约翰·沃尔夫冈·冯·歌德是18世纪中叶到19世纪初德国和欧洲最重要的剧作家、诗人、思想家。歌德除了诗歌、戏剧、小说之外，在文艺理论、哲学、历史学、造型设计等方面，都取得了卓越的成就。
About Goethe
关于歌德
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, drawer, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature side by side with Schiller. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long poem of modern European literature. His other well-known literary works include his numerous poems, the Bildungsroman Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, and the epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther.
Goethe was one of the key figures of German literature and the movement of Weimar Classicism in the late 18th and early 19th centuries; this movement coincides with Enlightenment, Sentimentality (Empfindsamkeit), Sturm und Drang and Romanticism. The author of the scientific text Theory of Colours, his influential ideas on plant and animal morphology and homology were extended and developed by 19th century naturalists including Charles Darwin. He also served at length as the Privy Councilor of the duchy of Saxe-Weimar.
In politics Goethe was conservative. At the time of the French Revolution, he thought the enthusiasm of the students and professors to be a perversion of their energy and remained skeptical of the ability of the masses to govern. Likewise, he “did not oppose the War of Liberation waged by the German states against Napoleon, but remained aloof from the patriotic efforts to unite the various parts of Germany into one nation; he advocated instead the maintenance of small principalities ruled by benevolent despots”.
Goethe's influence spread across Europe, and for the next century his works were a major source of inspiration in music, drama, poetry and philosophy. Early in his career, however, he wondered whether painting might be his true vocation;[citation needed] late in his life, he expressed the expectation that he would ultimately be remembered above all for his work on colour.
歌德是德国民族文学的最杰出的代表，他的创作把德国文学提高到全欧的先进水平，并对欧洲文学的发展作出了巨大的贡献。
歌德一生跨两个世纪，正当欧洲社会大动荡、大变革的年代。封建制度的日趋崩溃，革命力量的不断高涨，促使歌德不断接受先进思潮的影响，从而加深自己对于社会的认识，创作出当代最优秀的文艺作品。歌德晚年的创作极其丰富，重要的如自传性作品《诗与真》、《意大利游记》，长篇小说《亲和力》和《威廉·麦斯特的漫游时代》，抒情诗集《西方和东方的合集》，逝世前不久，又完成了《浮士德》第二部。这些作品表现了歌德重视实践、肯定为人类幸福而劳动的思想，说明他思想中的积极因素比前一时期有所增长。《浮士德》第二部的完成尤其突出地表现了歌德晚年思想上和艺术上的新发展。1832年3月22日，歌德病逝。他的临终遗言是：“给我更多的灯吧。”这体现了他作为大文豪的乐观精神。歌德是德国民族文学的最杰出的代表，他的创作把德国文学提高到全欧的先进水平，并对欧洲文学的发展作出了巨大的贡献。
Key words & Sentences
关键词句全知道
It was Goethe who said this.
这话是歌德说的。
For Goethe, dreams had the power to heal.
对于歌德来说，梦具有一种治愈力。
Schubert set many of Goethe's poems to music.
舒伯特为歌德的许多诗谱了曲。
Goethe was once strolling on a narrow path in a park in Weimar.
歌德有一次漫步在魏玛的一个公园狭窄的小路上。
Schiller is the second milestone only next to Goethe in the German classic literature.
席勒是德国古典文学中仅次于歌德的第二座丰碑。
Goethe said: “Read a book good book, like many noble people in the same conversation.”
歌德认为：“读一本好书，就好像在同许多高尚的人谈话。”
The various examinations of the Goethe-Institut are worldwide approved.
世界各地均承认在歌德学院考获的各种考试资历。
And because Goethe was a trustworthy person, you can rely on the second part of his promise following automatically.
而且因为歌德是一个可信的人，所以你就可以信任他的承诺中自动接下去的第二部分。
Goethe (German dramatist and poet ): He is the happiest, be he King or peasant, who finds peace in his home.
歌德（德国剧作家、诗人）：无论是国王还是农夫，家庭和睦是最幸福的。
Goethe met with a critic who was hostile to him.
歌德遇到了一个跟他敌对的批评家。
The sketch was based on Goethe's “Faust” where the hero, famously frustrated by the limits to his learning, makes a pact with the devil.
这一构思取自歌德的《浮士德》一书：英雄孜孜以求却受到束缚，因此受挫并为人所共知，转而和魔鬼订立契约。
The Western world from the eighteenth century to the later of the Goethe Cultural celebrities such as Charlie Chaplin, shadow arts of China have been given high marks.
西方世界从18世纪的歌德到后来的卓别林等世界文化名人，对中国皮影戏艺术都曾给予过高度的评价。
Beijing bookstores would be wise to stock up on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
北京书店应该囤积歌德的作品。
Intellectual greats from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe to Walter Pater to Sigmund Freud have all tried to capture the character of the quintessential Renaissance man.
从约翰·沃尔夫冈·歌德到沃尔特·皮特到西格蒙德·弗洛伊德，这些思想巨人都竭力想抓住这位文艺复兴时代的精华人物的人格特质。
Let's Talk！
开始交流吧！
Mike: Have you read Faust?
麦克：你看过《浮士德》吗？
Daisy: No, who writes it?
黛西：没有，是谁写的？
Mike: Goethe.
麦克：歌德。
Daisy: Are you reading it?
黛西：你是在看吗？
Mike: Yes, I just read the beginning.
麦克：是的，我刚看了开头。
Daisy: Let me see. Do you like it?
黛西：我看看。你觉得好看吗？
Mike: I do not know, it's not the kind of book I usually like.
麦克：我不知道，这不是我通常会喜欢的书。
Daisy: Then why do you read it?
黛西：那你为什么要看呢？
Mike: I heard it's the best book by Goethe, and I have read all the books I like.
麦克：我听说这是歌德最棒的作品，而且我喜欢的书我全都看完了。
Daisy: I think it's good to read other kinds of books, you like detective stories too much.
黛西：我觉得看看别的类型的书很好，你太喜欢看侦探小说了。
Mike: That's what I thought.
麦克：我也是这么想的。
Daisy: Goethe is a great writer; I hope you will like it.
黛西：歌德是个伟大的作家，我希望你会爱看。