Encyclopedia

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (yō'hän vôlf'gäng fun gö'tu) [key], 1749–1832, German poet, dramatist, novelist, and scientist, b. Frankfurt. One of the great masters of world literature, his genius embraced most fields of human endeavor; his art and thought are epitomized in his great dramatic poem Faust.

Sections in this article:

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

More on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe from Fact Monster:

See more Encyclopedia articles on: German Literature: Biographies