' (; ''West–Eastern Diwan'') is a diwan, or collection of lyrical poems, by the German poet

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...

. It was inspired by the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

poet

Hafez Khwāje Shams-od-Dīn Moḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī ( fa, خواجه شمس‌‌الدین محمّد حافظ شیرازی), known by his pen name Hafez (, ''Ḥāfeẓ'', 'the memorizer; the (safe) keeper'; 1325–1390) and as "Hafiz", ...

Composition

''West–Eastern Diwan'' was written between 1814 and 1819, the year when it was first published. It was inspired by Goethe's correspondence with Marianne von Willemer and the translation of Hafez' poems by the orientalist

Joseph von Hammer Joseph Freiherr von Hammer-Purgstall (9 June 1774 – 23 November 1856) was an Austrian orientalist and historian. He is considered one of the most accomplished Orientalists of his time. He was critical of the trend of ascribing classical or a ...

. An expanded version was printed in

1827 Events January–March * January 5 – The first regatta in Australia is held, taking place on Tasmania (called at the time ''Van Diemen's Land''), on the River Derwent at Hobart. * January 15 – Furman University, founded in 1826, b ...

. It is part of Goethe's late work and the last great cycle of poetry he wrote. The initial issue consisted of twelve books: * Book of the Singer (Moganni Nameh) * Book of Hafiz (Hafis Nameh) * Book of Love (Uschk Nameh) * Book of Reflection (Tefkir Nameh) * Book of Ill Humour (Rendsch Nameh) * Book of Maxims (Hikmet Nameh) * Book of Timur (Timur Nameh) * Book of Zuleika (Suleika Nameh) * Book of the Cupbearer (Saki Nameh) * Book of Parables (Mathal Nameh) * Book of the Parsees (Parsi Nameh) * Book of Paradise (Chuld Nameh) The work can be seen as a symbol for a stimulating exchange and mixture between Orient and

Occident The Occident is a term for the West, traditionally comprising anything that belongs to the Western world. It is the antonym of ''Orient'', the Eastern world. In English, it has largely fallen into disuse. The term ''occidental'' is often used to ...

. The phrase "west–eastern" refers not only to an exchange between Germany and the Middle East, but also between Latin and Persian cultures, as well as the Christian and Muslim cultures. The twelve books consist of poetry of all different kinds:

parable A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, w ...

s, historical

allusion Allusion is a figure of speech, in which an object or circumstance from unrelated context is referred to covertly or indirectly. It is left to the audience to make the direct connection. Where the connection is directly and explicitly stated (as ...

s, pieces of

invective Invective (from Middle English ''invectif'', or Old French and Late Latin ''invectus'') is abusive, reproachful, or venomous language used to express blame or censure; or, a form of rude expression or discourse intended to offend or hurt; vituperat ...

, politically or religiously inclined poetry mirroring the attempt to bring together Orient and Occident. For a better understanding, Goethe added "Notes and Queries", in which he comments on historical figures, events, terms and places.

Reception

''West-Eastern Diwan'' influenced poets such as

Friedrich Rückert Friedrich Rückert (16 May 1788 – 31 January 1866) was a German poet, translator, and professor of Oriental languages. Biography Rückert was born in Schweinfurt and was the eldest son of a lawyer. He was educated at the local '' Gymnasium'' ...

, who in 1822 issued his ' (Eastern Roses) collection of Oriental poetry, as well as

Christian Morgenstern Christian Otto Josef Wolfgang Morgenstern (6 May 1871 – 31 March 1914) was a German author and poet from Munich. Morgenstern married Margareta Gosebruch von Liechtenstern on 7 March 1910. He worked for a while as a journalist in Berlin ...

and

Walter Benjamin Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin (; ; 15 July 1892 – 26 September 1940) was a German Jewish philosopher, cultural critic and essayist. An eclectic thinker, combining elements of German idealism, Romanticism, Western Marxism, and Jewish mys ...

. In 1923 the Persian-language poet Sir

Muhammad Iqbal Sir Muhammad Iqbal ( ur, ; 9 November 187721 April 1938), was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...

issued the ''

Payam-e-Mashriq ''Payam-i-Mashriq'' ( fa, ; or ''Message from the East''; published in Persian, 1923) is a philosophical poetry book of Allama Iqbal, the great poet-philosopher of British India. Introduction Payam-i-Mashriq is an answer to '' West-östlicher ...

'' (''Message from the East'') in reply to Goethe's salute.
''Payam-i Mashriq'' (1923) – Introduction
allamaiqbal.com Various poems were set to music by

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

(D 717 "Suleika II", Op. 31; D 719 "Geheimes", Op. 14 No. 2; D 720 "Suleika I", Op. 14 No. 1),

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

(Op. 25 ''Myrthen'' No. 5, 6 and 9),

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

(Op. 34 No. 4 "Suleika: Ach, um deine feuchten Schwingen"; Op. 57 No. 3 "Suleika: Was bedeutet die Bewegung?"),

Hugo Wolf Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf (13 March 1860 – 22 February 1903) was an Austrian composer of Slovene origin, particularly noted for his art songs, or Lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Ro ...

(''Goethe-Lieder''),

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

(Op. 67 No. 4 "Wer wird von der Welt verlangen"),

Waldemar von Baußnern Waldemar Edler von Baußnern (also ''Baussnern'' or ''Bausznern''; 29 November 1866 – 20 August 1931) was a German composer and music teacher. Life Born in Berlin, and descended from Transylvanian Saxons, Baußnern was the son of a financia ...

(Symphonic Cantata ''Hafis''),

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

, and

Othmar Schoeck Othmar Schoeck (1 September 1886 – 8 March 1957) was a Swiss Romantic classical composer, opera composer, musician, and conductor. He was known mainly for his considerable output of art songs and song cycles, though he also wrote a number of ...

References

External links

Title page and contemporary cover of the first edition

"Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von"
by Hamid Tafazoli, in ''

Encyclopædia Iranica ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times. Scope The ''Encycl ...

''
West-östlicher Divan
from

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...

Germany
''West–östlicher Divan'' text website

English version website
{{DEFAULTSORT:West-ostlicher Diwan Poetry by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe German poetry collections 1819 poems

Composition

Reception

See also

References

External links