Herrmann und Dorothea

work by Goethe

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July 16, 2026

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Herrmann und Dorothea is an epic poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, published in 1797. It is written in hexameter verse and set in contemporary Germany, depicting the reactions of ordinary townspeople to the French Revolution and its associated wars. The poem was one of Goethe's most successful and lucrative works. It was written during his productive collaboration with Friedrich Schiller, a period that saw significant literary output from Goethe, including revisions of his novel Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and the satirical epigrams known as Xenia.12

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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Friendship with Schiller (1794–1805) of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
…Revolution and the associated wars: Herrmann und Dorothea, published in 1797, one of the most successful (and lucrative) of his works. (A second hexameter epic, on the subject of Achilles, did not get beyond the first canto.) At the same time, he and Schiller jointly composed a collection of satirical…
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…Revolution and the associated wars: Herrmann und Dorothea, published in 1797, one of the most successful (and lucrative) of his works. (A second hexameter epic, on the subject of Achilles, did not get beyond the first canto.) At the same time, he and Schiller jointly composed a collection of satirical…
Read More