Public Figure Profiles

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism as well as treatises on botany, anatomy, and colour. He is widely regarded as the greatest and most influential writer in the German language, his work having a profound and wide-ranging influence on Western literary, political and philosophical thought from the late 18th century to the present day.Goethe took up residence in Weimar in November 1775 following the success of his first novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774). He was ennobled by the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, Karl August, in 1782. Goethe was an early participant in the Sturm und Drang literary movement. During his first ten years in Weimar, Goethe became a member of the Duke's privy council, sat on the war and highway commissions, oversaw the reopening of silver mines in nearby Ilmenau, and implemented a series of administrative reforms at the University of Jena. He also contributed to the planning of Weimar's botanical park and the rebuilding of its Ducal Palace.Goethe's first major scientific work, the Metamorphosis of Plants, was published after he returned from a 1788 tour of Italy. In 1791 he was made managing director of the theatre at Weimar, and in 1794 he began a friendship with the dramatist, historian, and philosopher Friedrich Schiller, whose plays he premiered until Schiller's death in 1805. During this period Goethe published his second novel, Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship; the verse epic Hermann and Dorothea, and, in 1808, the first part of his most celebrated drama, Faust. His conversations and various shared undertakings throughout the 1790s with Schiller, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Johann Gottfried Herder, Alexander von Humboldt, Wilhelm von Humboldt, and August and Friedrich Schlegel have come to be collectively termed Weimar Classicism.

The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer named Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship one of the four greatest novels ever written, while the American philosopher and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson selected Goethe as one of six "representative men" in his work of the same name (along with Plato, Emanuel Swedenborg, Montaigne, Napoleon, and Shakespeare). Goethe's comments and observations form the basis of several biographical works, notably Johann Peter Eckermann's Conversations with Goethe (1836). His poems were set to music by many composers including Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Berlioz, Liszt, Wagner and Mahler.

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Some of their strengths

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe has many admirable traits.

Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Smart, Sophisticated, Organized, Kind, Curious, Creative, and Intuitive.

Smart and Sophisticated

According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is someone who is a smart, sophisticated, and organized person who displays kindness and grace in every day interactions, and who also has a passionate soul. A person who defines themself by their friends and what groups they belong to.

Passionate and Intense

Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Johann Wolfgang von Goethe well know them as someone who can be passionate, proud, and intense, like the sun or a blazing fire.

Courteous and Easygoing

According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe as someone who is polite, modest, and diplomatic.

A person who tends to be socially popular, who loves intellectual or creative activities, who has a talent for communicating with and understanding the needs of others, and who seems to have a knack for getting recognized for their efforts.

Emotionally Intelligent and Intuitive

Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is someone who tends to have strong emotional intelligence and intuition, and who can be a catalyst of change for others.

They are also someone who is calm, comforting, and stable, and who loves stability and being a good friend and loyal partner.

Altruistic and Purposeful

According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe tends to be someone who has a desire to be of service to a higher calling and who is always trying to perfect things. Who can be practical and polished, reserved and methodical, and who tends to trust internal judgment before trusting anyone else at face value.

Some of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's challenges

While Johann Wolfgang von Goethe has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.

For example, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe can be Materialistic, Indecisive, Selfish, Difficult, Perfectionist, Unrealistic, and Complicated.

Difficult and Perfectionist

One of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's key challenges is that they are someone who can be difficult and too much of a perfectionist.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe must also exercise caution as they can have a hard time reconciling wants and needs.

Indecisive and Materialistic

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is someone who can be indecisive, indulgent, and materialistic, who can have difficulty focusing on a single career or profession, have difficulty following orders or respecting authority, and who can suffer from "analysis paralysis".

Critical and Bossy

Finally, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe also can be too focused on the small details of life, try to control whatever is happening, and be finicky and demanding.

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