Essays on German Literature |
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Page 4
... poetic activity . That he unconsciously dis- torted the meaning of " Faust " is very obvious to any student of Goethe who reads his essay on " Helena . " It was the direct purpose of Goethe to be the intellectual deliverer of his age ...
... poetic activity . That he unconsciously dis- torted the meaning of " Faust " is very obvious to any student of Goethe who reads his essay on " Helena . " It was the direct purpose of Goethe to be the intellectual deliverer of his age ...
Page 10
... poet like Goethe should assume the tone of his surroundings . We therefore see that his first literary efforts , a ... Poetry was then believed to be a graceful ingenuity of language and sparkling play of fancy . Nature was banished ...
... poet like Goethe should assume the tone of his surroundings . We therefore see that his first literary efforts , a ... Poetry was then believed to be a graceful ingenuity of language and sparkling play of fancy . Nature was banished ...
Page 11
... poetry , religion , and society pow- erfully affected him . Herder was a disciple of Rous- seau , and had declared war , not against civilization in general , but against that phase of it which was represented by France . He detested ...
... poetry , religion , and society pow- erfully affected him . Herder was a disciple of Rous- seau , and had declared war , not against civilization in general , but against that phase of it which was represented by France . He detested ...
Page 15
... Mephistopheles . It was an interesting society which he here encountered , a society ani- mated by an exalted veneration for poetic and intel- lectual achievements and devoted to a kind of emo- tional THE LIFE AND WORKS OF GOETHE 15.
... Mephistopheles . It was an interesting society which he here encountered , a society ani- mated by an exalted veneration for poetic and intel- lectual achievements and devoted to a kind of emo- tional THE LIFE AND WORKS OF GOETHE 15.
Page 16
... poets . It must be remembered , however , that Germany had at that time no really great poet . Lessing was , indeed , alive , and had written dramas which , in point of theatrical effec- tiveness and brilliancy , were superior to " Götz ...
... poets . It must be remembered , however , that Germany had at that time no really great poet . Lessing was , indeed , alive , and had written dramas which , in point of theatrical effec- tiveness and brilliancy , were superior to " Götz ...
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admiration appeared artistic Auerbach beautiful Berthold Auerbach Carlyle century character charm Christianity color criticism culture daughter death delight drama emotions English essay existence expression fact fancy Faust feel Frau von Stein Freytag Friedrich Schlegel friendship George Eliot German literature German novel Goethe Goethe's Götz Götz von Berlichingen Greek happiness heart Heinrich von Ofterdingen hero human ideal intellectual interest labor less letters literary live Lucinde lyrical mediæval ment Mephistopheles mind modern moral mother nature ness never noble Novalis novelist pagan passion philosophy poems poet poetic poetry prose reader regard relation religion Romantic Romanticism romanticists scarcely scene Schiller Schlegel seems sense sentiment social society song Sorrows of Werther soul spirit story sympathy taste tendency thing thought Tieck tion tragedy translation verse Weimar Werther Westöstlicher Divan wife Wilhelm Meister woman writings young youth
Popular passages
Page 137 - But delay was best, For their end was a crime." — Oh, a crime will do As well, I reply, to serve for a .test, As a virtue golden through and through, Sufficient to vindicate itself And prove its worth at a moment's view!
Page 78 - Undoubtedly we have,' replied the Eldest. ' Of this we make no secret ; but we draw a veil over those sufferings, even because we reverence them so highly. We hold it a damnable audacity to bring forth that torturing Cross, and the Holy One who suffers on it, or to expose them to the light of the Sun, which hid its face when a reckless world forced such a sight on it ; to take these mysterious secrets, in which the divine depth of Sorrow lies hid, and play with them, fondle them, trick them out,...
Page 51 - How could I take up arms without hatred, and how could I hate without youth? If such an emergency had befallen me when twenty years old, I should certainly not have been the last; but it found me as one who had already passed the first sixties.
Page 53 - I soon shall ready be To pierce the ether's high, unknown dominions, To reach new spheres of pure activity ! This godlike rapture, this supreme existence, Do I, but now a worm, deserve to track ? Yes, resolute to reach some brighter distance, On Earth's fair sun I turn my...
Page 78 - Permit me one question," said Wilhelm : " as you have set up the life of this divine Man for a pattern and example, have you likewise selected his sufferings, his death, as a model of exalted patience ?" " Undoubtedly we have,
Page 118 - PEACE breathes along the shade Of every hill, The tree-tops of the glade Are hushed and still ; All woodland murmurs cease, The birds to rest within the brake are gone.