The Sorrows of Young Werther
by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Werther, a sensitive and romantic young man visiting an idyllic German village, meets the compassionate Lotta and falls in love with her. Despite realizing that Lotta must marry Albert, she is unable to suppress her passion for her, and admiration torments her into absolute despair. It is the first major "confessional" novel based on Goethe's unrequited love for Charlotte Buff and the death of his friend Carl Wilhelm of Jerusalem. Goethe's delicate work on the mind of a young artist, contrary to sociability and unprepared to cope with life, is now considered the first great tragic novel of European literature. For more than two centuries, the title of this book has caused the sensitivity of youth, the suffering of the artist, the idea of a hero too loving to live. When it was first published in Germany, it caused a sensation in 1774. It was banned and condemned, but it was accepted – especially by young people – and continued to be seized.
