Goethe (1749–1832) was a German writer, philosopher, and natural scientist who ranks among the greatest figures of world literature. A leader of the Sturm und Drang movement and Weimar Classicism, he authored Faust, The Sorrows of Young Werther, and Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship. Faust, his life's masterwork, is universally regarded as the supreme achievement of German literature.
Goethe was a true polymath whose contributions spanned literature, philosophy, optics, botany, and mineralogy—embodying the Renaissance ideal of the universal genius. He coined the concept of Weltliteratur (world literature), anticipating the globalization of literary culture. His declaration 'Theory is grey, but the tree of life is evergreen' captured his passion for lived experience over rigid doctrine, profoundly influencing Romanticism, existentialism, and the idea that creative and scientific inquiry are complementary dimensions of human achievement.
