Goethes Vorstellung von einer idealen Lesergemeinde

In Goethe's own judgment the success of his works was frequently due to a misunderstanding. In principle he did not regard his writings as suitable for the general reading public. As a result the conviction manifested itself in him quite early that in his works he was actually addressing only a small congregation. He thought of this congregation as distinguished less by aesthetic abilities than through special properties of character. Only such readers whose views were congruent with his own could derive ethical benefit from his works, and he considered these benefits to be of the highest importance. It would easily have been possible for Goethe to use his strong personality to exert his influence on his congregation. Especially in the poet's youth, the temptation to do so was always strong. Goethe, however, consistently declined to play the role of a prophet, wishing to act only as a poet. In his later years Goethe increasingly used the word `congregation' in his works to describe the public to which he was speaking. This congregation is characterized in great detail in a littleknown late poem

Humanities · German Literature and Culture Studies · Historical, Literary, and Cultural Studies · Philosophy

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