sondern was man weiß, und wie gut und wieviel man weiß.
April 25, 2012
This book was a drag...on an old cigarette...that someone else smoked...a week ago. I read 200 pages before I realized that I was begging for it to be end, or for me to run out of oxygen. Only the most die-hard fans of Goethe should read this, and THAT only if they are ready to learn in depth about the social-historical milieu of his times. Dude Goethe took about 50 pages to describe the ceremonies of the coronation of a king when he (Goethe) was a youth. He said he used to memorize and describe to himself out loud the details of trains passing by so he could later repeat them to a girl he was crushing on. Really...he tried to win her over by describing in detail a passing train. Lame.
Seriously though, I wanted more of Goethe, and less of his environment.
Seriously though, I wanted more of Goethe, and less of his environment.
April 4, 2014
لم أتوقع أن يكون ممتع وملهم لهذه الدرجة :)
ف طياته العديد من الأراء التي يستطتيبها العقل والروح .
جوته متفهم جدا :)
كلنا بشر
ربما كان هناك صعوبات لوجود اسماء كثيرة لم أعرفها ولست أستمتع بالنظر للتعليقات بعد كل سطر -_-
وفي بعض الاحيان كان علي ان اقرا السطر مره اخري لافهم .
لكن ف النهاية لذيذ .. واستمتعت :)
وف انتظار ترجمة باقي الأجزاء
:)
جوته لم يعد هذا الرمز المشهور الذي أجهل
جوته صديق الان :)
ف طياته العديد من الأراء التي يستطتيبها العقل والروح .
جوته متفهم جدا :)
كلنا بشر
ربما كان هناك صعوبات لوجود اسماء كثيرة لم أعرفها ولست أستمتع بالنظر للتعليقات بعد كل سطر -_-
وفي بعض الاحيان كان علي ان اقرا السطر مره اخري لافهم .
لكن ف النهاية لذيذ .. واستمتعت :)
وف انتظار ترجمة باقي الأجزاء
:)
جوته لم يعد هذا الرمز المشهور الذي أجهل
جوته صديق الان :)
January 1, 2014
رغم ميلي إلى السيرة الذاتية , كانت لي تجربة مختلفة مع هذا الكتاب , فلم يكن الكاتب يسرد وقائع حياته بشكل فارغ , بل كان يحرص على ان تحمل كل واقعة مما اختاره لنا , معنى ..
المعنى , حيث نفقده في كثير من الأعمال , عندما تتكرر الأحداث في روتين إنساني خانق .. يختفي .. بعكس هنا .
المعنى , حيث نفقده في كثير من الأعمال , عندما تتكرر الأحداث في روتين إنساني خانق .. يختفي .. بعكس هنا .
January 13, 2025
Es interesante conocer a un escritor semejante a un nivel tan íntimo, o al menos la visión que tenía él mismo sobre su propia vida.
Sin embargo, da demasiada importancia a elementos que no son tan interesantes. Por ejemplo, se centra mucho en explicar la fisiognomía de Lavater, pero no nombra en ningún momento a Schiller, lo cual me parece delito. Además, a pesar de estar divido en 4 partes a su vez divididas en libros, la línea temporal y la estructura es un poco enrevesada, o por lo menos en mi caso no he podido descubrir el sentido de esta. De la misma manera que algunas secuencias son narradas con mucho detalle, mientras otras las cuenta de manera superficial, siendo estas más importantes en el desarrollo de la vida del autor y aquellas simples anécdotas de joven.
Por otra parte, aplaudo el trabajo que conlleva la realización de esta obra y considero su lectura obligatoria para los que disfruten con la poesía de Goethe. Su afán por la descripción detallada facilita una visión muy clara de los espacios que pretende describir, así como la inmersión en la atmósfera que supone la propia memoria del escritor.
