ABSTRACT
During the summer of 1768, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's already poor state of health deteriorated considerably. His Leipzig friends cared for him for several weeks until he was able to begin the journey home to Frankfurt, on his nineteenth birthday. In his letter, Goethe portrays symptoms typical of depression: He is both numb and indifferent to his emotions, and he feels listless and enervated. Goethe enjoyed the devotion of his mother and sister, and they discovered that he brought more liveliness into their daily lives. Goethe's first volume of poems, New Songs, appeared anonymously in 1769 after his long illness. By this time, he had almost completely overcome both his physical illness and his depressive episode. In the poem "To Luna", Goethe had discovered an entirely personalized language for his emotions. The poetical self appears calm and relaxed, playful and humorous.
