Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Egmont

Ellis Dye (Macalester College)

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1789

Places

Germany (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

Goethe's tragedy Egmont, about the life and downfall of a glamorous and popular Flemish political leader and brilliant general in the service of Philip II of Spain, was composed in sporadic work over a period of twelve years, a first draft having been set down in 1775, when Goethe was still living at his parents' Frankfurt home and encouraged “day and night” by his republican-minded father. Like Götz von Berlichingen and various fragmentary treatments of Julius Caesar, Mahomet, and the mythical Prometheus, Egmont: A Tragedy in Five Acts reflects Goethe's preoccupation with the lives of great, powerful men (“Kraftkerle”). The original …

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2428 words

Citation: Dye, Ellis. "Egmont". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 September 2005 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16859, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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