Sin embargo, da demasiada importancia a elementos que no son tan interesantes. Por ejemplo, se centra mucho en explicar la fisiognomía de Lavater, pero no nombra en ningún momento a Schiller, lo cual me parece delito. Además, a pesar de estar divido en 4 partes a su vez divididas en libros, la línea temporal y la estructura es un poco enrevesada, o por lo menos en mi caso no he podido descubrir el sentido de esta. De la misma manera que algunas secuencias son narradas con mucho detalle, mientras otras las cuenta de manera superficial, siendo estas más importantes en el desarrollo de la vida del autor y aquellas simples anécdotas de joven.
Por otra parte, aplaudo el trabajo que conlleva la realización de esta obra y considero su lectura obligatoria para los que disfruten con la poesía de Goethe. Su afán por la descripción detallada facilita una visión muy clara de los espacios que pretende describir, así como la inmersión en la atmósfera que supone la propia memoria del escritor.
October 4, 2024
über goethe weiß ich jetzt, dass er einen riesigen geltungsdrang hatte, frauen nur mittel zum zweck waren und dass diese autobiografie zu einem guten teil ausgedacht ist.
nichtsdestotrotz ein talentierter mann, ich mag eigentlich fast alles, was er geschrieben hat
nichtsdestotrotz ein talentierter mann, ich mag eigentlich fast alles, was er geschrieben hat
July 20, 2016
I read this in German, and as you can see it took me an age! While this isn't Goethe's greatest book, it is certainly a moving and informative one. I found the first and fourth parts particularly affecting. The first part describes his childhood in Frankfurt, in wonderful detail, weaving together stories of his life at home and in town with sketches of the historical background. Goethe says that a biography should show the relationship between life and history, and this first part of the biography certainly does that. The fourth part describes the final phase of Goethe's youth, as a young famous writer, with The Sorrows of Young Werther and Götz von Berglichingen under his belt. It is that beautiful phase of life we all pass, rich in possibilities, without a settled role in the world, when we must decide. Goethe's account of his pivotal decision to move to Weimar is lovely.
The middle sections are less captivating as literature, but are extremely interesting as history. Early in life, Goethe formed a range of great artistic and literary friendships, and travelled and studied in a range of middle European cities. His account of this part of his youth is effectively a vivid literary history of his Germany, bound up with his own search for the ideal, and history more broadly.
It might not be for everyone—even the great Goethe fan, Henry Handel Richardson, found it rather dry—but it is certainly has its own kind of greatness, and Goethe is always a far-sighted and deeply humane writer. This is possibly the least egotistical autobiography ever written, and what it may lack in intensity it makes up for in wisdom.
The middle sections are less captivating as literature, but are extremely interesting as history. Early in life, Goethe formed a range of great artistic and literary friendships, and travelled and studied in a range of middle European cities. His account of this part of his youth is effectively a vivid literary history of his Germany, bound up with his own search for the ideal, and history more broadly.
It might not be for everyone—even the great Goethe fan, Henry Handel Richardson, found it rather dry—but it is certainly has its own kind of greatness, and Goethe is always a far-sighted and deeply humane writer. This is possibly the least egotistical autobiography ever written, and what it may lack in intensity it makes up for in wisdom.
March 17, 2010
This is a very honest person trying to make sense of the world and the sometimes impressive nature and really thinking about it (loves to write).
August 13, 2021
“From my Life: Poetry and Truth” is an autobiography of Johann Wolfgang Goethe written between the years 1811-33.
He does not describe his whole life but his childhood and youth (1749-1775). In the book there are mentioned his inspirations for his literary works.
What we learn from the book:
- he had difficulties with learning how to ride a horse but later he loved to do that
- he studies many languages (French, Latin, English, and Hebrew)
- after his French poem was criticised, he decided not to write in this language anymore
- he preferred tragedies to comedies in the theatre
- during the 7 years war he and his parents supported Friedrich the Great (Prussia) but his grandparents preferred Maria Theresia (Austria)
- no one wanted to publish his first play
- his second play (“Götz von Berlichingen”) was self-published and was successful
- he studied law firstly in Leipzig and later in Staßburg
- he liked ice skating
- his father was strict but supported his son’s literary talent
- he tried hard to learn how to draw but was not able to achieve that
- he admitted that he felt envious about his sister (so the theory of incest is not unfounded)
- he had fear of heights and overcame it through climbing on high buildings till the fear disappeared
- he was interested in the 16th c.
