Product Description

In 1786, when he was already the acknowledged leader of the Sturm und Drang literary movement, Goethe set out on a journey to Italy to fulfil a personal and artistic quest and to find relief from his responsibilities and the agonies of unrequited love. As he travelled to Venice, Rome, Naples and Sicily he wrote many letters, which he later used as the basis for the Italian Journey. A journal full of fascinating observations on art and history, and the plants, landscape and the character of the local people he encountered, this is also a moving account of the psychological crisis from which Goethe emerged newly inspired to write the great works of his mature years.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #125171 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07-01
• Original language: German
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

About the Author
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in 1749. Having studied at Leipzig and Strassburg, he began to write some essays and lyrical verse, and at twenty-four wrote a play Goetz von Berlichingen, which brought him national fame and established him in the Sturm und Drang movement. He is most famous for his tragedy Werther. He died in 1832. W. H. Auden was Professor of Poetry at Oxford University from 1956 to 1960. He published poems throughout his life, and in 1946 became a US citizen. He died in 1973. Elizabeth Mayer has also translated, in collaboration with Louise Bogan, Elective Affinities and Werther.

Customer Reviews

A surprising read.
I purchased this book for an essay on Goethe's journey in Italy. I chose this translation after comparing it to the other one available, as I felt the style was closer to Goethe's intentions. Admittedly I expected it to be somewhat boring and the first few pages were a slow read. However once Goethe reaches Rome, his excitement of being on "classic soil" is so well conveyed, that I really got into it. The book is based on letters that he wrote home to Weimar and his reflections some time later when he compiled it. They provide an interesting perspective of Italy and Europe at the time and the lifestyles of the upper-class intellectuals. The most surprising part for me however, was that Goethe actually has a sense of humour which his quirky little observations of life as a humanitarian show. I recommend finding a copy of the Roman Elegies and some of his other works of the time, to complement 'Italian Journey'.