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: âFaust.â
Indeed, this dramatic poemâin which a man is so disillusioned with the scholarly life that he turns in despair to the devil himself as an alternative way to meaningfulnessâis considered by most critics his
magnum opus. Many even regard Goethe as the âGerman Shakespeareâ because of this and other significant plays, some of them path-breaking in world literature.