Goethe's literary essays : $b A selection in English

"Goethe's literary essays: A selection in English" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is a collection of critical essays written in the late 18th to early 19th century. It gathers Goethe’s reflections on art, literature, and theatre, articulating a comprehensive aesthetics that ranges from architecture and classical sculpture to dramaturgy and criticism itself. The focus is on how beauty, character, form, and style interrelate, with a strong classical sensibility tempered by wide curiosity and practical judgment. The opening of the collection frames Goethe as a preeminent critic through a chorus of admirers and a foreword by Viscount Haldane, who highlights Goethe’s breadth—from lyric poetry and natural observation to the philosophical reach of Faust—and urges readers to learn from his critical outlook. A detailed contents list maps the scope: theories of art and literature, essays on Shakespeare and other writers, and selected conversations. The first essays then set the program: a passionate defense of “German” architecture via Strasbourg Cathedral against formulaic classicism; an introduction to the Propylæa stressing the need to keep each art true to its own laws; and a searching analysis of the Laocoon that defines the highest aims of sculpture—living form, character, ideality, agreeableness, and beauty—while explaining how the chosen moment and composition temper pathos with harmony. Further pieces unfold as dialogues: a debate pitching “character” against “beauty” in ancient art, a discussion of truth versus plausibility on the stage (especially in opera), and precise definitions of simple imitation, manner, and style, with style crowned as the deepest, most knowing form of art.