Goethe time

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Schiller, Wilhelm, Alexander von Humboldt and Goethe in Jena

The so-called Goethe time , based on the personality of the poet Goethe , spans the years 1770 to 1830. With this controversial term, coined by the literary historian Hermann August Korff in 1923 , the time span between the epoch of Sturm und Drang and the classical period is local Center of Weimar was meant. The most important manifestations of the Romantic era are also counted in the time of Goethe . In some cases, education is also included.

Characteristic

After overcoming the emotional and expressive literature of Sturm und Drangs, which primarily focused on irrational and unrestrained forces, the focus of Goethe's time was on classical music. Her artistic ideal aims at "taming, shaping [and] standardization" and strives for a balance between "sensual drive and the law of reason." The most important authors of this period include Goethe , Schiller , Hölderlin , Jean Paul and Novalis .

Compared to the classical music striving for unity, perfection and harmony, the focus of the romantic epoch is on the unlimited and again on the irrational. Infinity and imperfection, religion and mysticism, dream and subconscious are the themes with which the representatives of this current try to counteract a one-sided rationalistic concept of man and world.

Authors

One of the phenomena of Goethe's time is that women who write full-time are increasingly establishing themselves in the book market. Starting with Sophie von La Roche , who “was probably the first woman in Germany… to earn money through writing”, the writers Sophie Mereau , Johanna Schopenhauer , Karoline von Wolhaben , Dorothea Schlegel and Therese Huber now appear. Some of these authors were also sponsored by Goethe and Schiller.

The lexicon "The German women writers of the nineteenth century" published by Carl Wilhelm Schindel shows that around 1823 there were already 500 women who worked in literature between the years 1795 and 1825.

Philosophy and religion

Philosophically, the focus of the Goethe era is the German idealism founded by Immanuel Kant . The so-called "pantheism controversy", which goes back to the writings of the Dutch pantheist Baruch Spinoza , who died in the 17th century, also fell during this period . Even Herder and Goethe participate in this debate. The philosophical currents of this time finally call the church dogmas into question. The literature of Goethe's time was shaped by the conflict between religiosity and the Enlightenment, the dichotomy between atheism and belief in God (as in Jean Paul or in Goethe's Faust ). The personalities of Goethe's time were also shaped by this conflict (it caused the young Friedrich Schiller to think about suicide). Only in the course of the romantic movement did Catholicism experience a new boom. Numerous prominent members of this generation are converting to Catholicism. Among the most prominent representatives of this group are Clemens Brentano , Dorothea Schlegel and her husband Friedrich Schlegel . The most important philosophers of the Goethe era include a. Fichte , Schelling and Hegel .

Industrial revolution

All these phenomena are under the impression of the increasing rationalization of all human life processes. The industrial revolution began in Goethe's time and brought with it far-reaching social upheavals. Not least because of the improvement of the steam engine, for which James Watt made a name for himself, the subjects of industry and transport become an inseparable part of everyday life. Whether it is a question of printing machines, steam engines, the steamship or the train, the diaries and letters of that time tell of the excitement and unrest that these “machine beings” cause. In addition to these innovations, empirical medicine is also becoming increasingly important. The physician Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland from Weimar is one of those who make a name for himself here. In addition, homeopathy is founded by Samuel Hahnemann . Many prominent contemporaries of the so-called Goethe era are attached to her.

French Revolution

Even if the Duchy of Weimar stands out as a comparatively liberal one, it does not remain untouched by the guiding principles (freedom, equality, fraternity) and finally by the unrest of the French Revolution . While the family members Wieland , Herder and Knebel, who were closely associated with the Weimar court , “initially welcomed the Bastille tower with hope as a sign of a new era of freedom”, Goethe rejected the revolution from the outset. Since Herder's and Knebel's political non-conformism did not remain hidden from the ruling Duke of Weimar, there were also unrest at the court of the Muses. Herder, who is dependent on the court, comes under pressure and has to take back his free-political stance. The friendship between Herder and Goethe, who had already followed the duke into the field in the war against the revolutionaries, was subsequently ripped apart. Schiller, too, is at times under suspicion of sympathizing with the supporters of the revolution. But even after being made an honorary citizen of the French Republic, he can credibly assure the Weimar court that he is not a supporter of the revolution. Others are consistently committed to the goals of the revolution and remain loyal to it even when the head of the French king rolls: For example, the literary figure, researcher and circumnavigator Georg Forster , who is friends with Goethe and Schiller and who is known to some as “the secret, the suppressed classic of German literature ”applies.

