Die Aufgeregten

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 1749-1832Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 87K words
Chapters: 9

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Die Aufgeregten by Johann Wolfgang von GoetheAuthor: Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 1749-1832,Language: German, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Dec 1, 2003

Editor's review

Die Aufgeregten (The Agitated) is a fragmentary political drama from Goethe's late years, set against the atmosphere of the post-French Revolution era and centered on the conflict between rural nobility and common people, exploring how order, rights, and passion become entangled. The play is unfinished, and its plot lines leave conspicuous gaps, yet this very quality makes it a window onto Goethe's political thinking: he neither simply celebrates revolution nor defends the old order wholesale, but uses his characters' debates to stage the tension between positions. The text is in the original German, dense with dialogue and argument, with comparatively restrained dramatic action; the reading experience is closer to a drama of ideas than a melodrama. For readers studying Goethe's late work or late-eighteenth-century German political drama, it offers supplementary material beyond the standard histories; for general readers, the barrier to understanding lies in the historical context and the unfinished form. As a free electronic text, it suits close reading and comparative study rather than serving as an introductory drama.

Who it's for

A good fit for

German-language readers studying Goethe's late work and political thought
Researchers of late-eighteenth-century German political drama and students of theater history
Literary enthusiasts with German reading ability who wish to expand their knowledge of Goethe's oeuvre
Scholars needing German literary texts from the French Revolution period for comparison

Not a good fit for

General readers without sufficient German reading ability who rely on Chinese translations
Casual readers expecting a complete plot and strong dramatic conflict
Beginners new to Goethe who would do better starting with his representative works

Reading tips

Before reading, learn about the social context of the German states after the French Revolution to better grasp what the debates refer to.
Read the play alongside Goethe's other political works from the same period to observe how his positions change and persist.
Pay attention to differences in wording within the characters' debates and take notes comparing their positions rather than looking for a complete plot.
After finishing, consult background on the composition of this fragment to understand how its unfinished form affects interpretation.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Why is this play a fragment?

Die Aufgeregten is an unfinished political drama by Goethe, and the surviving text leaves gaps in its plot lines. This unfinished state relates to the author's creative plans, though the available materials do not provide more specific reasons. It should be read as a thought-experiment-like text, focusing on the tension between positions presented in the characters' debates rather than expecting a closed story ending.

Can I read this book without knowing German?

This is an electronic text in the original German and is not suitable for readers who do not know German to read directly. If you are interested in the content, first look for a reliable Chinese translation or scholarly literature to learn about the plot and background, then decide whether to read it closely against the original. A Chinese summary alone can hardly convey its dialogic and argumentative style.

Is it suitable as an introductory Goethe reading?

Not very. The play is dense with argument, its plot is incomplete, and it relies heavily on the historical context after the French Revolution, so readers new to Goethe may find it frustrating. It is advisable to first read Goethe's representative plays and novels to build an overall impression of his language and thought, then return to this political fragment.

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About the author

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 1749-1832 Author

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) is a highly important writer in the history of German literature, whose work spans poetry, fiction and drama. The library holds 75 of his works, including the tragedy Faust: Der Tragödie erster Teil in several editions and translations, the epistolary novel Die Leiden des jungen Werther — Band 2, and the play Iphigeneia Tauriissa. Faust centers on a scholar's pact with the devil, combining philosophical reflection with poetic language; Die Leiden des jungen Werther uses the epistolary form to portray the conflict between personal feeling and social constraint. Goethe's works cover a wide range of subjects and combine lyricism with philosophical depth, exerting a profound influence on German literature and later European writing. Public information is limited, so biographical details are omitted here.