When was Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship published?
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship was published in 1795-96. It is the second novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and consists of eight books.
Questions about Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What is a Bildungsroman and is Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship one?
A Bildungsroman is a coming-of-age novel focused on the formation of a character's identity. Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship is considered the template for the genre, though the narrator ironizes Wilhelm's education at multiple points, and scholar Andrew Crumey argued the novel is far more than a Bildungsroman, encompassing education, disillusionment, and ideas across literature, philosophy, and politics.
What role does Shakespeare play in Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship?
Shakespeare is central to Wilhelm's intellectual development. The character Jarno introduces Wilhelm to Shakespeare's works, and Wilhelm's theater troupe stages a production of Hamlet in which Wilhelm plays the lead role. Goethe himself gave a speech celebrating Shakespeare's genius on the 14th of October 1771 in Frankfurt, and the novel reflects the tremendous popularity Shakespeare had gained in Germany by the late eighteenth century.
Who is Mignon in Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship?
Mignon is an androgynous child whom Wilhelm purchases from a cruel troupe manager during his travels. She is later revealed to be the daughter of Sperata and Augustin, the Harper, who are themselves siblings. Her song "Kennst du das Land?" became one of the most set texts in Romantic music, inspiring compositions by Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, and others.
What is the Tower Society in Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship?
The Tower Society is a secret organization dedicated to the moral and practical education of its members, including Lothario, Jarno, and the Abbe. In Book Seven, Wilhelm discovers the Society has been subtly guiding his development for years. Its philosophy holds that true self-realization comes through active engagement in the world and service to a greater whole, not through art or solitary striving.
What composers set texts from Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship to music?
Beethoven, Schubert, and Schumann all set poems from the novel. Schubert's Gesange aus Wilhelm Meister, Op. 62, dates from 1826. Schumann composed the Lieder und Gesange aus Wilhelm Meister, Op. 98a, and the Requiem for Mignon, Op. 98b, both in 1849. Ambroise Thomas based his 1866 opera Mignon on the novel, and Tchaikovsky's "None but the Lonely Heart" sets a Russian translation of the novel's "Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt."