ABSTRACT
While Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's interest in the sonnet reveals an individual evolution, his involvement with this form reflects a literary development in Germany in the early nineteenth century. Goethe's 'sonnet-rage' was shared by Franz Schubert's literary circle. The revival of interest in this form led Schober and Senn to compose sonnet cycles, in the manner of Goethe's collection. The title of Goethe's amatory sonnet is programmatic: it announces a set piece. Although Goethe's mellifluous sonnet is used as a vehicle of the serious lyrical expression of personal feeling and emerges as an example of an Erlebnislyrik, his work maintains a close affinity to the Petrarchan sonnet. The theme of unrequited love is common to the Petrarchan sonnet and the symmetry of Petrarch's Canzoniere is also reflected in Goethe's complete cycle of sonnets. 'Die Liebende schreibt' is an example of Goethe's manipulation of the Petrarchan tradition, for in his plea for spiritual love he exploits conceits deriving ultimately from Petrarch.