literature

  • Barbara Becker-Cantarino: The long way to maturity. Women and literature in Germany from 1500 to 1800 . Stuttgart 1987.
  • Hans Heinrich Borcherdt: The novel of the Goethe time . Port Verlag, Urach / Stuttgart 1949.
  • Herbert A. Frenzel, Elisabeth Frenzel : dates of German poetry. Chronological outline of German literary history . tape 1 : From the beginning to Young Germany . Cologne 1989.
  • Klaus Harpprecht, Michael Naumann: Georg Forster. Trip around the world . Illustrated by my own hand. With a biographical essay by Klaus Harpprecht. Eichborn Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-8218-6203-3 .
  • Anja Höfer: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe . Munich 1999.
  • Hermann August Korff: Spirit of the Goethe time. Attempt to develop ideally the classical-romantic history of literature . Verlag Köhler & Amelang (VOB), Leipzig (1923–1966; Volume 1: Sturm und Drang - Volume 2: Classic - Volume 3: Early Romanticism - Volume 4: High Romanticism - A separate register volume for all four volumes. ).
  • Albert Meier: Goethe time. In: History of the German-language novel. By Heinrich Detering and Kai Sina, Benedikt Jeßing, Volker Meid, Albert Meier, Ralf Schnell. Edited by Volker Meid. Stuttgart 2013, pp. 163–305.
  • Klaus Pfeiffer: Medicine of the Goethe time. Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland and the healing arts of the 18th century . Cologne 2000.
  • Bruno Preisendörfer: When Germany was not yet Germany. Journey to the time of Goethe. Galiani, Berlin, Cologne 2015.
  • Carl Wilhelm Otto August von Schindel: The German women writers of the nineteenth century (1823-1825) . Reprint. Hildesheim 1978.
  • Andrea Schütte-Bubenik: An unheard of journey into the time of Goethe. Handbook for culture deprived . Wurzburg 2009.
  • W. Daniel Wilson: The Goethe taboo. Protest and human rights in classic Weimar . Munich 1999.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hermann August Korff: Spirit of the Goethe time. Part 1-4. Leipzig 1923–1955.
  2. ^ Heinz Kindermann: Theater of the Goethe time . H. Bauer-Verlag, Vienna 1948, p. 13 .
  3. ^ Herbert A. and Elisabeth Frenzel: Dates of German poetry. Chronological outline of German literary history. Volume 1: From the beginning to Young Germany. Cologne 1989, p. 233.
  4. ↑ Barbara Becker-Cantarino: The long way to maturity. Women and literature in Germany from 1500 to 1800. Stuttgart 1987, p. 284
  5. ^ Carl Wilhelm Otto August von Schindel: The German writers of the nineteenth century (1823-1825). Reprint; Hildesheim 1978.
  6. ↑ Andrea Schütte-Bubenik: An unheard of journey into the time of Goethe. Handbook for culture deprived. Würzburg 2009, p. 95 ff.
  7. ↑ Klaus Pfeiffer: Medicine of the Goethe time. Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland and the healing arts of the 18th century. Cologne 2000.
  8. ^ Anja Höfer: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Munich 1999, p. 87
  9. ^ W. Daniel Wilson: The Goethe taboo. Protest and human rights in classic Weimar. Munich 1999, p. 252 ff.
  10. ↑ Klaus Harpprecht . In: Georg Forster: Journey around the world. Illustrated by my own hand. With a biographical essay by Klaus Harpprecht. Edited by Klaus Harpprecht and Michael Neumann. Frankfurt / Main 2007, p. 7.
  11. ↑ Review: In the time of Goethe there was chaos, not contemplative calm . In: FAZ , September 17, 2015, p. 12.