Goethe's most complex and profound work, Faust was the effort of the great poet's entire lifetime. Written over 60 years, it can be read as a document of Goethe's moral and artistic development. Hailed as Germany's greatest contribution to world literature, Goethe's Faust drew upon a folktale and Marlowe's Dr. Faustus for inspiration. But in this epic version, Faust sells his soul not for magic powers but for a heightened sense of existence. Part...

Visiting an idyllic German village, Werther, a sensitive and romantic young man, meets and falls in love with sweet-natured Lotte. Although he realizes that Lotte is to marry Albert, he is unable to subdue his passion for her and his infatuation torments him to the point of absolute despair. The first great confessional novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther draws both on Goethes own unrequited love for Charlotte Buff and on the death of his friend Karl...