The disadvantage of the book is that there appear too many persons, of some of them only the name and occupation is mentioned and they never appear again.
The autobiography might be interesting for those who would like to better understand Goethe’s literary works and learn something about the 18th c. Germany.
He does not describe his whole life but his childhood and youth (1749-1775). In the book there are mentioned his inspirations for his literary works.
What we learn from the book:
- he had difficulties with learning how to ride a horse but later he loved to do that
- he studies many languages (French, Latin, English, and Hebrew)
- after his French poem was criticised, he decided not to write in this language anymore
- he preferred tragedies to comedies in the theatre
- during the 7 years war he and his parents supported Friedrich the Great (Prussia) but his grandparents preferred Maria Theresia (Austria)
- no one wanted to publish his first play
- his second play (“Götz von Berlichingen”) was self-published and was successful
- he studied law firstly in Leipzig and later in Staßburg
- he liked ice skating
- his father was strict but supported his son’s literary talent
- he tried hard to learn how to draw but was not able to achieve that
- he admitted that he felt envious about his sister (so the theory of incest is not unfounded)
- he had fear of heights and overcame it through climbing on high buildings till the fear disappeared
- he was interested in the 16th c.
The disadvantage of the book is that there appear too many persons, of some of them only the name and occupation is mentioned and they never appear again.
The autobiography might be interesting for those who would like to better understand Goethe’s literary works and learn something about the 18th c. Germany.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2020
Siento muchísimo tener que decir que este libro es un tostón insufrible. Es una medio biografía de Goethe que a mí me ha resultado muy pesado. He tardado meses en poder leer esto y al final ha sido un esfuerzo mastodóntico.
No había leído nada de Goethe y la verdad es que después de esto no sé si seré capaz. Quizás Fausto se salve, seguro que si.
Goethe tuvo que haber sido en su juventud bastante pedante.
No había leído nada de Goethe y la verdad es que después de esto no sé si seré capaz. Quizás Fausto se salve, seguro que si.
Goethe tuvo que haber sido en su juventud bastante pedante.
March 11, 2020
Maravillosa autobiografía.
Me encantó conocer la infancia y adolescencia de este grandioso escritor, poeta y científico alemán.
Pasear con él por Frankfurt, Leipzig, Estrasburgo, Weimar y otros lugares y ciudades fue interesante.
Me encanta recorrer otras épocas a través de personajes que han dejado huella en su paso por la vida. Y Goethe lo narra estupendamente...
Me encantó conocer la infancia y adolescencia de este grandioso escritor, poeta y científico alemán.
Pasear con él por Frankfurt, Leipzig, Estrasburgo, Weimar y otros lugares y ciudades fue interesante.
Me encanta recorrer otras épocas a través de personajes que han dejado huella en su paso por la vida. Y Goethe lo narra estupendamente...
August 14, 2018
A tough read. Very tough. a) incredibly long, b) difficult to tell what is Dichtung and what is Wahrheit, c) oh my god the tangents. Like, yay, Goethe summarizes the bible. Goethe tells you about Shakespeare etc. etc.
Very helpful for literary history, very difficult to read.
Very helpful for literary history, very difficult to read.
