Professor Emeritus of German Sammy Merrill
Professor Emeritus of German Sammy Merrill penned an editorial in The Free Lance-Star on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in advance of his “Great Lives” lecture on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. Watch here.
JOHANN Wolfgang Goethe was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on August 28, 1749. His long life of 82 years was defined by accomplishments that are surprising to those who know him only as the author of that most German of literary works: “Faust.”
Indeed, this dramatic poem—in which a man is so disillusioned with the scholarly life that he turns in despair to the devil himself as an alternative way to meaningfulness—is considered by most critics his magnum opus. Many even regard Goethe as the “German Shakespeare” because of this and other significant plays, some of them path-breaking in world literature. Read more.