person
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Goethe
also: the greatest poet
The supreme German poet (1749--1832), Bettina von Arnim's correspondent; in Malte's reading he failed the loving woman by answering and so 'talking her love out of people,' the limit of his greatness.
Reading notes
- The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge §393 greatest poet
Goethe (1749--1832), Bettina's celebrated correspondent; Malte charges him with 'talking her love out of people' in his measured replies---for Malte the very limit of the poet's greatness.