Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, born 28 August 1749 in Frankfurt am Main and dead 22 March 1832 in Weimar, became during his own lifetime a European institution: poet, dramatist, novelist, critic, civil servant, theater director, scientific investigator, memoirist, and theorist of culture. To call him Germany’s greatest writer is conventional but not empty praise. Goethe helped give the German language a literary authori…
“To understand that the sky is blue everywhere, one need not travel around the world.”
Neighbourhood:
Dramatic Poets, German Romantics, Mystical & Spiritual Poets, Romantic Poets
Emotional landscape: Longing, Spirituality, Sorrow
George Gordon Byron, sixth Baron Byron, born 22 January 1788 and dead on 19 April 1824, was at once a dazzling poet, a public celebrity before the modern age had fully invented celebrity, an aristocrat uneasy in his rank, an exile, a political speaker, a lover of freedom, and a man whose private conduct generated lasting pain as well as endless fascination. Known to the world as Lord Byron, he became one of the centr…
“I have simplified my politics into an utter detestation of all existing governments.”
Neighbourhood:
Dramatic Poets, LGBTQ+ Poets, Love Poets, Political Poets, Romantic Poets
Emotional landscape: Sorrow, Longing, Despair