May 21, 2020
Libro inmenso, pero al mismo tiempo difícil. No porque sea de lenguaje complicado, sino por su minuciosidad, la importancia que da a las pequeñas cosas. En cierto modo me recuerda a El Mundo de Ayer, de Zweig
January 6, 2022
«Բանաստեղծություն ու ճշմարտությունը»՝ Գյոթեի ինքնակենսագրականը, ոնց որ խաշ լինի: Շատ դժվարամարս ա, բայց զաթի հետո երկար ա պահում:
Ընենց որ, եթե խաշ սիրում եք, հաստատ կկարդաք:
Հա, ամենակայֆ մեջբերումը՝ «ՈՒՄ ՉԵՆ ՊԱՏԺՈՒՄ, ՉԵՆ ՍՈՎՈՐԵՑՆՈՒՄ»:
Ընենց որ, եթե խաշ սիրում եք, հաստատ կկարդաք:
Հա, ամենակայֆ մեջբերումը՝ «ՈՒՄ ՉԵՆ ՊԱՏԺՈՒՄ, ՉԵՆ ՍՈՎՈՐԵՑՆՈՒՄ»:
January 3, 2024
Las memorias —idealizadas— de un ególatra que se sabe el mejor escritor de su lengua. Todo es hermoso, entrañable, didáctico, inspirador, tierno, sublime. «Ve cómo reinvento el mundo», nos dice en cada página, mientras el lector mira a su alrededor y vuelve, en busca de consuelo, a la lectura.
June 26, 2018
I like it....
...especially the Goethe's descriptions of his early years in Frankfurt. The city becomes a character in the early parts of the bio. Enjoy!
...especially the Goethe's descriptions of his early years in Frankfurt. The city becomes a character in the early parts of the bio. Enjoy!
September 17, 2018
Unexpectedly frank, approachable and seemingly modern in presentation. Also an interesting record of the times in which he lived and those who made history.
February 12, 2019
Yazarın değişik zamanlardaki anılarının toplandığı bir kitap. Beklediğim keyfi alamadım tavsiye etmem,bazen çok sıkıcı oluyor
May 25, 2021
Eine Freude!
December 14, 2022
Es ist dafür gesorgt, dass die Bäume nicht in den Himmel wachsen.
February 23, 2023
so many words yet so little to say. this was so repeptitive
July 8, 2023
read czech edition from 1932. Absolutely fantastic
Read
April 18, 2024Probably needed a year to get through this.
September 16, 2020
An autobiography : Truth and fiction relating to my Life" (Kindle edition) Johann Wolfgang von Geother: Geothe has written about life of common men and aristocrats in his time in Germany, France and neighboring European countries. His grand father and father were a judicial officers, therefore, he and his sister got the opportunity to move in parties of nobles and attended fairs. He has written about being educated at home and in a school. Both these experiences are worth reading. He has mentioned that reading of books, dancing and learning musical instruments was followed by children. Dance teachers were thorough. His daughters helped the students to dance. the book is of historical importance.
July 2, 2015
Rückblick auf das eigene Leben, zeitweise sehr betuhlich und aggregiert, gbt manchmal mehr vom 'alten Goethe' preis, als von der beschriebenen Zeit. Man merkt, dass auch solche 'großen Geister' 'Kinder ihrer Zeit' sind, wenn sie Menschen und andere Künstler beschreiben, die heute (2015) kaum die gleiche Reputation haben wie damals, sei es die vielen erwachsenen Zeitgenossen der Jugend in Frankfurt, die in ihrer Aufzählung ohne Bedeutung sind. Die Schilderung besonderer Situationen habe ich in ihrer Ausführlichkeit als Wertung gelesen. Spannend ist die Lektüre, wenn sie mit Biographien vergleicht. Ich habe die 'Biographie' von R. Safranski mit großem Genuss gelesen.
September 8, 2015
El libro no es malo como tal, pero Goethe tarda hojas y hojas en describirte cosas no tan relevantes-interesantes, datos e información que no recordarás; aun así el libro cuenta con relatos memorables, cosas interesantes para el lector común. Solo verdaderos dedicados a Goethe y curiosos sin miedo a sus 500 páginas deberían leerlo.
March 15, 2016
Excellent autobiography, goethe provides the story for a great artist who is neither in great pain or dire straights. Well written and fun
Merged review:
Excellent autobiography, goethe provides the story for a great artist who is neither in great pain or dire straights. Well written and fun
Merged review:
Excellent autobiography, goethe provides the story for a great artist who is neither in great pain or dire straights. Well written and fun
Read
January 4, 2008waduh teuing tah beres na iraha...
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